Demand Relief for Unemployed Workers
In March, after millions of people across the country began losing their jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemics, the federal government stepped in with a critical lifeline that we knew then was inadequate—unemployed workers would receive an additional $600 per week in extra unemployment benefits. Now, while the pandemic continues to rage on and with more than more than 30 million unemployed workers and their families lives on the line, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell are pushing to cut that money off tomorrow. They want to force workers back to work before it is safe by taking away their benefits.
The Center for Popular Democracy’s (CPD) Unemployed Action campaign is helping unemployed workers fight back against these proposed cuts. We’re demanding immediate relief, good jobs, and to fix a fundamentally broken and rigged economy that works for all of us, not just the super-rich and corporations. Together with more than 12,000 unemployed workers in our Facebook group and CPD affiliates from across our network, we have organized dozens of virtual town halls with elected officials to sound the alarm on this impending disaster, helped thousands of workers call their congressional representatives, and amplified the testimony of people who will be pushed into poverty if Congress cuts off this critical lifeline.
For millions of families across the country, $600 per week will make a world of difference to whether they are able to cover rent, pay utility bills, see a doctor when they’re sick, or put food on the table. Failure to extend unemployment benefits would also widen our country’s racial wealth gap: Black and Brown workers are more likely than white workers to face unemployment and have fewer savings. Join the workers of Unemployed Action’s calls to extend this $600 life preserver by calling your Senator today.
