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BeckyDem

(8,361 posts)
Thu Jul 27, 2023, 10:45 AM Jul 2023

AS 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. It’s 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. I’m 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:

“It’s 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. O’Brien 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/






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AS HOLLYWOOD STRIKES, SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN INTRODUCES FOOD STAMPS BILL FOR WORKERS ON PICKET LINE (Original Post) BeckyDem Jul 2023 OP
This is who Senator John Fetterman is, and we love him for that! ♥ nt CaliforniaPeggy Jul 2023 #1
Yep, heart and soul. BeckyDem Jul 2023 #2
+1. iluvtennis Jul 2023 #4
Way to Go, Big John! Unions, Democracy in the Workplace appalachiablue Jul 2023 #3
Pretty cool John! SouthernDem4ever Jul 2023 #5
Thank You Senator Fetterman Magoo48 Jul 2023 #6
Republicans will support hunger and starvation for anyone and everyone. They won't even feed kids. onecaliberal Jul 2023 #7
EXCELLENT! BumRushDaShow Jul 2023 #8
Hear, Hear!!!! MayReasonRule Jul 2023 #9
Kick! Hekate Jul 2023 #10
Excellent! geardaddy Jul 2023 #11
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Jul 2023 #12
sounds good -- I like trying to reverse all the insane anti-union laws this country developed LymphocyteLover Jul 2023 #13
SCOTUS long ago ruled in favor of continuing food stamp Hortensis Jul 2023 #14
Reagan's court did that, no surprise. BeckyDem Jul 2023 #15
That sounds like standard argument that won't Hortensis Jul 2023 #16
Yep. I'm sure they're aware of the current legal obstacles and BeckyDem Jul 2023 #17
:) Yup! We're coming six ways from Sunday and growing. Hortensis Jul 2023 #18

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
14. SCOTUS long ago ruled in favor of continuing food stamp
Thu Jul 27, 2023, 01:31 PM
Jul 2023

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)
15. Reagan's court did that, no surprise.
Fri Jul 28, 2023, 08:19 AM
Jul 2023

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)
16. That sounds like standard argument that won't
Fri Jul 28, 2023, 08:46 AM
Jul 2023

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)
17. Yep. I'm sure they're aware of the current legal obstacles and
Fri Jul 28, 2023, 08:53 AM
Jul 2023

are planning accordingly.


Fingers crossed and all that.

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