Working families and concerned community members will call on Rep. Roe and other Tennessee elected officials to extend unemployment insurance Thursday. For jobless Tennesseans and local communities hit hard by long-term unemployment, extended unemployment insurance is a lifeline that is set to expire at the end of December unless Congress takes action.
As families prepare for the holiday, a new report released by the AFL-CIO this week shows that, 40,500 Tennesseans will lose their unemployment benefits on December 31st if Congress fails to act to extend unemployment insurance.
According to the report, young people and people of color will be disproportionately impacted if benefits are cut. Here in Tennessee the unemployment rate for young people 20 to 24 years old is 15.6 percent for African Americans 14.6 percent and Latinos 8.5 percent.
The average benefit in Tennessee provided by the federal extension amounts to $231.89 a week, which covers a family’s minimum expenses for survival. That money is pumped directly back into the local economy when jobless workers pay for groceries, transportation, utilities, and housing. Currently, 1 in 1,079 homes in Tennessee face foreclosure and the problem will only worsen if federal unemployment insurance extension is not passed.
Community members and working families participating in the event will call on Rep. Roe and other Tennessee lawmakers to put aside politics and vote to reauthorize unemployment insurance. The event is one of dozens of events taking place across the country to call for the extension of unemployment insurance as part of a National Day of Action.
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