Unemployment benefits story (sympathy or sob)

Obama has given special priority to people on unemployment to get financial aid.

 

My dad used to do a lot of labor law. Volvo was one of his big clients.

He negotiated on their behalf with Volvo's warehouse employees.

Absenteeism can really hurt productivity. So, what they did was pay you for all of you sick days up front in January. You could use the money like a kind of Christmas bonus and pay off your credit card bills from Christmas.

But, if you took a sick day later in the year, you had your pay docked. You'd already been payed for it.

Unsurprisingly, sick days plummeted.

It was worth it to Volvo because they could schedule the right number of people and not have to worry about operations being disrupted by people calling out sick.

 

That is brilliant. I get so tired of people taking sick days as "mental health" days. We used to get 25 sick days under our contract. I never took a single one. Now we get seven. And if you use more, you have to take vacation days. Of course, considering I've only taken four sick days in 20 years, I guess I'm not the right one to opine about this.

 

I collected unemployment from the state of Indiana for a few months while unemployed, paying East Coast rents. I netted $325 per (oops) week. That would have been great paying Indiana rents and beer costs.

 

I work for myself now (so I cant take a sick day), but I don't remember taking a sick day the last 10 years that I worked for others.

Continental Airlines did something else that was neat.

Every 6 months they held a lottery. If you hadn't taken a sick day for the previous 6 months, you were entered. They would give away 8 Ford Explorers to the winners. The winners were broken up by work group, so one pilot, one flight attendant, etc. would win.

They'd fly the winners in and we would have a big ceremony on the front lawn of the headquarters building where they'd present them with their cars.

They also paid for the transportation of the vehicle and paid all the taxes (unlike Oprah), so it was your free & clear.

It was great for moral and -- like Volvo's program -- it cut down sick days significantly and helped keep operations running smoothly. The company says it saved them money.

 

There's a reason why those jobs are always available. They don't pay enough to support a family.

You can give all the slogans and platitudes about how moral it is to work for your $7.25/hour. But ultimately, just like all these CEOs, it's about making money.

If working at Subway paid a decent wage, I'm sure they'd be swarmed with applicants. And sure, they'd also be having a lot more applicants if unemployment was cut off.

But at the same time, they'd be dealing with a lot of unhappy employees who would be looking to bolt at the first minute that they could. And then they'd need to retrain new employees. And that would cost them more at the other end. In other words, they get what they pay for.

 

If you work at Subway, maybe you learn enough about the business -- the vendors, the costs, the health regulations, etc. -- that you can open up your own sandwich shop.

Maybe a customer is impressed with your hard work and positive attitude that they offer you a better job.

A lot of good things come from working. You can learn a lot in any work environment and more opportunities are going to come up when you're working.

A potential employer is unlikely to appear between your couch and your television set.

Unemployment endurance is worthy and valuable. And, like others have said, their should be some kind of way to offer reduced benefits if you take a low paying job. This would save taxpayers money and encourage work.

I feel for anyone who is unemployed and looking for work. I've been there & so have close family members.

But, no matter when you set benefits to expire, whether it's 26 weeks or 99 weeks, there are going to be people who are affected.

And, as much as we all know people who are struggling, it's just a fact that continued benefits will keep some people from working.

 

Considering I haven't taken a sick day yet and they don't roll them over here, I would love that policy.

 

I've worked at a few different restaurants in my time, and been a bolter. My wife set up shop in the same Subway from the time she was 15 to the time she graduated college more than a decade later.

They all had the same thing in common: They start the pay off low because they have no idea what they are getting when the hire someone. But show a shred of responsibility and reliability, and they'll start paying what it takes to keep you.

 

I don't think it's that simple. At least it wasn't for me. I collected unemployment for more than a year, and it saved my ass. When I was laid off the first time an unemployment agent in my state told me I needed to show that I was actively looking for work in my field or a related field, and that I was expected to take any available work in my field that paid comparable to my salary before I was laid off. I think the unemployed are expected to make a reasonable effort to reach out to people in their field who are in a position to help them and make themselves available to employment in a related field. That doesn't mean pounding the pavement and applying at every mall kiosk. There are no absolute rules, but at the time of my first layoff, which was before the Great Recession hit (or at least before we realized we were in it...), CEO's weren't expected to apply at Target. Look, if you've got a family to feed you do what you've gotta do, but in an economy with one job for every 20 people out of work, the idea that not applying at Target is hurting the economy doesn't make sense. If you happen to get the job at Target, then that's one other schmuck who's didn't get that job who's still unemployed.

 

It defeats the purpose. Most people would be tempted to spend it all rather quickly, operating on the assumption that they'lll have a new job six months from now. And when that doesn't happen? Riots, looting, shoplifting.

A big part of the whole concept of UI is to keep people from winding up homeless and having to steal a loaf of bread just to eat. That's what would have happened in my case if UI had not been there.