Louisville caravan of workers calls for extension of $600 supplement to jobless benefits

As negotiations on another coronavirus relief package continued in Washington, D.C., Kentucky workers drove through Louisville on Thursday to call on congressional leaders, namely Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to extend the $600 supplement to unemployment benefits that expired July 31.

About two dozen workers blared their horns as they circled the downtown federal courthouse, home to McConnell's office, before driving past the senator's Louisville home. 

Signs reading "Save the $600" and "Mitch better have my money" were taped to many of the cars' windows. 

Katie Adams, of Bowling Green, said she is unemployed, having lost her job as a sales account manager. 

"We are in an unprecedented and global pandemic, and we need help," she said. "We did not ask for this to happen. I want to be able to work."

She heard about the caravan on the Facebook page of Unemployment Action, a national campaign by the progressive Center for Popular Democracy, which organized the event. 

Latest numbers:More than 20,000 Kentuckians file for unemployment 

The $600 weekly supplement to state unemployment benefits was a product of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the coronavirus relief bill that passed in March.

Those weekly payments ended July 31, leaving unemployed workers with only their regular jobless benefits, which vary by state and make up a fraction of their usual income. 

"Regular unemployment benefits are not going to cut it," Adams said. "We're all looking for jobs. We're not lazy like people claim. Believe me, I want to get back to work in my field doing what I love."

The lapsing of enhanced benefits comes as some states, including Kentucky, have seen a rise in COVID-19 cases, leading to a pausing or rolling back of reopening plans.  

New federal data on Thursday showed that just shy of 21,000 people in Kentucky filed new jobless claims during the week ending Aug. 1, marking the 20th consecutive week that claims remained above 20,000.

In remarks on the U.S. Senate floor on Thursday, McConnell blamed Democrats for the delay in extending benefits, pointing to their "leisurely negotiating pace," "political theater" and refusal to compromise. 

Democratic leadership, meanwhile, did not spare criticism of Republicans.

"People will become homeless because Republicans are nickeling and diming," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters at a Thursday press conference. 

As of Thursday afternoon, Democrats, Republicans and White House officials were at a stalemate over what form the benefit extension would take. 

See also:After COVID-19 scare, appointments for unemployment claim help resume

Democrats seek to extend the $600 payments until January.

But some Republicans argue the $600 figure is so high that it disincentivizes workers from returning to their jobs.

Last week, McConnell unveiled the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act, which proposes lowering the supplement to $200 through September, then moving to a benefit of 70% of workers’ pay when combined with state-level benefits.

Caravan participant Latrice Wilson, of Louisville, said the $200 would not even cover the cost of her monthly medication.

Wilson said she was laid off from her part-time job in April and furloughed in May from her full-time job as a payroll supervisor in the health care industry. 

She said her last $600 federal bonus hit her bank account Wednesday. 

"Thank God I was able to save a little bit," she said. "But now I have to dip into my savings because we don't have the extra $600."

Read this: Long-awaited unemployment claim help comes to Louisville

Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, which also helped organize the caravan, said the $600 has been an important lifeline for workers and has helped inject money into the economy.  

"It goes to buy the necessities they need to put food on their table," he said. "And in an economy that's in such desperate shape with millions of people unemployed and the lack of jobs, those folks need that money." 

Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4989 or on Twitter @mattglo. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mattg.