Coalition’s work pays off with cash for state’s jobless

By Teresa Mosquada

PSARA joined this session with activists for labor, housing, hunger relief, children and working families under the United for Washington’s Families Coalition to call for vital improvements in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. After weeks of debate and negotiation, the Legislature approved legislation during the first week of February addressing both taxes and benefits in our UI system.  While not everything the coalition called for, the final bill will result in immediate enhanced cash benefits for UI recipients. 

The coalition had called for a CHILDREN'S BENEFIT FOR UI RECIPIENTS, an additional $15 per week for each child in a family, up to a maximum of $50 per week to help unemployed parents put food on the table, pay the mortgage, and perhaps put gas in the car to drive to job interviews. 

The Children’s Benefit was a good idea not only for UI families, but also for the state’s economic recovery.  Every dollar of UI benefits spent generates two dollars of economic activity. The Children’s Benefit would have helped about 167,000 unemployed workers – one-third of all Washington UI recipients.

When late-stage negotiations failed to produce a new cash benefit, we didn’t give up. Thanks to the coalition’s persistence, House Bill 1091 provided, for all new families on UI, a $25 increase in their weekly benefit starting in March.  This cash increase would not have happened without the support and advocacy of PSARA and the large coalition demanding more substantial benefits for UI recipients to help their families weather this recession. 

While not everything the coalition wanted, House Bill 1091 will provide permanent, immediate tax reductions for small business, leverage federal incentive money by bolstering our training benefits, allow Washington unemployed workers to continue to receive federal extended benefits AND provide immediate relief to families with a temporary $25 per week increase in benefits for new claimants starting in March. 

"Any time you put additional dollars on the kitchen table for struggling unemployed workers and their families, it is a good thing," said Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council. "But the greatest disappointment, and missed opportunity, of these bills is that they do not allow those currently unemployed to receive the additional $25 a week. These workers are the long-term unemployed, whose resources have been stretched beyond all reasonable limits."

Getting an additional $25 on the kitchen table for Washington workers will provide some immediate relief to new UI recipients between March and November this year, and that enhanced amount will continue throughout the life of their claim.  This extra $100 per month will have an immediate beneficial effect, as it will create twice the purchasing power to boost local businesses, even as it enables families to put food on the table.

Our growing coalition looks forward to working with PSARA on the many issues that unite us in protecting and advancing the rights of workers and their families in Washington.

Helpful resources on the latest UI bill actions:

·        Outside the Echo Chamber - http://www.wslc.org/reports/Outside-EC3.htm

·        Tuesday WSLC update - http://www.wslc.org/legis/11lu0208.htm

·        Publicola’s coverage of the Senate vote - http://publicola.com/2011/02/04/senate-dems-pass-ui-tax-break-bill-dependent-benefits-future-unknown/#

·        Publicola’s into to the issue - http://publicola.com/2011/01/13/state-labor-council-wants-more-balanced-approach-on-unemployment-insurance-fix/