Unions rally against unemployment standard
INDIANAPOLIS -- Union members from around the state converged on the Statehouse on Monday to loudly proclaim their opposition to a plan to fix the state's bankrupt unemployment system by toughening standards for workers to qualify for benefits.
More than 2,000 union workers packed into the north atrium at the Statehouse for a rally, while thousands more waited in line to get into the building or milled around outside on a warm day.
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
They directed their ire principally at a Senate Republican proposal which relies in part on decreased benefits for laid-off workers and a more stringent definition of "seasonal employee" to fill an unemployment fund deficit of about $1 billion.
"It doesn't make sense to try to fix this on our backs," said union ironworker Antoine Young, who came to Indianapolis from Michigan City to protest the plan. "If you cut benefits, and make it harder to get benefits, that hurts the whole economy. People have less to spend, which hits businesses. The government spends more on food stamps and welfare costs and it just trickles down."
The GOP plan would classify anyone who works fewer than 42 weeks per year as "seasonal," up from a benchmark of 26 weeks in the current unemployment law.
That would make it tough for union Teamsters like Mike Nardozzi of Portage to qualify for unemployment benefits.
"We're not seasonal workers. We're skilled craftsmen and they're trying to classify us with grass cutters," Nardozzi said.
Construction companies rely on the current definition of "seasonal" to lay off union workers during the winter months, allowing them to collect unemployment when it's too cold to work outside.
Republican leaders point to the heavy construction company reliance on unemployment as a major drag on the system.
Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, said he was glad to see Hoosiers expressing their right of assembly in the Capitol, but insisted Monday's rally won't influence the ongoing negotiations to reach a final deal on an unemployment fix before Wednesday's session deadline.
Contact John Byrne at 317-631-7400 or jbyrne@post-trib.com. Comment on this story at www.post-trib.com.