Las Vegas residents rally to extend jobless benefits

By Conor Shine

Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 | 12:22 a.m.

More than 50 valley residents took to the streets in downtown Las Vegas Thursday night, rallying and holding a vigil urging Congress to pass an extension of unemployment benefits.

“At the end of this month, those federal benefits will go away unless (Congress) passes a reauthorization,” said Nevada State AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson. “If (they) don’t act, on Jan. 1, 26,200 Nevadans are going to go without anything. They’re going to be on the streets and this community can’t afford any more people on the streets.”

The candlelight vigil was organized by the Nevada State AFL-CIO and was held in front of the Lloyd D. George Federal Building, 333 S. Las Vegas Blvd., in order to pressure U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., on the issue.

“With the highest foreclosure rate in the country, for this even to be a question for (Heck ) is unbelievable,” Thompson said.

Heck supports an extension of the payroll tax cut. But like other House Republicans he opposes the Senate Democrats' extension plan, which includes a surtax on million-dollar-plus incomes.

Rallies were held across the country as part of a national day of action, including in the northern part of the state where U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., was also targeted for his opposition to the unemployment extension.

Currently, laid-off job seekers are entitled to up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits under a plan adopted in 2008. If Congress and the Senate fail to pass an extension , unemployed people across the country would receive fewer weeks of support.

Becky Daffer, a Henderson resident and single mother of four, said the unemployment benefits are crucial in helping her feed her family and pay for other necessities. She said she’s not sure how she’ll make ends meet if her unemployment benefits expire.

A plumber and pipefitter, Daffer was laid off a year ago and has spent the past 12 months applying wherever she can — at places ranging from McDonald’s to Home Depot. But she’s been unsuccessful, often hearing back that she’s “overqualified,” she said.

“The benefits have allowed me to pay the power bill, the gas bill and to barely buy food for my kids,” Daffer said. “If I lose them there’s no telling where I’ll be.”

Thompson said the unemployment benefits help pump millions directly into the local economy because people who receive them usually spend them on necessities like food, housing and utilities.

“It’s a critical expenditure,” he said. “There aren’t any jobs and there aren’t going to be jobs anytime soon.”

John Allen, who has been unemployed for more than two years, says he wants to go back to work and has done everything he can to make himself a more marketable candidate.

He’s gone back to school, applied for hundreds of jobs and even started the process to become a cab driver. But the former plumber said he’s had no luck finding steady employment.

“I worked for 30 years without taking unemployment,” he said. “I want to go back to work. Without unemployment insurance though, I will lose my house. Then what? Am I suppose to disappear?”

CORRECTION: The story incorrectly reported that Heck opposes an extension of the payroll tax cut. Heck supports an extension, but opposes Democrats' extension plan, which includes a surtax on million-dollar-plus incomes. | (December 9, 2011)