Now that the dust is settling on the mid-term elections—revealing a wave of Republican victories in the House and Senate, Democrats should have all the motivation they need to maximize their time left in the post election congressional session.
After Thanksgiving over 2 million Americans will be cut off from their existing unemployment benefits. These benefits have helped keep more than 3.3 million jobless workers and their families out of poverty. Moreover, before hitting the campaign trail Congress failed to extend the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) emergency fund, which subsidized jobs for nearly 250,000 otherwise unemployed parents and youth. Never before have federal jobless benefits been cut when unemployment levels were so high (9.6%) for so long.
Meanwhile, corporations are sitting on more than $8 trillion in reserves that could be used to create jobs.
“I lost my home and my family, and now I’m on the verge of being homeless,” said Rafael Guzman who has been unemployed in Orlando, Florida since August 2008. “If Congress can’t create new jobs for people like me, they have to at least provide us with the unemployment benefits to help us get through this crisis.”
Unemployment benefits expired for 2.5 million long-term jobless back in May. Since then, the Senate has almost restored unemployment benefits three times, but each time Republicans have blocked the votes with procedural delays.
Tomorrow, the unemployment benefits extension is expected to come to a vote. Tell your Senators not to fall for GOP scare-tactics about the budget deficit — or their offensive assertions that the unemployed are “spoiled” brats who are just “sitting there” collecting unemployment benefits.
One job for every five people looking for work is a jobless emergency, and we need emergency action now!
Earlier today, members of the Chicago Jobs with Justice Unemployed Workers’ Council and allies paid a visit to Representative (and Illinois Senate candidate) Mark Kirk’s office in Northbrook, Illinois to protest his opposition to extending unemployment benefits.
Jorge Ramirez, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, spoke to Rep. Kirk’s staff, “that’s the primary reason why a lot of these folks are here. They’re unemployed, their unemployment benefits are getting cut off… he needs to know that the votes he makes in Washington are directly accountable to the people you see in this room.”
The House has already voted to extend unemployment benefits (without Rep. Kirk’s support), but it has yet to pass the Senate. A Senate vote is expected Tuesday.
On Wednesday, July 7th, as a prelude to our first big action following the US Social Forum (which will be on September 15th), Kentucky JwJ stood in solidarity with millions who have lost their jobs and face a desperate future.
Although this was a last minute call to action, at least 50 protesters showed up to march outside of the office of Senator Mitch McConnell in Louisville. Our demand was an immediate extension of unemployment benefits and protection of Social Security and Medicare — our precious social safety net programs won by generations of struggle.
Several individuals on unemployment spoke, including longtime Kentucky Jobs with Justice activist Gail Helinger. She has been laid off for over a year now, and her unemployment compensation will end soon unless Congress acts quickly!
Gail and several other unemployed workers marched into Senator McConnell’s office to speak with him about this issue but, of course, he was unavailable. They were able to speak to an aide who informed them that the Senator will vote for extension of unemployment benefits that is fiscally responsible.
We then marched several blocks to the unemployment office to distribute leaflets with the following call to action:
Fifteen million jobless are still waiting for our Senators to finish the job and pass unemployment insurance extension. Millions more are waiting for COBRA health subsidies and aid to states.
CALL NOW: 1-888-854-1978
Tell your Senator to vote for the American Jobs & closing Tax Loopholes Act:
extend unemployment insurance benefits through November 2010
extend State Fiscal relief (FMAP) for 6 months
fund the emergency TANF fund through 2011
vote YES on the amendment to reinstate the COBRA subsidy that the House stripped from the bill
Many Democrats seem to be falling for right-wing scare tactics about the budget deficit and some are even buying into the ridiculous argument that getting jobless benefits keeps the unemployment rate higher.
But defecits are necessary in a jobs crisis. Just imagine what forcing one million more onto the
Leroy Smith leads chants at a Chicago JwJ Unemployed Workers Council action outside the unemployment office on June 1. Jobless activists and JwJ member groups rallied and collected "applications" for the 1 million jobs that would be created by the Local Jobs for America Act.
Congress still doesn’t get it. During the Congressional recess this week, Jobs with Justice coalitions across the country are sending them a message: There is no such thing as a “Jobless Recovery”.
America is 28 months and 8 million fewer jobs into a major jobs crisis — caused by Wall Street recklessness and corporate greed. Unemployment levels are deeper and longer-lasting that any post-war recession, there are nearly six people looking for every job opening, yet Congress has yet to enact a serious job-creation program, like the “Local Jobs for America Act”. And pundits are telling us we should just wait a few more years til we can put America back to work.
The House of Representatives even stripped health care benefits for the jobless from its recent unemployment extension bill, passed on Friday. Efforts to restore the jobless benefits for long-term unemployed
