First the bad news, unfortunately, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives did not extend unemployment benefits last week. The good news is we can still make a difference in this fight. If Congress fails to act, nearly 2 million unemployed workers will be cut off of federal unemployment benefits in the month of January alone. Millions more would be cut off in ensuing months – more than 6 million during 2012. Please take action now!
The fight to protect unemployment insurance
Last week, a petition with 75,000 signatures was delivered to Congress demanding unemployment benefits be extended. This week, on December 8th, dozens of actions around the country will be occurring to extend unemployment benefits. Check the previous link to see if there is one near you. Are you one of the unemployed? Tell your story at the new AFL-CIO page and read the stories of others like you.
The fight for jobs
Even though the latest jobs report shows the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6% – the lowest it’s been since March 2009 – that news is tempered by the fact that 315,000 workers dropped out of the labor force. Which is why 10,000 marched for jobs in New York City recently. And what are the other demands of the 99%? AFSCME and Working America have put together a list of 9 Demands of the 99%.
Please make sure to visit the People’s World online for the best in worker’s news!
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Scott Marshall is a vice chair of the Communist Party and chair of its Labor Commission. Scott grew up in Virginia where he first became active in the civil rights movement in high school, working on voter registration and anti-Klan projects in rural Southern Virginia and Tennessee. He was also active against the war in Vietnam.
Scott has been a life long trade unionist and was active in rank and file reform movements in the Teamsters, Machinists and Steelworkers unions in the 1970s and '80s. He was co-chair of the Save Our Jobs committee of USWA local 1834 at Pullman Standard in Chicago and active in nationwide organizing against plant shutdowns and layoffs. He was a founder of the unemployed organization Jobs or Income Now (Join), in Chicago, and the National Congress of Unemployed Organizations in the 1980s.
Scott has worked for the Communist Party since 1987 when he became the district organizer for the party in Illinois, a post he held until he was elected chair of the National Labor Commission in 1997. Scott remains active in SOAR (Steelworkers Active Organized Retirees). He lives in Chicago.
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