NOTE FROM CHARLOTTEDEMS.COM: May 1st, May Day is traditionally an international celebration of labor rights – a time to recognize the plight of working families in our community, our country and around the world.
But Florida workers impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic have little to celebrate.
Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL), who represents Tampa, is worries that the Florida system created by Tallahassee Republicans devalues the impact ion our workers: “Florida is the stingiest in the entire country when it comes to the state benefit, it is only $275 a week,” she said. “Most states are well beyond that.”
In this time of urgent crisis, our elected leaders take no responsibility for the backlogged system for seeking unemployment payments.
- Gov. DeSantis and his administration are incapable of handling the unemployment surge using a system created by then Governor Sen. Rick Scott.
- Now FL Senator, Rick Scott has decried the $600 federal payments as a “disincentive” that will keep people from returning to work.
- In the lawsuit filed by Tallahassee law firms on behalf of Floridian workerss, the suit claimed: “The system is a colossal failure.”
Please read these stories from WFLA News and support local journalism.
Florida unemployment: Who’s to blame for system failures?
by: Kellie Meyer Updated:
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Florida’s unemployment system is buckling under the weight created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The system was taken offline several days for critical upgrades, forcing more than 250,000 rejected workers to reapply.
“None of these systems were designed for this number of people,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said Thursday.
Scott was governor when the state implemented the current system with requirements many are now struggling to meet.
“Do you feel in some ways responsible for any of this, or what would be your response to some of these people going through this?” Washington Correspondent Kellie Meyer asked Scott Thursday in a phone interview.
“You know the way it’s set up is the way it’s always been set up,” Scott said. “People always had an obligation to look for work to the extent they can. And it was tough when I became governor and so we worked hard to make sure that people could get jobs.”
SEE THE COMPLETE STORY AT WFLA NEWS
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STORY:
“I understand they’re trying to fix it but they need to redouble their efforts,” Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL) said.
Castor, who represents Tampa, said her constituents are fed up with the obstacles.
She’s worried that even when the benefits go through they won’t be enough for Floridians to survive this crisis
“Florida is the stingiest in the entire country when it comes to the state benefit, it is only $275 a week,” she said. “Most states are well beyond that.”
Both Castor and Crist are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to issue an executive order expanding unemployment benefits.
SEE THE COMPLETE STORY AT WFLA NEWS
TO ADD INSULT TO THE INJURY OF OUR FLORIDA WORKERS, SEE ALSO
Florida has highest coronavirus-related unemployment in country, study says
SOURCE: WFLA NEWS
Posted: Updated: Image Credits: WFLA NEWS
