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For years, Washington has had one of the best and most generous unemployment insurance systems in the nation, one that provides a good balance between workers and businesses.
But there is a bill moving through the Legislature this session that could upend that balance and weaken our state’s UI system.
Senate Bill 5777 would grant unemployment insurance compensation, under some conditions, to striking workers. Depending on the strike, these payments could last for up to six months, incentivizing extended shutdowns in both the private and the public sectors. This Democrat-sponsored proposal was passed by the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee along party lines and might be brought to the Senate floor before our Feb. 13 deadline for voting on Senate bills.
There are several good reasons why this bill should not become law.
To start with, UI benefits are meant to help workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own, not to subsidize those who voluntarily go on strike. Most unions maintain a strike fund to help workers who make that decision, paid for with dues collected from members.
Expanding eligibility to include striking workers flies in the face of the UI system’s purpose and ignores the fact that striking workers typically have a job to return to once a strike ends. Employees who have been laid off do not, nor do they have access to a strike fund to replace lost income.
Under SB 5777, benefits for striking workers would be “socialized,” which means the higher costs would be borne by business owners who don’t even employ the striking workers. As a result, all employers would likely have to pay higher taxes to support the unemployment insurance trust fund from which these benefits are paid.
Finally, our state’s UI trust fund fared better during the COVID-19 pandemic than those of most other states — but it still took a huge hit, including from cybercrime. The Legislature should not add even more to the burden by expanding eligibility to striking workers.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar proposal in his state, citing the risk to the viability of California’s own unemployment system. When a liberal governor in a blue state vetoes legislation like this, that signals just how extreme and reckless this bill really is. Washington legislators should vote “no” on this bill and avoid an expensive mistake.
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