AT the end of 2013, an emergency unemployment compensation extension programme that started in 2008 under President George W. Bush expired, meaning 1.3 million jobless workers lost benefits that helped them house and feed their families.
President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have made it clear they want the programme to go on, but House Republicans are refusing to act.
This decision is costing America’s economy at least $600 million a week.
The programme provided an average weekly payment of $305 to people who have been unemployed for longer than six months.
The end of the programme directly harms the economy because unemployed workers spend most, if not all, of the income they have as soon as they get it.
The failure to extend the programme not only is a major problem for the families directly involved and a drag on the economy, it will cost over 300,000 jobs if a solution isn’t found.
When Congress first passed this version of emergency unemployment compensation in 2008, and the president (George W. Bush) signed the law, the unemployment rate was 5.6%, and the average duration of unemployment was 17.1 weeks.
Today, the unemployment rate is 7%. The average duration of unemployment is now 36 weeks.
The administration also noted that the long-term unemployment rate, the percentage of the workforce that has been looking for work for 6 months or longer, is more than 2.5%, well above the 1% economists say we should expect during normal times.
Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) have introduced a bill to extend the programme and a test vote is expected soon.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he is hopeful that enough Republicans will support the bill that an expected filibuster could be overcome.
‘They’re weighing it,’ he said of Republicans, ‘that is my sense. They understand that they have constituents who worked hard, got laid off and are still looking for work.’
l Meanwhile, Portland and the District Council of Trade Unions, the labour group representing more than 1,600 city workers, are at an impasse after spending the past 11 months trying to negotiate a new contract agreement.
David Rhys, Portland’s assistant Human Resources director, confirmed that city officials notified the state’s Employment Relations Board of the impasse on Monday morning.
DCTU represents a wide swath of city workers, including housing inspectors, park maintenance staff, lower-level administrative workers across city bureaus and street cleaning and maintenance workers.
The primary concern for DCTU members is the city’s stance on contracting out services that would otherwise belong to union workers.
‘It’s really about contracting out for us,’ Megan Hise, DCTU spokeswoman, said. ‘We would settle if we could.’
All other aspects of the contract, Hise said, the city and DCTU are pretty close to finding a deal, although they haven’t settled on final cost of living adjustments for the four-year contract period.
DCTU is asking that the city add back language to the contract which shows Portland saves money by contracting out specific services.
Hise said that language helps protect city workers and saves taxpayer money, ‘by requiring the city to show cost saving we can make sure it makes sense financially,’ she said.
Rob Wheaton, chief negotiator for DCTU, called its omission ‘appalling.’
‘They do not check to see if it’s going to save the city money,’ Wheaton said.
Both parties have until January 13 to submit final contract proposals and expected costs of the proposals.
When asked if the city wanted to respond to DCTU’s statements, Rhys said ‘not at this time.’
The city and DCTU were attempting to negotiate a new four-year contract. After the sides submit final proposals, the city and union will enter a 30-day cooling off period.
The city could then move forward with the proposed contract or DCTU workers could strike.
• Airport workers have vowed to appeal after a Washington State judge struck down the heart of Proposition 1 – the $15 an hour minimum wage initiative passed by SeaTac voters last November.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by Alaska Airlines and other big businesses.
It was a frustrating development for airport workers like Alex Hoops and Evelyn Olano.
‘My first priority is my health and having enough food,’ said Hoops who used to make $21 an hour with benefits but lost his benefits and had his pay reduced to $9.50 an hour, after his airline job was outsourced to a multinational airport contractor.
For 52-year-old Olano, passage of Prop 1 potentially meant that: ‘she could quit her second job, save for retirement and buy her first new dress in years.
‘These are real people, with real lives, struggling to get by on poverty pay.
‘Airport workers simply want good pay and basic rights for their families, so they can live in dignity, but companies like Alaska are standing in their way.’
l The United Steelworkers (USW) on Tuesday said that Region 8 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued an Amended Consolidated Complaint (Complaint) against Rotek, Inc. (Rotek), alleging that the company’s numerous unfair labour practices have caused and prolonged a labour dispute with Local 8565 at the company’s Aurora, Ohio bearings plant.
In the Complaint issued on December 31, 2013, NLRB Region 8 Director Frederick Calatrello alleges that Rotek, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp, violated federal labour laws by failing to bargain in good faith by refusing to provide information relevant to bargaining and by unilaterally implementing its final contract offer without bargaining to a good faith impasse.
The Complaint also alleges that Rotek illegally engaged in surveillance of employees engaged in activity protected by federal labour law. The Complaint further alleges that Rotek illegally fired an employee for engaging in activity protected by federal labour law and did so to discourage other employees from engaging in such activities.
USW District 1 Director David McCall called on Rotek to end the labour dispute immediately, recall its union workforce and return to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith with the USW for a fair contract in Aurora.
‘Steelworkers at Local 8565 have struggled for nearly a year on the picket line as a result of Rotek’s illegal behavior,’ McCall said.
‘Their solidarity has never wavered, and this decision from the NLRB should bring us closer to a fair and just resolution.’
The NLRB has set a hearing on its Complaint against Rotek before an administrative law judge in Cleveland on March 10, 2014.
