Sign petition: End heartless, senseless UI benefits cutoff

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 14, 2013) — During the holiday season last month, emergency unemployment insurance (UI) payments lapsed for 1.3 million workers — including tens of thousands of people in Washington state —  who have been out of work for six months or longer, leaving these families without a necessary lifeline. This shocking and heartless move forced by Republicans ignores that the jobs just don’t exist for many of these workers and, without these payments, many families don’t have the money to pay rent or buy food.

If the UI cutoff continues, without Congress fixing the problem, the numbers of people without an income will grow by more than 3 million more by the end of June.

Not only is it immoral to leave those families behind, it’s a drag on the economy that increases the risks of bankruptcy, foreclosure and poverty and costs us more than 300,000 jobs. While the majority of senators support extending UI, Republicans in the Senate are using procedural tricks to stop the legislation from moving forward and House Republicans won’t even address the issue.

TAKE A STAND! The AFL-CIO has set up an online petition telling Congress to bring the UI extension to a vote and do the right thing by making sure that millions of Americans don’t suffer any further. Please sign it today and urge your friends, family and co-workers to do the same. Thank you.