In Tyler Fenwick’s article for the Indianapolis Recorder on how ending federal pandemic unemployment programs could impact Black Hoosiers features the story of Tammaria Fernandez, an organizer with the Indianapolis Liberation Center.
Fernandez told her story at the June 1 protest against ending the unemployment programs organized by the Indianapolis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Excerpts from the article:
In April 2020, when Indiana’s unemployment rate hit a record high of 16.9%, Tamarria Fernandez’s food service job was among the casualties.
Fernandez, a cafeteria worker at a local charter school, was laid off. She was on unemployment through July but eventually got the same job back.
Her family’s saving grace for those few months, Fernandez said, was the increased unemployment benefits, including an extra $300 on top of the normal payment and an extension to the normal 26-week period insurance lasts.
Fernandez, 43, said typical unemployment insurance wouldn’t have covered bills, groceries and rent, which is $540 at the apartment where she lives with her husband.
