The Workers’ Center has signed a letter calling on Governor Cuomo to prioritize New York State Unemployment Insurance reform. A broad coalition of groups in New York led by the National Employment Law Project are asking for :
- stabilization of the Unemployment trust fund [NY is currently borrowing money from the Feds, accruing high interest payments];
- raising and indexing maximum UI payments. Right now, the NY maximum is $405 a week, while in NJ, it is $600 weekly. The NYS amount has not increased since 2000. The coalition is also proposing that the UI payments for low wage earners, those who earn less than $15.50 an hour, be increased.
- Modify the rules for extended benefits so that more New
Yorkers can qualify for the federal program. - Amend benefit rules for partially-unemployed people. For instance, in NY a person will lose their unemployment if they take a 30 minute a day job passing out newspapers. Let’s allow, like other states, UI based on weekly earnings. This will help the many NYS workers who are finding only part-time work.
- Amend the restrictions on seasonal academic and agricultural workers. In the past, those who worked during the academic year, like adjunct professors and college food service workers, could have a ‘reasonable expectation’ of returning to work after breaks. This is no longer true. Let’s change those outdated rules.
For more information on NELP and its proposed Unemployment reform campaign, visit their website.
Urban Ministries of Durham [North Carolina] has developed an online game to show the difficulties people experience when they are unemployed. Try playing a quick game of Spent: make it through the month, unemployed and down to your last $1000. This is a graphic depiction of the choices people have to make when they are un- and underemployed.
