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Unions Make Last Ditch Push to Keep Federal UI Benefits

June 24th, 2021 by Jake Stofan

Labor unions are making a last ditch effort to convince Governor Ron DeSantis to reverse course on his decision to end $300-a-week federal unemployment benefits early.

For unemployed Floridians like Aaron Davison the $300 a weeks federal unemployment checks have been a lifeline through the pandemic, allowing him to find temporary housing in hotels.

“The biggest fear is for us to be put back into the car,” said Davison.

Personal stories like Davison’s were included in a batch of 6,800 petitions delivered to the Governor’s Office Thursday.

The hopes is to convince him to reconsider cutting off the federal benefits this Saturday.

Rich Templin with the Florida AFL-CIO argued the idea the checks are keeping Floridians at home rather than returning to work doesn’t hold water.

“What we’ve been talking about all this time is $300 a week. That’s less than the minimum wage,” said Templin.

But the state is awash in job openings

There are roughly 500,000 jobs available according to the latest state statistics.

Unions point to evidence in other states that have ended the federal benefits that suggests hiring may have actually dropped when the checks were cut off.

A recent report from Indeed Hiring Lab shows job search activity in states that cut off benefits early is keeping relative pace with states that intend to keep the benefits for the full duration.

“It didn’t force people back into the workplace. It actually put more burden on them so they don’t have an ability to look for work,” said Templin.

Even in the unlikely scenario the Governor does reverse course, the clock is ticking on the federal benefits, which are set to expire on their own in September.

We reached out to the Governor’s Office for comment after the petitions were dropped off at noon, but have not yet received a response.

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