State lawmakers want to hand out unemployment checks to striking workers.
State lawmakers are considering making Minnesota the only state in the country to let striking workers get unemployment checks almost as soon as they walk off the job.
It’s such a bad idea, even California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar proposal last year.
Here’s why it’s a bad idea for Minnesota:
- Misuses taxpayer funds. The unemployment insurance system is entirely funded by employers, including more than 100,000 small business owners like you. It exists to provide benefits to workers who lost their job through no fault of their own, not to people who leave their job to go on a general labor strike.
- Hikes unemployment taxes for employers. Cutting unemployment checks to striking workers forces those employers directly impacted to pay higher unemployment taxes so their own employees can walk out of the job. But it also forces all employers to pay higher taxes for a labor dispute in which they are not involved.
- Drives larger state deficits. During the pandemic, the unemployment system cratered financially, reaching a deficit of $1.3 billion in 2022. Imagine if we added the cost of unemployment checks to striking workers to that total.
Your voice can make a difference. CLICK HERE to tell your lawmakers to REJECT unemployment checks for strikers.
