GRAND RAPIDS – As unemployment hovers at 15 percent with 731,000 residents out of work, State Representatives Mike "Huck" Huckleberry (D-Greenville), Roy Schmidt (D-Grand Rapids) and Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids) today called on the State Senate to act immediately to extend unemployment benefits to Michigan's struggling workers. With a massive surge in the number of workers exhausting their benefits expected to begin today, the lawmakers warned that by year's end nearly 100,000 Michigan workers will have their unemployment lifeline cut unless action is taken.
"Big corporations and financial institutions shouldn't be the only ones getting help during these tough economic times," Huckleberry said. "The Senate needs to understand that Michigan's workers are the backbone of our economy. In order to help move our state forward, we need to start with our workers and give them the support and training they need to get back on the job."
Under the lawmakers' plan, which passed the House in May, unemployed workers who seek new skills by enrolling in a vocational or retraining program would be eligible for an additional 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. These benefits will be automatically provided to workers who are in a declining industry and enter an approved training program that prepares them for entry into new fields. These benefits also will be provided to workers who lost their job through no fault of their own and are now working part-time. For over three months the State Senate has failed to act on the plan, while more displaced workers fall behind.
"It's sad that the Senate is taking their time considering this bill, because that's a luxury our unemployed workers simply don't have," Schmidt said. "Every day, more workers are losing their unemployment benefits – a lifeline that helps them put food on the table while they look for a new job. It's time for the Senate to do the right thing and act now before more working families run out of time."
Without Senate passage of this plan, Michigan stands to lose out on more than $138 million in unemployment assistance to struggling workers and their families as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In July, 731,000 residents reported being unemployed, according to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. Through December, the number of workers statewide who will exhaust their unemployment benefits claims is expected to reach nearly 100,000, including 1,110 in Montcalm and Ionia Counties, and 5,078 in Kent County.
"Our workers might be down right now, but they are not out," Dean said. "We have a chance here to help lift them back up and support them while they work to find new jobs that will help them support their families. If we don't take advantage of this funding, nobody wins – we all lose. Passing this plan is the right thing to do for our workers and our state as a whole."
Residents can sign an online petition to show their support for the plan to extend the unemployment lifeline to Michigan's struggling workers by visiting www.housedems.com/petitions and clicking on the unemployment petition graphic.