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House votes to repeal
landmark unemployment insurance reform
Exactly three months after
implementing a negotiated agreement on unemployment insurance reforms
aimed at improving the state’s business climate, the House of
Representatives today voted to dismantle the agreement. State Reps.
Mike
Armstrong and Cary Condotta said lawmakers had worked for more than a
decade on creating a system that provides fair and sustainable benefits
for unemployed workers, and House Bill 2255 puts the state back to
square one.
“Our unemployment system
was the most expensive in the nation, costing three times the national
average,” said Condotta, R-Wenatchee. “Two years ago businesses, labor
groups and lawmakers worked in a bipartisan fashion to create a program
that was more equitable. Now we’re right back where we started. We’re
going back to a system where some workers and some businesses are
subsidizing others. We’re creating winners and losers and inviting abuse
to the system. We’re also setting up a scenario where the UI fund will
be insolvent in two years. We’re like a dog that’s chasing his tail.”
“We thought we had negotiated a package for all businesses and all labor
groups,” said Armstrong, R-Wenatchee. “It’s been in effect exactly three
months. We haven’t even had a chance to see the benefit, and now we’re
changing it. The agreement we made may not be perfect, but we’re
committed to fixing the small things that need fixing. Instead, we’re
gutting the agreement and going right back to a costly arrangement that
will create more unemployment and bankrupt the system.”
Under House Bill 2255, a
full-time aluminum worker making $35,000 a year who is laid off would
receive $350 a week in unemployment benefits. A seasonal worker who
works six months a year and makes $35,000 would receive $496 a week in
benefits. The 12th District lawmakers say the measure would result in
substantial increases in costs for the agriculture industry.
House Bill 2255 now moves to the Senate for consideration.
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Public Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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