California Labor Federation Chief Says It’s “Shameful” State Doesn’t Offer Unemployment Insurance To Striking Workers
deadline.comStriking members of the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA who live in New York and New Jersey have a distinct financial advantage over their counterparts in California and elsewhere in the country: They are eligible for state unemployment insurance benefits even though they’re on strike.
In New York, striking workers are eligible to receive up to $504 a week for 26 weeks, while in New Jersey they can receive up to $830 a week for 26 weeks.
But in California and elsewhere it’s zero, as state laws there prohibit strikers from receiving unemployment insurance because they’re considered to have left their jobs “voluntarily” – even those who voted against strike authorization.
Lorena Gonzalez, Executive Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Officer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, thinks it’s “shameful.” In 2019, as a member of the California Assembly, she introduced AB 1066, which would have granted unemployment insurance to strikers.
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