Time to Change the UI Laws

I would bet this extension of UI doesn't apply to those of us who are in education support staffing positions as opposed to teachers, who are paid an annual salary over 12 months as they do not qualify for UI.  However, ed support staff workers are not covered, either, and they are HOURLY, NOT salaried.  They go without any money at all for three months out of the year unless some dude supports them or they work summer jobs. This is a vile, sexist policy that negatively impacts women.  It is a form of sex discrimination.

School districts have gotten away with this bullshit for decades of not paying UI, and the unions have been practically worthless in handling the problem.  The assumption here by school districts is since the vast majority of classroom support staff workers are women, they are all married, and they don't need the money the way other seasonal workers, such as loggers, fishing personnel, and construction workers--virtually all of whom are MEN--do.  That is because of the idiotic notion men support families while women are supplementary workers.

Time is long overdue to change the UI laws. 

Time for Yet Another History Lesson

from Rachel Maddow:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There was a reason for Social Security and unemployment insurance. Social programs were and are needed in order to prevent social unrest, and yes, save capitalism.

Don't expect the Friedmanite cultists in the GOP (and not a few Democrats including Obama) to understand this simple fact.

More Extended UI Benefits

can't come soon enough with this economy still in the shitter.

I expect Congress to extend benefits again for us.

Leave it to some business/corporate interests to bitch about it and claim there is a "recovery" on the horizon. They LOVE a workforce that is desperate to take any piece of shit out there, and huge numbers of displaced workers means depressed wages and salaries.

Well, no there isn't. If too many people are out of work, it is NOT a recovery.

Traditionally, many economists have been leery of prolonged unemployment benefits because they can reduce the incentive to seek work. But that should not be a concern now because jobs remain so scarce, said Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard.

For every job that becomes available, about six people are looking, Dr. Katz said. “Unemployment insurance gives income to families who are really suffering and can’t find work even if they are hustling to look,” he said.

With the economy still listing, he added, a temporary extension can provide a quick fiscal stimulus. And, Dr. Katz said, when people exhaust unemployment and health insurance, many end up applying for disability benefits, which become a large, unending drain on the Treasury.

Ms. Lampley, whose benefits have ended, described the tough job market. She used to make nearly $15 an hour and has unsuccessfully sought office and clerical work at $8 an hour. Mr. Crouse said that even if new building projects were planned, construction slows in the winter cold.

And Ms. Nixon said that she had interviewed endlessly for jobs in real estate and office work and that even her teenagers could not find fast-food jobs because laid-off adults were filling them.

“I can’t find a job,” she said, “and you can’t survive if you don’t work.”

How in the fuck is UI a disincentive to find work? It's only temporary.

The Booming Economy

About one in five Jackson and Josephine County (Oregon) residents receives food stamps.
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Wall Street celebrated the rise in jobless claims.
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The Booming Economy

Pioneer announces 10,000 job cuts.
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Employers who want to save money on paying unemployment benefits are trying to screw over employees they claim have committed "misconduct. " Employers often hope employees won't fight it because of the time and expense.
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