Save Unemployment Benefits

URGENT ACTION NEEDED!!

Do Not Let the Governor Cut Laid Off Workers Unemployment Benefits !

The Unemployment Trust Fund has shrunk from $2 billion dollars to $50 million dollars over the past several years and the Governor's solution is to cut the benefits paid to laid off workers. We cannot allow the trust fund to be balanced on the backs of workers who rely on those important benefits in times of trouble. Tell the Legislature to oppose any cuts to current unemployment benefits!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Save Unemployment Benefits

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Please oppose any attempt to cut benefits for laid-off workers. Unemployment insurance must provide a sufficient benefit for workers and their families until they find another job. We must not balance the trust fund on the backs of workers by cutting benefits when over the past five years corporate premiums were cut by $1.6 billion dollars. We must take pride in the current assistance we provide to workers in need.

PLEASE ADD SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE WITH UI BENEFITS.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
November 07, 2003

Background Information

There have been several reports recently on the condition of the Commonwealth’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. This fund pays unemployment benefits to our members. To put it mildly, the Trust Fund is in trouble. Over the past several years we have seen the Trust Fund balance shrink from over 2 billion dollars to a projected 50 million dollars at the end of this year. How did this happen?

The business community and the Governor claim that our benefits are too high. While it is true we have one of the better benefit packages in the country, our wage replacement represent less than 43% of a workers average weekly wage. This replacement rate ranks Massachusetts 20th in the country in wage replacement.

What did happen over the last five years was that corporate premiums that were to be paid into the U.I. Trust Fund were cut by 1.6 billion dollars. If only half those premium cuts were enacted the fund would have over 800 million dollars at the end of this year and there would be no crisis! Employees did not benefit from those premium cuts, yet according to the Governor’s proposal, benefit cuts to laid-off workers are expected to make up 25% of the solution.

Beginning in the late 90’s they began a new tactic, keep cutting the premiums paid into the U.I. Trust Fund and eventually the fund would become insolvent. When that happened they would assert that everyone must share in the pain of restoring the Trust Fund’s balance. This is an age-old Republican tactic. David Stockman referred to it as “starve the beast”, cut the revenue base and eventually you can cut the program.

The General Accounting Office studied unemployment insurance in the early 1990’s and reported exactly that. When U.I. Trust Funds go broke premiums are raised on employers and benefits are cut for workers. Everyone must “share in the pain” of restoring solvency to the Trust Fund. Yet when the funds return to solvency premiums are again cut for employers but benefit cuts are not restored to workers!

That was precisely why we opposed cutting the U.I. schedules employers were to pay into the Trust Fund over the past several years. Rebuilding the Unemployment Trust fund is counter cyclical. You increase the solvency of the fund when the economy is healthy in order to withstand the next downturn. Everyone thought we had enough in reserves for this recession just like they thought we had enough for the recession of the early 1990’s. No one thought we could have another recession as severe as we had in the early 1990’s again. They were wrong on both counts and now they want to cut laid-off workers benefits.

We ask that you help oppose attempts to cut benefits to laid-off workers. For any of you who have been unemployed you know how traumatic an event that can be. Unemployment insurance is a bridge between you and your next job. It is important that it provide a sufficient benefit for you and your family.

Act now to help save your unemployment benefits!