Laid off in April 2009, struggling to make ends meet.
Wayne's Story
July 22, 2010
Morris Plains, NJ
Senator Menendez,
I started working at 17 yrs old and was never out of work
longer than a few days until I was laid off from my job at a T-Mobile
distribution center on April 1, 2009.
At that time, my father was in recovery from a major
surgery to remove cancer from his head&neck. I took my time away from
work to care for him and found out in June of 2009 that his cancer came out of
remission.
I gave the next nine months of my life to taking care of
the man who helped bring me into this world and gave me every opportunity to
succeed in life.
I scheduled his multiple doctor appointments, tests and
chemo, called-in/picked up and discharged his many medications, drove him to
and picked him up from work and his doctor appointments and plowed through the
myriad of paperwork from Medicare/AARP and his RX company Humana.
He passed from this world on March 14, 2010 after a brave
fight. He was only 68 yrs old.
In the days and weeks since, the family has been
diligently working to settle his affairs and mourn his passing.
Though this time is all but finished, I have once again
begun looking for work to no avail.
I plead with the Senator and his staff to work with his
colleagues, who would see fit to deny us the extension of an unemployment
check, small yet vital as it is, and ask them for just a brief token of
compassion of the extension. No two stories are alike, I would not have
sacrificed a moment of time to be there for my father. A man who was there for
me my whole life, worked his whole life, right up until 11 days before his
passing and served his country in the U.S. Army from 1966-1968.
The last thing I ever did in the Great Recession, is sit
by with my feet up. Many of us have lost much more than our jobs in this
extraordinarily difficult time.
RESPONSE FROM SENATOR MENENDEZ
Dear Mr. Marek,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your story with me. First off, please allow me to offer my sincere condolences for the loss of your father. I also recently lost a parent who had suffered from Alzheimer’s for years, and understand how emotionally difficult it is to care for a sick loved one.
As you grieve for the person who helped raise you and care for you, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether you will get the unemployment insurance benefits that you worked for your whole life. Unfortunately, as you know, Republicans in the Senate have fought to continuously block several critical unemployment insurance extensions this year, choosing to make a political point on the backs of the unemployed. Outrageously, they have argued that emergency assistance to keep laid off workers afloat is less of a priority than tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. With long-term unemployment rates at record levels, and five unemployed workers for every job currently available, workers like you need a life boat to navigate these stormy economic waters.
Fortunately, we were finally able to break through the Republican obstructionism to extend unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks in New Jersey. This critical assistance not only helps families put food on the table and pay the mortgage, but it also has a powerful economic impact, creating $1.61 in GDP growth for every dollar spent. Simply put, just saying no to hard working Americans in need is morally indefensible and economically illogical.
Unlike some of my Republican colleagues, I don’t think the unemployed are out of work because they are lazy. American workers don’t want a hand-out – they want to work hard for a living, as you have since you were a teenager. And I believe it’s insulting to imply that people like yourself, who have worked their whole lives and played by the rules only to be laid off through no fault of their own, are looking for a “free ride” by collecting unemployment insurance.
Wayne, please know that I am fighting for you and people like you in New Jersey and all over the country. You embody the very spirit of the American worker that has made this country the greatest the world has ever seen and will rebuild our economy. Please don’t give up your battle for your share of the American Dream.
Sincerly
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