April 19, 2016—A new bill to allow school employees to receive summer unemployment insurance benefits has been introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia (District 58).
The new bill, the Summer Relief for School Workers Act (Assembly Bill 2197) will be heard by the Assembly Insurance Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, April 20. This is the first step in the legislative process and we’ve got to make our voices heard.
UPDATE! » So many SEIU Local 99 members responded to our Action Alert that legislators reached out to our Union to express support for AB2197: The Summer Relief for School Workers Act. Legislators received thousands of letters in just a few hours. We can be proud that we’ve delivered our message to members of the Assembly Insurance Committee that will be voting on the bill tomorrow. Remember, tomorrow’s hearing is only the first step in the legislative process. This will be a tough fight and we still have a long way to go—but we’re standing strong.
SEIU Local 99 Member Kathleen Hamm will be traveling to Sacramento tomorrow to continue to carry our message. She will be speaking before the Assembly Insurance Committee and urging them to support summer unemployment benefits for school workers and other efforts to provide summer relief for dedicated school workers.
Click here to sign-up for more updates, including information about our upcoming Summer Relief Resource Fair and efforts to expand summer school.
We all know that changing the state’s unemployment insurance system is not going to be easy. The bills we’ve sponsored in the past have not made it through the legislative process. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up. We must continue to make our voices heard!
And look for upcoming information about our Summer Relief Resource Fair on June 4. And more news about how we’re expanding our fight for summer school. United, we can continue to fight for summer relief – in Sacramento, in our school districts, and in our communities!
