Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), filed by Missouri Senator Mike Bernskoetter (R-Cole County), would modify the duration an individual can receive benefits by basing it on a graduated scale of the Missouri average unemployment rate. Some form of the bill has been filed in the Missouri legislature almost every year since 2015.
“We’ve been fighting this for several years, and it’s back again,” Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel told St. Louis Labor Council delegates at the council’s meeting Jan. 28 meeting. “We’ve been successful in blocking the bill the last few years, but there appears to be a new found energy to revive it.”
‘VITAL SAFETY NET’
“By reducing unemployment rates from 20 to eight weeks, you take away a vital safety net that helps keep working families afloat,” said Missouri Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, a member of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562. “When Arkansas takes better care of their unemployed, it makes you wonder.” As of January 2024, the maximum length of unemployment benefits in Arkansas is 12 weeks.
The Missouri AFL-CIO encourages you to contact your senator and ask them to vote no on SB 8. Visit https://www.senate.mo.gov/legislookup to find your senator.
