UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR CLASSIFIED PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES

WHEREAS, federal law at one time gave classified public school employees the right to receive unemployment compensation during the summer months in those states with enabling legislation; and

WHEREAS, the right was taken away from only classified public school employees with passage of the 1983 Social Security amendments; and

WHEREAS, the exclusion of school employees from that provision is arbitrary as other seasonal employees, i.e., construction workers and agricultural workers, are not excluded; and

WHEREAS, classified school employees are the lowest paid workers in a school system and don't usually earn enough to enable them to save money to tide them over through the summer months; and

WHEREAS, classified school employees often work in areas where there are not many other job possibilities in the summer months; and

WHEREAS, it is unfair to assume that classified school employees have the same contractual guarantees, such as permanent status, as certificated school employees:

RESOLVED, that the AFT support the passage of federal legislation that will give classified public school employees the right to receive unemployment compensation; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will work with its state federations to pursue the passage of enabling state legislation.