Laid-off workers from LV talk to Congress

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Oct. 12, 2001 | 8:42 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Two laid-off hotel workers from Las Vegas on Thursday told a House panel they needed Congress to help them pay rent and care for their families.

A group of House Democrats invited newly out-of-work laborers from around the country to Capitol Hill to "put a face" on the problem of mass lay-offs in America since the terrorist attacks, House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., said.

Lawmakers are considering whether to expand unemployment and health care benefits to those who lost their jobs after the attacks. About 15,000 workers in Las Vegas lost their jobs, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said.

"These are not statistics, they're people," Berkley said. "They have families to support. They have to put food on the table somehow."

Four Seasons laundry worker Jewel Jackson was laid off two days after the attacks, she said. The single mother of two teenagers is looking for a new job but said it's difficult to find one now. Jackson qualifies for $243 a week in unemployment. Her rent is $739.

"The way things look right now, it's not that positive," she said after the panel conference.

Riviera money changer Lucy Cedeno was laid off on Sept. 23 after three years on the job. Her husband is also unemployed, she said. She qualifies for a $275 per week unemployment check and has a $768 mortgage.

"It's very hard," she said.

Jackson and Cedeno joined rental car workers and a tearful flight attendant telling their stories.

The International Culinary Union paid for Jackson and Cedeno to go to Washington, Berkley aides said.