Website Raises $1,000 To Bring 'Tier 5' Unemployment Petition To Washington

Issa Decker thought only friends and family would sign her online petition demanding Congress give additional weeks of unemployment benefits to the jobless. First it went viral and garnered more than 28,000 signatures. Now, thanks to a grassroots fundraising effort, it's headed to Congress.

"I'm kind of blown away," said Decker, a laid-off schoolteacher in California. "It's all being done officially now. It's being printed and bound and delivered."

Decker posted her petition on Change.org in March. Theresa Cahill, a writer for a site called WorldNewsVine, repeatedly wrote about the petition as it gained signatures, no doubt fueled by the extremely dedicated online community of jobless folks across the country.

Once the petition had more than 20,000 signatures, the question became: How do we get this thing to Washington? Decker herself couldn't afford the printing costs -- it's nearly 1,000 pages long -- much less the airfare. She sent emails to the folks who'd shared their signatures in hopes someone lived near the Capitol. It turned out to be pretty difficult to find an unemployed person who had the means and the nearness.

"I had one person who thought I meant Washington state," she said.

Then WorldNewsVine offered to help out by raising some money to cover the costs of hand-delivering the petition. "In terms of the fundraising itself," wrote Cahill in an email to HuffPost, "the goal of $1000 plus fees taken via Paypal were raised within approximately 48 hours. Some unable to donate, yet spreading the word. Others, with pennies left to their name, donating $1. Each were urged if they truly could not afford to donate to not donate. A few donated $100, $50, $25, with the majority at lesser levels. I personally started the fund off with $2 (my husband has been unemployed for over a year)."

Cahill said the site's chief editor, Robert Grone, left for Washington from Albany, N.Y., on Wednesday morning, for an appointment with staffers for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) at 2 p.m. on Thursday.

Reid's office confirmed the meeting, but declined to comment on the petition. After it finishes Wall Street reform, most likely this week, the Senate will turn to a bill that contains, among other things, a reauthorization for the rest of the year for emergency unemployment provisions. The program in question, known as Emergency Unemployment Compensation, gives the unemployed 53 weeks of federally-funded benefits on top of the 26 weeks available in some states. The EUC is broken into four tiers.

Issa Decker and the people who signed her petition want a fifth tier. Though some senators have said they're favorable to giving the unemployed additional weeks of benefits, there's been no indication from either the House or the Senate that the upcoming bill will extend the lifeline for the long-term unemployed. That's what Decker is hoping to change.

Comments

[chrischodefer]

09:54 PM on 06/07/2010

I have two bachelor degrees - a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. I have been fighting with the rest of the unemployed for the past two years and have still been unable to acquire a position. The stress of raising a family of 7 on zero income is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. Anybody that questions if these benefits should not be extended to at least the end of the year has been blessed enough to not have to face the reality of how bad the economy in this country truly is. – Chris in Peoria, AZ

[Kimmie BaerSamuels]

10:31 AM on 06/07/2010

I am a 52 year women who has worked my entire life, never collected unemployment until I had no choice after major at the company were I worked. I have been looking daily for 1-1/2 years. I lost my husband in Oct 2009 due to a massive heart attach caused by stress. He never had heart problems before this mess! Now I'm scared to death that I will lose my life to stress. I can't pay my bills, house in forclosure, behind on car, can't afford to eat, can't sleep etc...AND NO HEALTH CARE. This is a much bigger picture than just unemployment extention. It has to due with health as well. If your not employed chances are you don't have insurance and can't afford to go to a clinic at $125.00 just to walk in the door. I WANT and NEED to work! Does anyone think that depression and grief can be fixed by starring at 4 walls???? I need for my sanity to go back to work!!!!!!! This is not a matter of being lazy or not wanting to work. ALL I HEAR ABOUT LATELY IN THE NEWS IS THE OIL SPILL. I DON'T CARE RIGHT NOW. Don't get me wrong I think it's awful, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HUMAN RACE THAT GOING TO BE GONE IF WE DON'T GET BACK TO WORK AND HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE!!!!! PLEASE, ANYONE WHO THINKS THOSE OF US THAT WERE COLLECTING UNEMPLOYMENT WANTS TO.....THINK AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dallas, Texas

[jagbev]

12:15 PM on 06/04/2010

So after todays job report as we have ALL been saying most jobs were part time census jobs, Do you think Mr. Obama will Scold Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Baucus for making the so called 99ers feel like leeches? I hope so.
If Obama is going to be the daddy, he should put pelosi and Baucus over his knee and paddle their BIG BEHINDS for what they have done to the so called 99ers.
Tier 5 to survive!

[SoTrue27]

08:25 PM on 05/27/2010

My unemployment ends next month and I'm frantic. I've been unemployed since August, 2008 and there hasn't been a day that I haven't spent at least 6 hours looking for a job. In all that time I've only had four interviews. I'm 64 years old and cannot collect Social Security for 3 more years. What's a senior citizen to do...just lie down and die? Pelosi and the others who are against extensions for us 99ers need their butts spanked...and I'm in the right frame of mind to do it.

[TruelyFedUp]

04:48 PM on 05/27/2010

There is a better way to spend those unemployment dollars...

Here is a website with a map displaying the amount of American land that is owned by the Federal Government. http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/291-federal-lands-in-the-us/ It amounts to nearly 30% of the land of this country.

My contention is that a portion of that land should be available to citizens as free homelands where they can live sustainably. Ideally we should have a society designed on a resource based economy to remove the twin evils of Profit and elitist Power from the equation. A description of how this would work is here http://www.thevenusproject.com/a-new-social-design/resource-based-economy

Here is a website that shows some beautiful housing made from highly durable but cheap cargo containers ($2K - $5K each raw container) http://weburbanist.com/2008/05/26/cargo-container-homes-and-offices/

My concept is that those that are homeless and jobless should be free to live in sustainable communities where instead of having unemployment benefits that soon are depleted they are given a home and the resources to farm and feed themselves. They should also have community centers with educational facilities, self-provided basic medical care, etc. These are far more humane solutions than punishing people for being jobless and without income in a desperate national economy.

[fortressfountain]

09:26 PM on 05/25/2010

Oh really-all it takes is school? How do you explain the teachers, nurses and unemployed computer techs? Could be the country wants to lay off a certain age group-so they can hire younger people cheaper.
You young people will get older some day. I have lived through 3 recessions-each one worse than the other.
I know people who have trained themselves every 10 years for jobs.
No matter-the politicans allow the companies to lay people off. That is how they show a profit for wall street.

[fortressfountain]

09:21 PM on 05/25/2010

Why should it cost $1000 dollars to deliver something to D.C-are they not in the year 2010? What about a fax or an email?
It seems the only greenD.C wants is the green from the people.

I do not know one person who has gotten a job when their benefits expired.

For all of the so called propaganda that landscape companies and such cannot get help-that is just a myth.
All they have to do is publish the name of the companies and someone will take the job.
The far right wants to punish the working people for the mess they created and can fix-if only they take pay cuts and create jobs.

[TimOregon]

05:47 PM on 05/25/2010

I never heard a follow up to this. Nothing happened? All I am hearing is that some Senators are against Unemployment. Vote them out and lets get this Country moving again.

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/the_99ers_need_a_tier_v_added_to_unemployment_benefits

Keep getting people to sign this and keep call Washington.

[barbara33334]

02:11 PM on 05/25/2010

Thank you for the coverage of this important issue!!!! Long-term unemployed NEED your help. We, the unemployed, have lost our jobs due to no fault of our own and still cannot find work. We need a Tier 5 Unemployment Extension and we need your journalism and coverage of this issue to urge members of Congress to muster the "political will" for action.. Your media coverage of this issue is very Important. Every dollar received by the unemployed goes right into the economy. We don't have "extra money" to invest in Stocks, Bonds, Gold or a Savings Account. I will be applying for Food stamps and SSI if a Tier 5 is not created ….. I fear I will never get off these programs, what I really want is a job!!!!!!

[jojobinx]

11:03 PM on 05/24/2010

I have paid into unemployment for 30 years and never ever questioned why nor did I care. What I did know was that it was going to someone who was in need. Some people here are placing the blame unfairly on the unemployed. I don't believe 6 million people woke up one day and said "I think I want to lower my income to poverty level and lose everything I have worked for"
I worked for a large Corp for 25 years but my salary could employ 3 people w/o benefits. So out I went, no warning and my partner lost her job, same Corp, same reasons. However the Corp made over 6 BILLION in profits. So stop blaming the victims of the economy. Help find a solution because after 985 resumes I am out of ideas and hope. I tried my own business and lost what money I had. So before you think Lazy try some compassion. It could be you.

[proud to be an american]

12:47 PM on 05/23/2010

i want to thank every one who made this possible , i could not afford even a dollar how sad is that , but everyone who did made it possible for people like me whos on the verge to close evrything still have there voices heard , we need a tier 5 , all of you who stand hand in hand to get this pention to washington is why i am proud to be an american , we will be heard !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FarOutFish]

04:03 PM on 05/22/2010

The fact is, online petitions, like form letters, are ignored as meaningless.

[donaleigh2]

05:51 PM on 05/21/2010

I told you all how to get more unemployment.. you have to go to school. I would have killed for that when I went.

[MotownLinda]

12:57 PM on 05/22/2010

Uh, even Pell grants pay only for tuition, not books or living expenses. I already applied for a Pell Grant to get my paralegal certification, but didn't qualify because of my unemployment. Now my unemployment has run out and I won't have any money left by July to pay electricity, association fees, phone, car insurance, etc. Do you have any suggestions for me?

[donaleigh2]

03:34 PM on 05/22/2010

Yes,I do. Apparently the President has created a new program to allow UE to continue while in school. Didnt you get the memo in your UE letter?

[OCMOMMA]

11:21 PM on 05/20/2010

I found an update regarding the petition. It has been delivered to Reid's office. At the end of the day, nothing has changed for the unemployed.

[catbite]

11:17 PM on 05/20/2010

We are not out of the woods. Until the educated and experienced get hired, things will remain grim. I am overqualified for many jobs (their word not mine) and for my speciality, there are no jobs. I can't win.