UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

WHEREAS, budgetary crises throughout our country have resulted in the layoffs of thousands of public and non-public school employees and certain other public employees; and

WHEREAS, most of these employees have no severance provisions in their collective bargaining agreements; and

WHEREAS, the only unemployment insurance available to most of these employees is the temporary federal supplementary unemployment insurance, which provides only 39 weeks of protection:

RESOLVED, that the AFT support to the utmost federal legislation for mandatory unemployment insurance for these employees; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT call upon AFL-CIO to make unemployment insurance a priority legislative objective.