Prayer Vigil Calls on Congress to Extend Unemployment Insurance Now

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Holding white carnations high above their heads to symbolize the nation’s millions of jobless workers—particularly the six million facing the loss of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits on Dec. 31—more than 2,000 union, faith and community activists gathered yesterday to demand that Congress act now to extend this emergency lifeline for the jobless. The crowd included a large contingent from the Take Back the Capitol action on the National Mall who marched up Constitution Ave. to the vigil with banners and signs reading “This is Economic Emergency,” “We Need Jobs Now,” and “We Are The 99%.” Shonda Sneed, an engineer from Yellow Springs, Ohio, has been unemployed on and off for the past two years while taking care of her 81-year-old mother who suffers from dementia. “I don’t want a handout. All I want is a job.” Sneed told the crowd. “My unemployment insurance is my lifeline and the only way for me to make ends meet and put food on the table.” – excerpted from Mike Hall’s report on the AFL-CIO blog / photo by Julia Kann