FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dec. 10, 2024
Media Contact: Aaron Pelo, apelo@miaflcio.org | 734.355.2741
Michigan AFL-CIO Applauds Passage of Restored Unemployment Benefits
LANSING, Mich. – Today, after a bipartisan vote in the state Senate last week, the state House passed legislation restoring 26 weeks of unemployment benefits and raising the maximum weekly benefit amount to account for inflation and the rising cost of living. Following the House’s bipartisan vote this afternoon, the bill will now head to the Governor’s desk.
“This is a huge victory for Michigan’s working people,” said Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron BIEBER. “For too long Michigan has lagged behind not only our midwestern neighbors, but almost every other state in the country when it comes to our safety net for workers who lose their job through no fault of their own. Unemployment can affect anyone and everyone, especially union workers, as our industries are often first to bear the brunt of economic crises. Strong unemployment benefits that allow workers to continue to put food on the table and support their families while they look for work is simply the right thing to do by working people. The bipartisan passage of this legislation in both chambers is proof that our leaders in Lansing can come together to put the needs of working people first. We applaud the legislature’s pro-worker majorities for their courageous leadership and look forward to Governor Whitmer signing these bills into law.”
Michigan’s current maximum weekly benefit amount of $362 is the ninth lowest in the country, and the lowest in the midwest. The bills passed by the legislature will raise the weekly maximum benefit for the first time in over 20 years to $614, where the weekly maximum would be had it been adjusted annually to account for inflation. The legislation also restores the six weeks of benefits taken away in 2011 under then-Governor Rick Snyder.
The Michigan AFL-CIO, Michigan’s largest labor organization, is a federation representing forty different labor organizations, eighteen different central labor councils, and eight constituency groups representing over 1 million union members and their families.
###
