Main Street

Working America Members Join Faith Leaders to Call for Help for the Unemployed

Brandishing white carnations to show solidarity, faith leaders from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities all around Washington, DC gathered in the Upper Senate Park to kick off a Day of Action and Prayer to extend unemployment insurance.

Joining the clergy were hundreds of marchers from labor unions, occupations, community groups, and Working America members. They filled the entire width of Constitution Avenue leading up to the park.

Shonda Sneed, a Working America member from Yellow Springs, Ohio, took to the mic to tell her story. She was laid off in 2009, and relies on unemployment insurance during her job search, and to care for her 81 year-old mother who has dementia.

Shonda forcefully expressed what we have heard from unemployed workers across the country; that she misses work – she wants to work. “I’d rather have a paycheck than be on unemployment,” she said, “but it should still be there for the people who need it.”

Every conversation we’ve had, whether at a rally in DC or on the doorsteps and porches in Ohio, flies in the face of the arguments made against UI by politicians. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) scoffed at the idea that UI would help the economy, saying that “continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek work.” It’s a ridiculous statement that has been disproved thousands of times, but the belief continues to be pervasive in the 112th Congress.

Just like a year ago, corporate-backed politicians like Kyl and Speaker Boehner are using the lifeline of unemployment insurance as a bargaining chit to extract concessions on upper-income tax cuts and other 1% priorities. But workers like Shonda aren’t fooled by politicians’ proclamations about disincentives or deficits – they know what’s really going on. “They are using us as pawns – they are using all of us as pawns,” Shonda told the crowd, which included many unemployed workers.

One of the most unexpected speeches came from 42 year-old Rev. Brian Merrit, a Presbyterian minister and member of DC’s Franciscan Action Network. To cheers, Rev. Merrit told the crowd that he had been arrested at yesterday’s protest on K Street NW, the district of the city famous for its concentration of lobbyists (the Reverend was one of 60 arrested yesterday). Although he doesn’t fit the stereotype of the Occupy movement, Rev. Merrit drew a clear line between his faith and his actions:

“Whenever Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, he was committing an act of disobedience. Saint Francis of Assisi stripped naked to protest the treatment of the poor. So when I was arrested on K Street yesterday, I was just practicing my faith and living the Gospel.”

As I write this, unemployed workers and allies are seeking audiences with their representatives on Capitol Hill to make the case for an extension of UI. Stand with them by signing the 9 Demands for the 99 Percent, which includes an extension of unemployment and a firm commitment to job creation.

Tags: Jobs, unemployment, unemployment extension