Union Unemployment Insurance Navigators Would Be a Boon to Jobless Workers
Getty/AFP/Megan Jelinger
The interior of Lordstown Motors, where General Motors once operated, is seen empty in Lordstown, Ohio, on October 15, 2020.
Julia Cusick
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Unions have helped workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in a number of ways, including by improving safety procedures for grocery store workers,
1 securing paid leave for postal service workers,
2 and lifting pay for some essential workers.
3 They have even helped jobless Americans sign up for state unemployment benefits, which is far too often a daunting process.
Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 recession, many unemployed workers faced difficulties accessing unemployment benefits—a long-standing problem for the U.S. unemployment insurance (UI) system even before the pandemic. Over the past several decades, only about one-third of all jobless workers received unemployment benefits, many because of restrictive eligibility requirements, but many others because of a lack of program awareness and the hurdles involved in applying for benefits.