TYLER, Texas — The Texas Association of Business, along with 37 business associations and chambers of commerce, sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and the Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission, Bryan Daniel, asking them to consider ending Texas’s participation in the supplemental federal UI payment which stacks on top of standard unemployment insurance.
Employers are citing the $300 additional weekly federal stimulus payment as the biggest barrier to fill their job openings and some states have already announced they are ending participation in this program.
“Thanks to your strong leadership during the COVID-19 crisis, cases are down, mandates are being lifted, vaccinations are up, small and large businesses are reopening, and Texas employers are hiring again,” reads the letter. “With COVID-19 on the decline and job openings on the rise, we believe it is time for Texas leaders and the Texas Workforce Commission to re-examine unemployment benefits, unemployment insurance (UI) work-search requirements and Texas’s role in federal supplemental unemployment benefits.
“Texans want to get back to work, back to school and back to normal. Employers believe that supplemental UI benefit payments from Washington is disincentivizing work and resulting in many good Texas jobs going unfilled. Most Texans would agree that a good job is better than a government program, especially now that our economy is rebounding.”
The following organizations signed the letter:
- Texas Association of Business
- National Federation of Independent Business
- Texas Association of Manufacturers
- Texas Cattle Feeders Association
- Texas Cotton Association
- Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association
- Texas Food & Fuel Association
- Texas Hotel & Lodging Association
- Texas Independent Ginners Association
- Texas Nursery and Landscaping Association
- Texas Public Policy Foundation
- Texas Restaurant Association
- Texas Retailers Association
- Texas Travel Alliance
- Theatre Owners of Mid-America
- Abilene Chamber of Commerce
- Bastrop Chamber of Commerce
- Boerne Chamber of Commerce
- The Chamber – Schertz Cibolo Selma Area
- Denison Chamber of Commerce
- El Campo Chamber of Commerce
- Elgin Chamber of Commerce
- Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce
- Frisco Chamber of Commerce
- Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce
- Galveston Chamber of Commerce
- Longview Chamber of Commerce
- Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
- McAllen Chamber of Commerce
- Ozona Chamber of Commerce
- Rockport Fulton Chamber of Commerce
- Rowlett Chamber of Commerce
- Temple Chamber of Commerce
- Texarkana Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Tomball Chamber of Commerce
- Tyler Chamber of Commerce
- United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce
To read the full letter, click here.