NC State AFL-CIO, PO Box 10805, Raleigh, NC 27605
Press Advisory for December 8, 2011
Contact: Jeremy Sprinkle, Communications Director, 919-833-6678, [email protected].
99% MOVEMENT IN TRIAD RALLIES TO CAUSE OF EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
Community will call on Rep. Coble to extend critical lifeline before Dec. 31 during action at 11:30am this Thursday, December 8
Greensboro, N.C. – Workers, students, and community activists will join unemployed constituents to demonstrate for the extension of unemployment insurance outside of Rep. Coble’s office this Thursday, December 8. For jobless North Carolinians and local communities hit hard by long-term unemployment, extended unemployment insurance is a lifeline that is set to expire at the end of December unless Congress takes action.
Our event Thursday is part of a nationwide mobilization to call attention to the ongoing jobs crisis and to urge Congress to take immediate action and extend unemployment benefits. If Congress fails to act by December 31, 69,700 unemployed North Carolinians will start the New Year losing the only thing keeping them and their families from falling into poverty.
But jobless workers will not be the only losers if unemployment insurance is not extended. In North Carolina, the loss to communities like ours could total a staggering $20,275,730 a week. That’s because the average weekly benefit in our state of $290.90 gets pumped directly back into the economy, paying for groceries, gas, housing, and utilities. In fact, for every $1 spent on unemployment insurance, our economy grows by $2.
“Without unemployment insurance, I wouldn’t be able to keep food on the table or a roof over my family’s head,” said Parnell Baldwin of High Point, “and it worries me to think about what would happen to us if Congress doesn’t act now to help struggling families.”
Rep. Coble has a choice to make. Will he stand by Parnell Baldwin and other North Carolinians struggling to find work in an economy with four job seekers for every one job opening? Or will Rep. Coble focus on keeping tax cuts for the 1% who are not suffering?
What: Rally and meeting to urge Rep. Howard Coble to extend federal unemployment insurance currently set to expire Dec. 31st.
When: Thursday, December 8, 2011 rally at 11:30 AM and meeting at 12 Noon.
Where: Outside Rep. Howard Coble’s district office,2102 North Elm Street, Suite B, Greensboro, NC 27408.
Why: Rep. Coble has a choice to make - help the 99% by extending unemployment insurance or keep tax cuts for the 1%, and time is running out.
Who: AFL-CIO, Triad Central Labor Council, Occupy supporters, and community activists.
Get the facts on unemployment, unemployment insurance, and North Carolina at http://uistories.aflcio.org/files/fact_sheets/NC.pdf.
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