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Hoffa: Congress Needs to Help Put People Back to Work

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By Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa
Published in the Detroit News, January 15, 2014

Congress erred last month when it approved a budget compromise that did not extend long-term unemployment benefits for some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. And now nearly 190,000 Michiganians are paying the price.

Across the U.S., 1.3 million people lost their benefits on Dec. 28, and that number will grow as more people surpass the lower threshold for the program. For most, that is 26 weeks. But here in Michigan, compensation for the jobless is now being cut off at 20 weeks, down from 56 weeks. This, mind you, is happening even though unemployment remains at 9 percent in the state.

These benefits brought $1 billion into Michigan in 2013. Now, that is gone. How are people who want to work but can’t find a job supposed to feed their families? There are three times as many unemployed workers as there are jobs available in this country. That is worse than during the bottom of the most recent recession. Republicans in Congress argue the unemployment extension would encourage more people not to find a job, but the statistics just don’t back it up.

The problem is not with the American worker. Time and time again, men and women with middle-class dreams have stepped up and done as they were supposed to do at the workplace. Many took cuts to both their salaries and retirements and took on added responsibilities as needed. But due to the implementation of bad trade policies like NAFTA, their jobs were increasingly shifted overseas and these hard workers were left with two options – bad and worse.

While the Teamsters are glad to see the Senate trying to move forward with reinstating long-term unemployment compensation, a broader, less reactive fix is needed. As it stands, companies are not likely to consider those out of work for an extended period because they believe such candidates are not good workers.

So what can be done? Investment, both in Michigan and nationwide, needs to be part of the equation. Infrastructure is part of that, but so are people. The federal government needs to support hardworking Americans who are having a tough time getting back on their feet in an economy that is still unforgiving for many in the middle class.

What can’t be allowed to happen is letting millions of people fall by the wayside. Besides the 1.3 million who have lost unemployment benefits already, an additional 73,000 people a week will lose benefits as well. Beyond those initially affected, there are an additional 3.6 million who will get less aid than they would if the program isn’t extended.

Benefit cuts could also hurt the economy more broadly. According to the Congressional Budget Office, expired benefits could result in an additional 300,000 lost U.S.  jobs. And economists estimate growth could be curtailed by 0.4 percent this year than it otherwise would be due to the cuts.

GOP leaders in the House and Senate need to step up and do what is right. For years, they have focused their efforts on helping corporate cronies looking for tax breaks whose companies in turn take in record profits and then sit on them and pay bonuses to their top executives. They don’t create jobs.

Republicans should stop trying to divide the nation on this question of giving assistance to those still looking for work. This is a situation that knows no color, education level or income bracket. Leaving the unemployed holding the bag is not a solution that betters America.