By Ashley Keith — Ohio
Walter from Cincinnati once owned a small IT business and used his computer expertise to help people solve their technological problems. He is engaging, intelligent, and understands how to navigate the temperamental waters of computers in an age of constant updates, upgrades, and innovation. Unfortunately, he had to close his business in 2001 because he was unable to compete with larger companies. Since the closing of his business, Walter has had a difficult time maintaining steady employment. He has primarily worked restaurant jobs for the last nine years. For the last two and a half weeks he has worked in the maintenance department for a national retail chain after four weeks of being unemployed. There are so many people in this economy who are working in fields and positions that don’t let them fully use their potential, but Walter faces an additional challenge: he was convicted of a felony 20 years ago.
In a time when foreclosures are making headlines across the country and adult children have to move back in with parents after college graduation, everyone knows the job market is oversaturated. The nation’s best talent is ripe for the picking. Many people will have little sympathy for someone in Walter’s position. Some will say that Walter made his bed, and now he has to sleep in it. But what good does it do any of us to waste the potential of people who have already repaid their debt to society? Working people come in all forms, shapes, sizes, and from various backgrounds.
When we as working families were stronger and better organized, the American Dream was a reality for a lot of us. It actually seemed like anyone could work hard to accomplish their goals, and we were a nation that gave people enormous opportunities to succeed. But today we are living in the Right Wing Dream, created by decades of policies that weakened unions, encouraged outsourcing, and gave Wall Street free reign to cause a re-run of the Great Depression. Now it seems that the American Dream is only available if you have five years of specialized experience, an advanced degree, a spotless past, three recommendations, and a relationship with someone who can open doors for you…and that’s just to get your resume on the top of the stack.
When workers are faced with desperate choices and employers have only one position for every five unemployed workers, people in Walter’s position are some of the first left out in the cold. I often hear people say things like “pay your debt to society” or “serve the time you deserve” when people pick up the controversial topic of our penal system, but when that time is over and that debt is paid what happens next? The issue of job creation is really about what kind of country we want to be. Do we want to be a creative, productive country where we strive to give everyone an opportunity to use their talents, skills and abilities, or do we want to create an underclass of workers who are kept on the margins, just scraping by?
By Ashley Keith - Ohio
Bambi is funny, energetic, hard working … and has been unemployed for three years. Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to her at her home in Canton, OH. We sat on her back porch over-looking her garden of budding tomato plants, peppers and beans, as she explained that she can’t afford these items in the grocery store. So she grows them herself.
Bambi has lived her life doing everything she thought she was supposed to do as a working class mother. She started working as a tow truck driver at the age of 18. She stuck with it for 10 years in spite of the challenges, including dealing with a gun being pulled on her, until one day she was crushed between two cars while working. She suffered severe damage to her right leg, an injury that still limits her mobility and ability to stand for long periods of time. Even with this injury Bambi continued to hold various positions throughout her adult life to support herself and her daughter. She was eventually able to send her daughter to college to become a school teacher.
In spite of applying for countless jobs in the last three years, Bambi hasn’t been able to find work. “I think I’m a few years too young to retire, but a few years too old for most employers to hire me,” she explains. Although Bambi has paid off the mortgage for her home, she still struggles to pay her property taxes because she can’t find work. Bambi’s daughter and son-in-law, both of whom are public school teachers in Virginia, have paid her property taxes for the last few years so that she could stay in her home. As they send these funds to sustain their mother, they worry that their school district will face the same massive lay-offs or cut backs that other school teachers are facing.
Bambi’s experience shows the absurdity of the “conventional wisdom” in so much of Washington.
We are told that people who can’t find work are lazy, but with 6 people applying for every job opening, some of the people who need the jobs the most are bound to slip through the crack. We are told that teachers should be laid off, and we should sell out our kids’ education because we are in a recession. But those jobs are sustaining families and communities and businesses around the country, and what sense does it make to sell out our kids’ education to pay for Wall Street’s crimes?
We hear plenty of stories of bad mortgage deals, and we are often confronted with the argument that we as a society had to learn “lessons” about personal responsibility and living within our means. What about people like Bambi who are responsible, who have lived within their means…unfortunately, even those of us who own our homes can barely hold onto them when work disappears.
Bambi’s life also shows how we are connected. When we can’t find work, we can’t pay our property taxes, and when we can’t pay our taxes schools lose revenue. Cutting education will only make it harder to compete for jobs in the future. It is a vicious cycle, and Wall Street’s recklessness is the root of the problem. Bambi also shows us the solution: we need to have the courage to speak out about what is happening with us, stand together, and hold the people who caused the crisis responsible for what they have done. Otherwise, working families will continue to struggle to make it, fighting over the scraps they have left us.
Tags: unemployment
Thanks to George Wentworth of the National Employment Law Project for answering reader questions about unemployment insurance.
(1) Question from Main Street blogger Mitchell Hirsch:
Thank you so much for taking time to answer reader questions and providing such clarity to what can be a confusing mass of information on unemployment insurance.
It has been reported that the Senate may take up a bill including a likely 3-month UI/COBRA extension late this week or next. If they do, and it passes, the House would still need to act on it or go to a conference with the Senate on the two bills - a time-consuming process with time running out.
Wouldn’t the House need to act to pass an extension again, then, by Feb 19 - and wouldn’t that require them to stay in session for at least part of next week despite the Presidents Day Recess? With millions of
unemployed workers and their families facing the end of their benefits, shouldn’t Congress stay in session until they get a UI/COBRA extension done?
Thanks for taking the time, and for your expertise as well.
Answer: Thank you for your question which brings us up to date on events of the last 24 hours. It is our understanding that the new Senate jobs bill will include provisions reauthorizing the EUC program, federal funding of EB, the $25 supplement (FAC) and the 65% COBRA subsidy through May 31, 2010. This is one month less than the House jobs bill which extended these same provisions through June 30, 2010.
You are correct that these provisions will have to be reconciled but it is still too early to tell exactly how this will play out procedurally. (It is possible that the Senate could pass a stand-alone extension sooner than the entire jobs bill.) However, on your larger point, I absolutely agree that it is imperative that Congress act to reauthorize these unemployment insurance (UI) extensions and COBRA subsidies before leaving town. As NELP and state UI program administrators have been saying for weeks, if reauthorization is not passed by February 19th, states are legally bound to start phasing out the existing programs. This will create unnecessary hardship and confusion for unemployed workers and their families. This is why unemployed workers should immediately let their elected representatives know that it is critical to enact the unemployment insurance and COBRA provisions of the jobs bill before the February recess.
(2) Question from Working America regional director Dan Heck.
We often hear from members who are unemployed, but even the members who still have jobs are afraid of losing them. What effect, if any, does extending unemployment benefits have on members who still have jobs, and the economy overall?
Answer: We all know that an important goal of unemployment insurance (UI) programs is to partially replace the pre-layoff wages of unemployed workers. While a good program aims to replace about 50% of wages, the reality is that - on average - UI benefits only replace about 36% of workers’ prior wages.
What is less widely known, however, is the impact of UI on local economies. Unemployment insurance has been called the most direct economic stimulus that government can provide. UI benefits help unemployed workers pay for essentials like mortgages, rent, food, childrens’ clothes, etc. Leading economists have concluded that every dollar in UI benefits produces $1.63 in local economic activity. . When a community has a major plant closing or layoff, UI benefits help middle class workers with limited savings from losing their homes and falling into poverty.
For a worker who is still employed, the value of a strong UI safety net may not be readily apparent until the worker - or someone the worker knows - is actually unemployed. But UI is critical to keeping communities economically strong during periods of rising unemployment, which helps local businesses and the people that they employ.. For employers, the fact that a worker receives UI benefits during a temporary downturn provides some assurance that the worker will be available for recall when things pick up again. For the worker who is still employed and worried that her boss may think she is expendable, UI provides a protection in the form of insurance - an employer knows that a decision to lay off a worker means bearing the cost of that decision in higher UI tax costs.
Unemployment Insurance - part of the Social Security Act of 1935 - represents a fundamental compact for every American worker and employer. Workers who have provided their labor for an employer over time will be insured by that employer against the consequences of involuntary unemployment. And that is good for all of us.
(3) Question from Jane0218:
Is there the possibility of Congress adding more weeks to the existing EUC program tiers, instead of adding a Tier V?
There are so many people who have nothing coming in, especially older individuals who find themselves not as marketable as younger individuals. They are suffering the most, IMHO.
Answer: Sorry, at this point, there does not appear to be any discussion of Congress reconfiguring the 4 existing tiers of EUC, which are as follows:
Tier I- 20 weeks
Tier II - 14 weeks
Tier III - 13 weeks
Tier IV - 6 weeks.
No legal advice is being given and no attorney-client relationship is created by the use of this information. An attorney should be consulted for more detailed information in individual cases. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) and Working America (WA) shall not be liable for the information provided herein, or for the results obtained from the use of such information.
Tags: unemployment
We’re pleased to welcome George Wentworth of the National Employment Law Project to answer reader questions about unemployment insurance. We’ll do our best to get answers to any questions posted as comments. If you post a question, please be sure to mention what state you’re in, since different states do things differently.
The questions below relate to specific aspects of the federal unemployment insurance extensions currently in place. Before answering these specific questions, let me provide some general background and an update on current efforts in Congress to reauthorize these programs.
All workers get regular state unemployment insurance benefits for up to 26 weeks. (Note: In states paying less than 26 weeks of UI benefits, unemployed workers get a proportionately smaller share of benefits under federal extension programs.) Generally, workers then draw Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) followed by Extended Benefits (EB), where available. There are up to four “tiers” of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) extensions available depending upon state unemployment levels. Extended Benefits are not available in all states.
EUC Tiers I and II
Unemployed workers in all states qualify for benefits under EUC Tier I and Tier II. Tier I provides 20 weeks of benefits and Tier II provides 14 weeks for a total of 34 weeks. For 3 states with (3‐month average) unemployment rates under 6.0 percent (NE, ND, and SD), this 34 weeks represents the total available extension weeks.
EUC Tier III
In states with high unemployment (defined as 6.0 percent average 3‐month total unemployment or higher), unemployed workers can become eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits known as EUC Tier III. Currently, there are 47 states (all except NE, ND, and SD), as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, in which unemployed workers can qualify for EUC Tier III.
EUC Tier IV
In states with 3‐month average total unemployment rates at or above 8.5 percent, unemployed workers can qualify for 6 additional weeks of extension benefits under EUC Tier IV. The 28 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, currently paying Tier IV benefits are AL,AK, AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MI, MS, MO, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, WA, and WV.
Extended Benefits (EB)
Finally, a separate program, called the Extended Benefits (EB) program is currently triggered on in 39 states. There are either 13 or 20 additional weeks of benefits, under the EB program depending upon which EB triggers are part of each state’s UI law and each state’s unemployment level. As of January 31, 2010, 28 states and the District of Columbia are paying 20 weeks of EB (AL,AK AZ,CA,CT, DE, GA, ID,IL,IN,KY,ME,MA, MI,NV,NJ,NY,NC,OH,OR,PA,RI,SC,TN,TX, WA, WV, and WI). Seven states and Puerto Rico are providing 13 weeks of EB (CO, KS, MN, NH, NM, VT, and VA).
Current Legislative Efforts to Reauthorize UI Extensions
Current federal extensions (including both the Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs), the additional $25 per week in each benefits check (known as Federal Additional Compensation (FAC)), and 65% COBRA subsidies for jobless workers are set to expire at the end of February 2010. The House has passed an extension of these provisions until June of this year in its Jobs Bill - and now the Senate needs to act.
We at the National Employment Law Project (NELP) are urging Congress to extend the EUC program, full federal funding of Extended Benefits, the $25 per week in Federal Additional Compensation, and the 65% 15-month COBRA subsidy through the end of 2010. Economists agree that unemployment will remain at extremely high levels through the end of this calendar year; therefore it is important to extend this program through 2010. While there appears to be majority support for reauthorization, there are also strong indications that Congress will likely extend these programs for a number of months, not for the rest of the year..
These benefits are set to expire on February 28, 2010, but in fact, if Congress does not extend these important benefits before Friday, February 19, 2010, states will have to start sending out notices to claimants that their benefits are expiring, and they will have to start reprogramming their computer systems to shut down with EUC, EB and FAC benefits. Were Congress to act after the 19th of February, there would be substantial delays in getting state programs back up and running and the disruption of benefits would be devastating to families and communities.
Questions
(1) eieio writes:
Out of work since Dec 2007 and about to come to the end of the line. Moved from CA to TN to have a better chance at a job with no such luck.
If no Tier 5, no house or food. Will have to file bankruptcy. Had to give up COBRA due to out of state move and couldn’t afford conversion policy. NOW WHAT?
(2) Dcarter08 writes:
I am 52 and have been unemployed since 11-07. I am down to my last unemployment check if a tier 5 is not put in place asap. I will be homeless by months end with no where to go and no way of paying my bills, what should I expect?
Answer: Unfortunately, it does not appear that there is any likelihood that the legislation pending in Congress will create a new Tier V of the EUC program. Although the number of workers who are categorized as long-term unemployed (out of work more than 6 months) has grown to over 40% of all unemployed, both the House and Senate are focusing on reauthorization of the EUC program as it currently exists.
While there is currently no legislative proposal for a Tier V of EUC, this is an idea that will become more compelling when Congress begins to hear stories of workers exhausting the last of their benefits. That is why it is important to tell your senator or representative your story now. NELP will continue to advocate for benefits and programs that will provide assistance to those workers whose benefits expire in the months ahead.
(3) Nydarling writes:
I also think they need to address workers laid off at the end of August 2009. In New York, if you were laid off after August 24, 2009 you get 26 weeks unemployment, that’s all ! I believe this inequity needs to be addressed, we are in need too, having been laid off in some of the highest time of unemployment. Extensions only being given to those out the longest are not fair……my bills will not go away when my unemployment ends in March !!!! Give me the same year and half that others have had!
(4) wrtrgal5 writes:
I agree with nydarling. Those of us who were laid off at the end of August 2009 get 26
weeks unemployment, which ends this month. What about us???
Answer: Both of you point out one of the greatest inequities that would result if Congress did not act to reauthorize the EUC program past February 28th. As workers who would exhaust their basic 26 weeks of state UI benefits after February 28th, you would not be able to access any tier of EUC unless Congress reauthorizes the program and sets a later expiration date. Depending on what state you are filing in, you might have entitlement to Extended Benefits (EB) – see above for listing of EB states. Finally, it is worth noting that claimants who start a tier of EUC before February 28th can collect the balance of their entitlements under that tier under phase-out provisions of the law.
(5) Cd53218 writes:
I am at the end of Tier 3 and was told by the unemployment office here in Wisconsin we are NO longer eligible to receive any more benefits past this.. OK I’m a little freaked out, confused as to what I’m suppose to do next… I’ve written to Washington, called my Senator and Governor…what more can we do?
Answer: Because the 3-month average unemployment rate in Wisconsin just fell below 8.5%, Wisconsin has triggered off Tier IV of the EUC program. However, Wisconsin is still triggered on to the Extended Benefits (EB) program and there are 20 weeks of EB payable to claimants exhausting EUC benefits. You should contact the Wisconsin UI agency about possible entitlement to EB.
No legal advice is being given and no attorney-client relationship is created by the use of this information. An attorney should be consulted for more detailed information in individual cases. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) and Working America (WA) shall not be liable for the information provided herein, or for the results obtained from the use of such information.
Tags: unemployment, unemployment extension
by Matt Mihlbauer—Minnesota
While canvassing in the uptown area, I spoke with a young doctor. He finished his 7 year long “residency” training several years ago. During the several months that came between the end of his residency and the start of his new job, he broke a bone in his foot. He did not have health insurance at the time, and ironically HE COULD NOT AFFORD to go to a doctor to have his foot x-rayed!!! Luckily, he knew how to wrap broken bones. Although it hurt like heck, he wrapped his foot every day for 6 weeks until the bone healed. He told me that he really could have used a public option during that time. He thanked me for being there, got me a glass of water, and wrote a generous check for Working America.
Dan O’Malley–Ohio
We had a great week organizing customers and employees of the Sandusky, OH Wal-Mart
around education reform. We heard the same thing we’ve been hearing all around the community: schools in towns like Sandusky are hurting badly, with recently announced layoffs the latest piece of evidence.
Of course, at Wal-Mart, we heard that message more loudly and clearly than anywhere else we’ve been. After all, this is a corporation that, while running up annual profits in the tens of billions, gives its new employees special forms to help them prove their poverty status for the purpose of public assistance.
I’m going to bet most Wal-Mart workers with whom we spoke are sending their kids to public schools.
Tags: education, Ohio
by Tommy Todd—Minnesota
The other night, I was speaking with an older woman and her grandson. They had indicated that education was their top priority. I told them all the wonderful things Working America was fighting for in education, and before I even got a chance to mention dues, her grandson ran into the back room and returned with his Spiderman wallet. He took out $5 and said “Here you go mister. You’re doing a good job.”
by Matthew Hall—Minnesota
One day I was canvassing and encountered a member that was really excited to see me. She invited me in to meet her elderly mother. We talked for a couple of minutes and she informed me that she was on Minnesota Care and was worried about funding for the program with all the state budget cuts. Her and her mother decided to sign down as members and pay $5 in dues. Just then the door bell rang. She went to answer it but no one was there. She then informed me that her father had died last year and before he had died he had vowed to fix the broken doorbell but had never got around to it. The door bell had worked only twice since then. Once when they were having Easter dinner and the other time right then. I took this as a sign that her father approved of what were doing and wanted to show his encouragement.
by Melissa Stiehler—Minnesota
I was organizing in Powderhorn and came across an unemployed woman, home in foreclosure and a lack of hope. She payed close attention while I gave her my rap. As always I told her that grassroots will win with strength from the community. She then began to tell me about her struggle.
As she spoke, she started to cry, explaining how life isn’t easy right now. Due to proposed health care cuts, she was laid off from her nursing job. She was the only working person in her house, supporting her family and her three unemployed sisters. Bills had been piling up for quite some time and she could no longer afford her house, which has been in her family for four generations. And while she wanted to get involved on every level, she didn’t have enough money to pay her taxes, let alone make a dues payment. She knew our issues, as she lives them everyday.
As she signed down for a membership, she thanked me, both for the Unemployment Lifeline, and for working hard for people like her everyday. Knowing that there is an organization that is fighting for the people and offering resources to those who have been left behind by capitalist values gave her more hope than she had felt in quite some time. While financially she couldn’t help, she is more than on board with letting her voice be heard and fighting for the right of happiness for working families.
Dan O’Malley—Ohio
General Motors plants across the country all stood on the dartboard last week, each hoping to not be affected by a sweeping round of closings. The GM stamping plant in Mansfield, Ohio was not so lucky.
“Things are getting really bad out here,” a GM retiree told me on Tuesday. “I really don’t see how we’ll survive it.”
The man estimated the Mansfield plant had 3,600 employees when he retired from there in 1991. Today it employs just over 500. In a year it will be completely closed.
Cities like Mansfield and neighboring Ontario were once sustained by the good-paying jobs and secure benefits its residents earned at General Motors. For decades, Ohio stood on the shoulders of such working men and women throughout the state. Now, more and more hardworking Ohioans are finding themselves turning to unemployment assistance, their will to work unmatched by opportunity.
Just a few miles from the GM plant is Richland Mall, once a bustling commercial center with a diverse array of high-end shops. The mall is now a small collection of discount clothiers and other stores struggling to stay afloat. At 2 p.m., the food court is completely empty, save for a single teenage worker at Nicky T’s Grille who wipes clean the counter while waiting for customers. At the end of the mall is a large, vacant, dilapidated building that once housed the now-defunct Lazarus Department Store.
Signs off the entrance to Richland Mall direct passers-by to visit the Red Farms development, a newly-constructed community of homes that “combines country living with urban appeal.” A short drive proves Red Farms to be just two nice but modest houses, built a few years ago. One resident tells me that when the housing crisis hit, demand for the new homes plummeted, and the development was eventually stopped. Overgrown grass and a smattering of utility boxes are all that are to be found where a thriving new community of families once promised to be.
As if jobs, commerce, and home ownership weren’t enough to worry about in such an economy, residents of Mansfield are worried about how it all will affect their local schools. The results are likely to be devastating, because in Ohio, funding levels for public education are tied directly to property values in the local community. And with the city’s manufacturing plant, commercial center, and neighborhoods turning more and more into ghost towns, property values and money for education are sure to plummet as well.
Tags: education, jobs, Ohio
