Stop strike payouts: Protect unemployment insurance for workers who lose their jobs
Unemployment insurance (UI) is supposed to be a bridge for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Funded by employers, it helps Washington state families weather an unexpected loss of work. It was never intended to serve as an employer-financed strike fund.
Now it does.
A union-backed law that took effect Jan. 1 allows striking workers to collect up to six weeks of unemployment benefits. By early July, just six months later, more than half a million dollars had already been paid to striking workers. Those benefits are charged to the employers whose workers strike, potentially increasing their future unemployment taxes and reducing the resources available for wages, benefits and hiring.
Our state should be especially careful with its Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The unemployment rate in Washington remains among the nation’s highest, and the Employment Security Department projects an additional solvency tax on employers in 2028.
Strike payouts also put state government on one side of labor disputes. They give unions additional bargaining leverage while requiring employers to finance benefits being used against them.
Unions can finance strike funds with member dues. UI benefits should remain an impartial safety net for people who unexpectedly lose work.
Tell your state lawmakers to repeal the law allowing strike payouts and keep unemployment insurance a bridge for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.