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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAS HOLLYWOOD STRIKES, SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN INTRODUCES FOOD STAMPS BILL FOR WORKERS ON PICKET LINE
The legislation would repeal a restriction on striking workers receiving SNAP benefits.
Daniel Boguslaw
July 27 2023, 9:50 a.m.
WITH MORE THAN 150,000 actors and writers on the picket line in Hollywood and other labor actions heating up across the country, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., is introducing legislation to ease the financial toll of their strikes.
The Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023 would repeal a restriction on striking workers receiving SNAP benefits, protect food stamp eligibility for public-sector workers fired for striking, and clarify that any income-eligible household can receive SNAP benefits even if a member of that household is on strike.
The union way of life is sacred. Its what built Pennsylvania and this nation. It is critical for us to protect workers right to organize, and that includes making sure they and their families have the resources to support themselves while on strike, Fetterman wrote in a statement. As Chair of the Nutrition Subcommittee and an advocate for the union way of life, this bill is just plain common sense. Im proud to introduce this bill that will eliminate the need for workers to choose between fighting for fair working conditions and putting food on the table for their families.
Excerpt:
Its good to see lawmakers attempting to correct the wrongs of the past by reinstating a benefit for striking workers that never should have been taken away in the first place, Teamsters General President Sean M. OBrien said. Congress should never pass laws that punish American workers, and hopefully this amendment is a repudiation of that practice.
https://theintercept.com/2023/07/27/strike-food-stamps-bill-john-fetterman/
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,726 posts)BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)That is how I see him too.
appalachiablue
(41,180 posts)SouthernDem4ever
(6,617 posts)I hope everyone gets behind him on this. There's a few that I have low expectations.
Magoo48
(4,721 posts)Union Strong
Solidarity
onecaliberal
(32,916 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,608 posts)MayReasonRule
(1,463 posts)Hekate
(90,848 posts)geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,445 posts)Thanks for the thread BeckyDem.
LymphocyteLover
(5,657 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)eligibility for workers who are poor enough to qualify before going on strike, but against eligibility for strikers who don't qualify when they're working (good faith effort to work is a SNAP requirement).
Does this bill somehow get around that, such as based on different legal reasoning, or is it dead out of the gate, even if it could be got through the house? In any case, good to see more media coverage of worker rights.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)Fetterman's bill:
The new bill would repeal the SNAP eligibility restriction on striking workers, and protect public sector workers who are fired for striking from being categorized as having voluntarily quit, which would render them ineligible. The legislation would also clarify that any household that qualifies for SNAP benefits can receive them, regardless of whether someone who lives in the household is on strike from their job.
The attention to the cause of workers feeding their families and attention to how entangled the process can be for those who manage to receive funds while striking is a good thing.
More at the link.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/government-politics/fetterman-introduces-bill-to-allow-striking-workers-to-collect-snap-benefits/
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)get around the existing SCOTUS ruling, but there may be a new legal hook somewhere in it.
Itm, the RW in general has become much less friendly and more hostile to what the wealthy right has been doing over the 40 years they imagined they were all united against us.
The Tea Party and tRump were actually populist rebellions against them, meant to somehow both defeat the evil left while also keeping the scoundrels they put in power from taking away their progressive benefits and what's left of their rights as workers.
Yeah, really, really, really slow learners. Hope for the future in that, though. We're already the majority, just need to get a very few percent more voters on board. Just look at what we did with a tied senate and Democratic house majority.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)are planning accordingly.
Fingers crossed and all that.