Unemployment Benefits for Strikers
By 
One of the top legislative goals for labor intellectuals and radicals (more so than I think for actual labor leaders) has been to get strikers eligible for unemployment benefits. This has been part of the labor intellectual world for a long, long time. Since unemployment is a state-based issue, there have long been both possibilities and barriers to getting anyone to take this seriously. Conservatives prefer state-level government over either national or local for a reason–it is easier to control. Employers have loathed this idea forever, saying that it gives workers an incentive to strike. This really isn’t true in that no one can actually live on unemployment benefits since they are so stingy to begin with. But still, it would take away some of the fear of striking since you’d have something coming in the coffers. It would also take some of the pressure off of unions themselves, who often simply don’t have the kind of bank accounts for real strike funds.
California is now actually considering this:
In a state where screenwriters, housekeepers and school janitors have already gone on strike this year, Democratic lawmakers in California have introduced a bill late in the legislative session that would allow such workers to receive unemployment benefits while on the picket line.
Supporters of the bill, including the powerful California Labor Federation, say they hope to seize on the momentum created by a wave of high-profile walkouts that have taken place in the state this year. The proposal comes as Hollywood productions have all but stopped since actors went on strike in July and screenwriters stopped working in May, while hotel workers are continuing to engage in strategic walkouts in Southern California and urging tourists to stay away.
The proposal, introduced by influential Democrats this week, would allow employees engaged in labor disputes to apply for unemployment insurance pay after two weeks off the job. Right now, workers who choose to strike are not eligible for unemployment benefits and must rely on savings or strike funds set up by unions to pay their bills.
The proposal could give workers in California greater incentive to go on strike over pay and conditions, as well as greater financial ability to extend a walkout, though it would not take effect until January. Business groups in the state are adamantly opposed, saying the bill would result in added employer costs, and have vowed to fight the proposal before the Sept. 14 deadline to pass legislation.
New York and New Jersey already have a law like this. The real key here is that this is not some random lefty state legislator with no influence. It’s Democratic leaders. So maybe we will see it happen. And interestingly, it’s part of a lot of conversation about raising payroll taxes to make the state’s unemployment program more sustainable anyway.