MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Sen. Maynab Mohamed of Minneapolis and State Rep. Kaela Berg of Burnsville are proposing a bill that would expand unemployment insurance eligibility to include union workers while on strike.
Berg says this bill would put power back into the hands of workers, but that it is not a perfect solution.
“Unemployment insurance only provides partial wage replacement to merely soften the risk to worker’s families, so striking will continue to be a last resort for workers,” Berg said.
Right now, workers can apply for unemployment in Minnesota if they are locked out or if their employer fails to meet health and safety standards. The proposed bill would extend eligibility to workers who have been on strike for more than two weeks.
Mohamed says that the new bill would incentivize employers to “work in good-faith negotiations.”
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