Brutal unemployment bill is exposed by House of Raeford plant closings
Governor McCrory is touting 150 high tech jobs that RTP will gain by 2018. We could compare the 150 future jobs with the projected loss of 5200 teacher jobs and 4580 teacher assistant jobs based on the budget that Governor McCrory signed on 7/26/13. But more immediately, let’s consider the House of Raeford plant closings that happened last Thursday, 8/1/13. (Fayetteville Observer, “Workers finish final shift at House of Raeford as plant closes, leaving hundreds without jobs,” 8/1/13) (http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/08/01/1273370) The 950 House of Raeford jobs were generally low-wage positions that provided steady paychecks for many people in a four-county area that has unemployment rates in the double digits.
The pain from the Raeford job loss was made worse by the new unemployment law (House Bill 4) that Gov. McCrory signed on 2/19/13. The turkey plant workers in that part of NC are the first large group to experience this ruthless law, which went into effect on 7/1/13. These workers not only lost their jobs, but also face shrunken weekly benefits – slashed by a third – for a frighteningly brief time before they are dumped by our state as well. HB 4 also makes them ineligible for fully funded Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program (UEC) benefits.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 170,000 North Carolinians will lose an estimated $780 million in unemployment because of the new law.
The pain of the plant closing will extend to turkey farmers, not counted in the 950 House of Raeford employees.
Did our lawmakers or governor consider the job loss for workers in a depressed part of our state? The closing has been publicized since at least March 2013, so they should have. There are not many job opportunities down east, so the loss of emergency long term unemployment makes the layoffs more painful.
North Carolina is the only state in the U.S. to turn down the Federal EUC Program. This program is 100% funded and was providing unemployment benefits to over 70,000 out-of-work North Carolinians who had exhausted their state benefits. Our lawmakers should revisit this brutal bill in a special session.
Certainly our lawmakers were approached multiple times to extend the EUC through the end of 2013. I know because the North Carolina National Organization for Women signed on to a letter from more than 20 advocacy groups calling on Gov. McCrory and lawmakers to keep families from going over the unemployment cliff on July 1. This letter was delivered at least 3 times by the NC Justice Center, and said in part:
"At a time when so many North Carolinians are struggling to find work, the loss of federal benefits through the end of the year will affect thousands of individuals and families across the state, as well as local businesses and retailers who need consumers to demand their goods and services."
North Carolina has offered millions to entice Syngenta, a Switzerland-based company. Why can't North Carolina help House of Raeford - a North Carolina company that employed many North Carolinians - reopen?
-Gailya Paliga, President, NC National Organization for Women
CLEAN HOUSE AT DHHS!! Progress NC is organizing a Halloween March on the scariest place in NC right now: the soon to be spiffed up Governor's Mansion. If you want to protest with your peers, go to the Governor's Mansion in Raleigh on Oct 30, 2013. Be there by 5:15 if you can. The theme is cleaning up the Governor's act. Go to Progress North Carolina's facebook page and find the new event for more info.
Note: wording from Progress NC. NC NOW president helped motivate the new protest! This is a wonderful opportunity to show our OUTRAGE, and the HYPOCRISY of this administration.
People should come dressed as plumbers, chimney sweeps, maids (heck, crack out the French maid costumes), janitors, 50's-era Moms, whatever floats your boat. Bring a plunger if you like, but you could also bring mops, brooms. dusters, vacuums, the dog who eats food off the floor... just join us!
It'll be a blast and we'll be making a very serious point: before NC considers renovating or upgrading any building, they need to clean house at our disastrous Department of Health and Human Services, home to costly political cronies and overpriced consultants... not to mention policies that deny people healthcare coverage and food stamps and are causing tens of thousands of North Carolinians to go hungry. Join us on October 30th!
If you are not appalled at NC's Dept of Health and Human Services, as well as our NC lawmakers and Governor McCookies decisions to refuse to expand Medicaid, you are not paying attention.
NC was the only state in the US to cut off WIC - the program for infants and new mothers. After being shamed locally and nationally, they found some money to continue the program. AFTER BEING SHAMED!
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/10/3270131/cutting-the-rope-for-ncs-neediest.html
Governor McCookie wanted to make $230,000 in updates to the 6 bathrooms in his mansion. Meanwhile people are going hungry and losing their homes due to unemployment benefit changes, refusal to expand Medicaid, the DHHS's NC Fast system not providing food benefits to people FOR MONTHS, and more. Again, he only changed his plans AFTER BEING SHAMED.
http://www.news-record.com/news/article_26842b24-336b-11e3-b761-001a4bcf6878.html?TNNoMobile
DHHS will stop funding for North Carolina’s Work First program. Work First provides welfare money, Medicaid coverage and work training with funds from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. North Carolina is one of only a few states to announce that TANF benefits would stop in November. IT IS THE ONLY STATE TO STOP PROCESSING TANF APPLICATIONS.
DHHS will stop funding for North Carolina’s Work First program. Work First provides welfare money, Medicaid coverage and work training with funds from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. North Carolina is one of only a few states to announce that TANF benefits would stop in November. IT IS THE ONLY STATE TO STOP PROCESSING TANF APPLICATIONS.
Go to the NC NOW National Organization for Women facebook page (entries from Oct 14, 2013) to see more.