Leading the way with Universal Basic Employment for Cleveland (City Club)

What if all Clevelanders were guaranteed a job? And that job offered a salary suitable enough to provide for their families? As it turns out, the idea of a jobs guarantee gained momentum in the 1940s with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second Bill of Rights. Now, the City of Cleveland will become the first city in the nation to launch a $21 million Universal Basic Employment (UBE) pilot program. Put simply, it will provide 100 participants with a job guarantee of $50,000 for three years. It plans to launch in 2026. 

As the second poorest major city in America, Cleveland is looking to reduce poverty and the need for public assistance by guaranteeing a well-paid job. As opposed to the more popular “Universal Basic Income” – made popular by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang – UBE works directly with employers to subsidize existing, or new wages for its employees. 

Join the City Club as we hear from Councilwoman Stephanie Howse-Jones, Devin H. Cotten with Universal Basic Employment & Opportunity, and Ken Surratt with the United Way of Greater Cleveland on what exactly UBE is – and is not – and what we can expect to learn from Cleveland’s UBE pilot program.