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California protest slams end to federal unemployment benefits

By Masao Suzuki

Protest against cut off of federal unemployment benefits.

San José, CA – On Saturday, July 31 members and supporters of the Northern California Unemployed Committee or NCUC rallied to protest the coming end of federal unemployment benefits set for September 6. Speakers pointed out how 9 million unemployed people will be losing their benefits and the rest will have their payments cut in half.

John Root spoke about his troubles with the California unemployment insurance system, stating, “I got no benefits for four months and had to depend on family to survive. I was calling up to 30 or 40 times a day without a response. The unemployment system is broken.” Root pointed out that there are more than a million other unemployed in California with similar experiences.

There were also speakers from the South Bay Mutual Aid, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the NCUC. The NCUC is calling for another protest at the local office of Congressperson Zoe Lofgren on August 23.

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