Detroit Michigan August 28 - Rally/March

On August 28 there will be a rally and march in Detroit, Michigan. If you live in the area, please make it a priority to be there.

March in Detroit: Call to March
August 28 Rally & March to Rebuild America

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and UAW, along with our friends and allies, will march to mark the beginning of a new campaign that will call on our leaders to Rebuild America by enacting policy that will unleash the skills and talent of the American workforce. We will march for Jobs, Justice and Peace on the anniversary of that day in 1963 when Walter Reuther, president of UAW, Martin Luther King, Jr., president of SCLC, and other civil rights leaders joined with hundreds of thousands of Americans for the March on Washington.

Click here for the rest of the article.

The word is that Senator Debbie Stabenow will also be at the Rally.

Articles with Pictures of the Rally

Thanks to @OrdinaryLyf for the links to these articles and pictures. He tweeted that the Rally was great to be at - a real experience!

5,000 march in downtown Detroit, urge rebuilding nation - Article written by Naomi Patton of the Free Press - read the article

Another article was written by Donalee King of the San Diego Examiner - Huge UAW and Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition Jobs-Justice-Peace Rally in Detroit - find the article here

More from Donalee King - Rebuild America: Jobs Justice Peace kickoff today
It was wonderful to see the pictures - nice turnout for Jobs which are desperately needed in our country. View the pictures here

State Government

Do your State Senators hold "town hall" meetings? How about "coffee meetings"? Did I hear you say No?

I'm a very fortunate person, living in Colorado. My State Senator and State House Representative do hold these meetings - EVERY month! Even though in Colorado our Senators and House Reps are only in session from January to mid May, these "coffee" and "town hall" meetings are held every month. The discussions range from constituent concerns to bills that are coming up for vote. During the town hall meetings, an interesting panel is always put together on a certain topic. Each panelist speaks and then there is a question and answer period.

If you said that your state Senators and House Reps don't do this, call them and ask for it. Your tax dollars and your votes keep these politicians in office. They should work for YOU, like mine do for me.

Tonight, I asked about the way unemployment percentage rates were calculated. We agree that the system and the way percentages are calculated are wrong and a better system needs to be put in place.

Even if your State Representatives are on their break, call their offices anyway. Ask them to investigate ways to obtain the correct percentages.

The message I want to get across is: You never know who can help get the ball rolling if you don't ask.

STAND UP AND BE HEARD!

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!

VOICE YOUR OPINIONS FOR S3706 TO BE PASSED!

JOB CREATION IS NECESSARY! TIER 5 IS NEEDED!

"99ers" "Tier 5" "Extenders Bill" S-3706

Last week, Senator Debbie Stabenow (on Twitter - @ StabenowPress) introduced Senate Bill 3706 for 99ers, Tier 5. Read up on how what this bill is intended to do for you!

S. 3706:
A bill to extend unemployment insurance benefits and cut taxes for businesses to create hiring incentives, and for other purposes.

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has sponsored this bill along with 11 cosponsors:
Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
Robert Casey [D-PA]
Christopher Dodd [D-CT]
Richard Durbin [D-IL]
Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]
Carl Levin [D-MI]
John Reed [D-RI]
Harry Reid [D-NV]
Charles Schumer [D-NY]
Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

The full text of this bill can be found at:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-3706 I highly recommend that everyone read the bill to see what impact it will have.

The bill was introduced on August 4, 2010 right before the Senate went on a month's long vacation. They are scheduled to return on September 6, 2010.

This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee.

This morning, KWGN, channel 2 - Denver reports through their ticker "U.S. House members called back to Washington DC to pass jobs bill".

STAND UP AND BE HEARD!

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!

Where does YOUR Unemployment Status Stand?

I was shocked last evening by a phone call from the Colorado unemployment office. The purpose of their call was to make sure that I had received the 6 weeks of unemployment that was due to me and to answer any questions that I had.

For Colorado, this is the information that was given. (for other states links see at the end)

Tier 1 is for 20 weeks or 80% of your claim whichever is lower

Tier 2 is for 14 weeks or 54% of your claim whichever is lower

Tier 3 is for 13 weeks or 5o% of your claim whichever is lower

SEB (state extended benefits) is 13 weeks or 50% of maximum benefits

SEB 2 (state extended benefits) is 7 weeks or 30%

Tier 4 is in some states but not for Colorado at this time (would have been 6 weeks)

The reason for no Tier 4 provision at this time is because Colorado has not had over 8.5% rate of unemployment for 3 months in a row.

This link explains about Colorado.

I asked: What if I move to another state?
Colorado still liable for unemployment for the weeks I have left on my unemployment claim.

What I suggest:
Go to your state unemployment page, look for a link on "extended benefits" or some similar wording. There might be a chart there that explains your unemployment benefits for your state. Keep in mind that ALL states handle unemployment differently!

Arizona Unemployment

State Extended Benefits
Federal Extensions and Additional Compensation can be found at this link.

For Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) click here.

Both links have clear explanations.


If you find the page for YOUR state that provides a chart or information on what the unemployment schedule is - PLEASE leave it in a comment and I'll incorporate it within my blog.

Everyone's help is GREATLY appreciated!

WE STOOD UP AND WERE HEARD!

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER
WHO WORKED FOR YOU!

HELP THE 99ers!

Unemployment NYC RALLY August 12, 2010

Just in! Hot News!

From @ExtendUENow comes this message.

NYC RALLY AUGUST 12, 2010 FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

NYC RALLY for TIER5 #99ers #TwitterMarch Aug12th
WE AREN'T GIVING UP AND HOPE YOU AREN'T EITHER!
(WITH YOUR HELP!)
This is YOUR organization and we need you!

Press Conference / Rally: Keep the American Dream Alive - Tier Five!

THURSDAY AUGUST 12th

12-1 pm

Federal Hall

26 Wall St.

New York City
(Take train #4 or 5 to Wall St, J, M or Z to Broad St, 2 or 3 to Wall St, 1 to Rector St - exit at Greenwich St, R or W to Rector St - exit at Trinity Place, A or C to Fulton Street - exit at John and Nassau Streets)

Can't go to New York? NO PROBLEM!

You can still help us! Just write Kian and tell her you want to help! We need you to help make this a success! In fact we are counting on you to help, but we need commitments from New Yorkers who will attend come rain or shine, hell or high water!

Are you up for this? Are you ready to give them our demands?

Thursday August 12th from 12 noon until 1 p.m.

We need commitments from unemployed workers from the state of New York and surrounding areas, now!

Write the email address below to tell us you will be there!

Kian, our group coordinator, has already lined up colleagues to help out and she
will spend $100 of her money for permits, signs and printing, but she needs to
know how many people to expect. That is why we need commitments now.

Now is the time to step up and take action!

This rally will be the beginning of a series of town hall meetings and other actions to bring about a Tier 5.


Email Kian at kian_uwag@earthlink.net <-- please copy & paste in email

Federal Hall was the first seat of the United States Government. George Washington took the oath of office here and Federal Hall was home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. On Thursday, August 12, the long term unemployed and their supporters, will gather here to demand our elected representatives hear us and help us. We are Americans who, through no fault of our own, lost the careers we spent a lifetime building. Many of us have, or will, lose our homes, our cars and our valued possessions. Most of us have nothing left - no savings, no credit, and no hope. Each week, we hear tragic news of another suicide. The recession is lasting longer than expected, with only one job for every five applicants! Still, WE are told "it has been long enough", "no more unemployment benefits", "tough". Millions are being forced into poverty by their own government, with thousands added to our ranks every week. We will be just a few blocks from the banks bailed out with our tax dollars. Our elected representatives must value the American worker as much as the big bankers. We will not be cast aside as unworthy of support. We will FIGHT for ourselves and our families.

We will DEFEND our right to the American Dream. Please Join Us! UnemployedWorkersActionGroup.com or uwag.org

STAND UP AND BE HEARD FOR THE 99ERS!

More on Companies that Do NOT Hire Unemployed

There is a petition site now - you can sign the petition against companies who discriminate against unemployed persons and write your story (which is optional).

Plain and simple - This site is located here. Please sign the petition! Tell your story.

Within my blog I have also written on companies that do not hire the unemployed. Please see and add comments. I'm all about "whistleblowing" and having these companies exposed.

http://survivingintherecession.blogspot.com/2010/06/companies-that-refuse-to-hire.html

Because it's such a hot topic, I've reported them to their particular states Department of Labor and to the news media in their area. This is a subject that should not be taken lightly.