'We were so close': Push for unemployment benefits for striking workers fails in Legislature
Unemployment benefits for striking workers won’t be available in Washington anytime soon.
House Bill 1893 failed to make it to the Senate floor before a key cutoff deadline on Friday afternoon, sinking the bill for this year.
The union-backed legislation would have allowed workers who walk off the job to qualify for up to four weeks of unemployment insurance benefits. They’d become eligible on the second Sunday following the first day of a strike and could then begin to receive benefit payments after an additional one-week waiting period.
Had the bill passed, employees would have also no longer been disqualified from unemployment insurance during employer-initiated labor lockouts. Lockouts are one way management can pressure a striking workforce during contract negotiations.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/03/01/push-for-unemployment-benefits-for-striking-workers-fails-in-legislature/