LAUSD Bus Driver Makebia Flanagan testifies before the California Assembly Insurance Committee on April 22.
View the full hearing here.
Update on AB399: bill for summer unemployment benefits for school workers
While AB399 did not make it out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, we can be proud of the work we did this year which informed more legislators and our communities about the need to provide a safety net of unemployment benefits for dedicated school workers. Every time we speak out, we move our fight forward. We’ll continue to press for legislation even as we expand our fight for summer relief. Here’s a review of our legislative efforts this year:
On February 18, 2015 Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas introduced Assembly Bill 399, the Education Workers Summer Relief Act. It called for changes to current law to allow dedicated school workers to receive unemployment insurance benefits in the summer months when work is not available. Click here to read our press release.
On April 22, the Summer Unemployment Insurance Bill got past the first step in the legislative process when the California Assembly Insurance Committee voted to approve the bill by a vote of 7-2. Before voting, legislators on the Assembly Insurance Committee heard from SEIU Local 99 Member Makebia Flanagan. “I came to Sacramento to ask you to support Assembly Bill 399 so that hardworking school employees like me can support our families during the summer when jobs are scarce,” she told the Assembly Insurance Committee. Click on the photo above to view her full testimony.
| Listen (in Spanish) to Special Ed Assistant Esmeralda Torres on KPFK Radio on why she is fighting for Summer Unemployment Insurance for school workers. |
New report shows how summer unemployment benefits will help California’s economy On April 21, Assembly Bill 399 got a boost from a new report titled “Cruel Summer” that was released by the Economic Roundtable. The report shows how extending unemployment benefits to classified school workers will bring additional wealth to California in increased sales and taxes. Click here to read more.
Click here to read coverage on Cruel Summer from LA School Report.
Click here to read coverage in La Opinion newspaper.
SEIU 99 Members Spoke Out in Sacramento. On April 28-29, 2015 nearly 100 SEIU Local 99 members took the Midnight Ride to Sacramento to talk directly to legislators about the need for summer unemployment benefits for school workers. Click here to read more about the trip and view photos of the exciting day.
The Fight is Not Over!
Even as we continue to push for legislation to allow school workers to receive unemployment insurance benefits in the summer, we are moving forward in our fight for summer school. And as we fight for long-term solutions, we will continue to seek out resources to provide SEIU Local 99 members with some immediate support during the summer months. Our Summer Relief Resource Fair held on June 10, 2015 was such a great success that we will continue to look for resources and programs to provide SEIU Local 99 members with relief in the summer. And we will continue to push forward to expand summer school. Let’s stand strong – together!
