FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–July 29, 2020
Louisiana Unemployed Workers to Visit Regional Offices of Sens. Cassidy & Kennedy to Demand Continuation of $600 Unemployment Benefit
Tomorrow, Thursday, July 30, unemployed workers across Louisiana will visit the regional offices of Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy to demand that they support extending the $600 unemployment benefits that have kept our people, our state, and our economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
LOUISIANA | July 29, 2020—Right now, over 25 million unemployed workers are able to receive at least $600 a week, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Cassidy, and Senator Kennedy have proposed slashing benefits to $200 per week. That would sever a critical lifeline at a time when coronavirus cases are spiking, businesses continue to face mass closures, and whole industries have been decimated. These proposed cuts will upend the economy and make it impossible for workers to pay their bills In Louisiana alone, workers would stand to lose over 50% of their benefits, on average, and the state’s economy would forfeit $1.4 billion.
Participants in the protests are demanding that Congress extend the $600 relief payments for as long as this crisis lasts. There are simply not enough jobs in our economy right now–especially in a state like Louisiana that heavily relies on tourism. Ending relief will force workers to choose between COVID-19 exposure and their own survival. That’s bad for workers, public health, businesses, and our economy. It’s particularly dangerous for the Black, Brown, and Indigenous workers who have been hit hardest in this COVID-19 crisis and face the highest unemployment rates.
Who: Unemployed Louisiana workers, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, Step Up Louisiana, Unite Here! Local 23, LiUNA! Local 99, Louisiana Budget Project, Black Voters Matter, Workplace Justice Project, Southeast Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council, International Association of Iron Workers, CPD Action, All Streets All People, We, The People Louisiana, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO
What: Unemployed workers and their allies to visit regional offices of Senators Cassidy and Kennedy to demand they support extending the $600 federal unemployment benefits in the next federal stimulus package.
When: July 30, 2020
Where:
Baton Rouge: 11:00 AM–5555 Hilton Ave.
Houma 2:00 PM–8026 Main St.
Lafayette: 11:30 PM–101 La Rue France
Lake Charles: 11:00 AM–1 Lakeshore Dr.
Mandeville: 2:00 PM–21490 Koop Dr.
Metairie: 12:00 PM–3421 N. Causeway Blvd.
Monroe: 3:00 PM–1651 Louisville Ave.
New Orleans: 10:00 AM–500 Poydras St.
Shreveport: 5:00 PM–401 Market St.
Contacts:
Peter Robins-Brown, Communications Director, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, (504) 256-8196, prb@powercoalition.org
Ben Zucker, Executive Director, Step Up Louisiana, (504) 444-5825, ben@stepuplouisiana.org