Ron Gettelfinger

Michigan needs extra help on jobless benefits

Extension of unemployment insurance is good start

This time of year, with campaign season in full swing, people frequently ask: Why is the United Auto Workers involved in politics?

It's about people. It's about families. It's about communities.

It's about winning victories that make a difference in people's lives -- like the 13-week extension of unemployment insurance benefits Congress passed in June.

Economists are debating whether we are technically in a "recession." But there's no debate around the kitchen tables of the more than 8.5 million workers who are now unemployed. As the bills pile up for these workers and their families, savings shrink.

Hopes and dreams are shattered, and anxiety mounts.

During the past year, layoffs in virtually all sectors of the economy -- manufacturing, construction and services -- have added more than 1.5 million people to the ranks of the jobless. Twice as many people are now looking for work as there are jobs available.

With too many workers chasing too few jobs, it's no surprise that many people cannot find new work in 26 weeks, the maximum time allowed -- under normal circumstances -- for a laid-off worker to receive unemployment benefits. But these are not normal times. Our economy is reeling from slack consumer demand, record-high fuel prices and an unprecedented housing crisis.

In every previous recession, Congress has extended unemployment benefits to help those who had lost jobs through no fault of their own. That's how unemployment insurance is supposed to work. It's a safety net designed to provide a countercyclical stimulus for families and communities when times are tough.

In January, when Congress began debating an economic stimulus package, members of our union joined with the rest of the labor movement -- and advocates for low-income and jobless workers -- to demand that extended unemployment benefits be included.

Unemployment benefits are an especially effective way to stimulate the economy. When an unemployed worker receives a benefit check, he or she spends it right away on food, gas and other necessities. This recycles money through the economy at a projected rate of more than $1.70 for every dollar spent on benefits.

But in January, President Bush flatly refused to sign any stimulus package that included extended unemployment benefits, and Congress took a pass rather than confront the issue.

In response, our coalition launched a grass-roots lobbying campaign to put pressure on elected officials from both political parties. Thousands of unemployed workers contacted their members of Congress, and slowly but surely, we built a strong bipartisan majority in favor of emergency aid for the unemployed.

The 13-week extension -- along with a package of education aid for veterans -- won a majority in both Houses at the end of June as part of must-pass package of military funding. (For the record: Barack Obama voted for the bill; John McCain missed the vote.) Thanks to our strong majority, President Bush reversed his position and signed the bill into law.

The extended benefits will be paid from the federal Unemployment Insurance trust fund, which has a balance of $38 billion.

Taxpayers won't pay an extra penny for these benefits -- but they will make a world of difference for laid-off workers and their families.

Extending benefits nationwide was an important victory, but our job isn't done. Over one-third of jobless workers qualify for unemployment benefits. Eligibility rules leave out too many part-time workers and others who change jobs frequently; these guidelines must be updated to reflect current employment patterns.

Workers need extra help in high unemployment states like Michigan, Rhode Island and California, where it's especially hard to find a job. This time around, Bush refused to agree to an additional 13 weeks of benefits for workers from the states that are hardest hit by the recession.

So we'll keep working to pass a better bill.

Members of our union deserve no less -- just like the millions of other workers and families who are not union members, but who will benefit from additional aid for the jobless.

That's why our union is involved in politics.

Ron Gettelfinger is president of the United Auto Workers. E-mail letters to letters@detnews.com.