Striking workers could be eligible to collect
unemployment benefits in New Jersey under a bill approved by the state Senate
Labor Committee on Monday.
The bill is aimed at assisting Verizon workers who've
been on strike for a month,
but would change the rules for receiving unemployment insurance for all during
labor disputes.
Verizon employees from the Communications Workers of
America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers filled the Senate
hearing room beyond capacity Monday as the panel heard this bill and another to
raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The committee approved the bill (S2160) 3-1.
"This legislation we obviously think is important
for the thousands of workers who have really almost (been) forced to be off the
job, walked off their job, because of the contract dispute and the way in which
Verizon has negotiated this contract and what Verizon has asked their employees
to do in order to maintain their employment," state Sen. Joe Vitale
(D-Middlesex), who sponsored the bill along with state Senate President Stephen
Sweeney (D-Gloucester).
Source: NJ.com
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