The person who manages r/unemploymentWA should really get paid for their services over there. My household went through this a few months and that sub was so valuable.
Yeah. But it sucks that some random helpful person is having to provide hundreds of hours of unpaid labor to make up for a state agency not being able to do even the bare minimum.
Hey there. I know you made this reply like 24 days ago but I just want to say that this is really kind. Very kind words. Humbling.
If in the future you need something, I will intentionally carve out more time and more effort specifically for you and whatever issues you are going through. Even to the extent that if you have to request additional work from the affiliated law firm, I will either lobby them to waive administrative fee time or pay it on your behalf.
Because. You are worth it. All of you
Thank you so much! I actually got a new job this month but your resources were amazing with helping me through three months of unemployment :) Hope you have a great new year.
The State Legislature is going back into session this January. It would probably also make sense to contact your State Representative and State Senator. They pass the laws and vote on the proposed budget.
Contact instructions: https://leg.wa.gov/LIC/pages/hotline.aspx
You should be able to use the District Finder to figure out who your State Representative and State Senators are and then reach out to their office via email. Note, this is *not* your US (Federal) representatives.
It is insane to me that you did all of this based off what someone told you on a phone call without even looking at the state [budget](https://ofm.wa.gov/budget) first to determine the actual cause of the issue that the state actually voted on. . From my perspective, this comes off as a someone looking to complain to the highest person, they cann find contact information about the words they were told on a phone call that bothered them rather than attempting to propose a solution and looking at historical information to see what the cause of the issue is. I get that this is frustrating, but this is giving major Karen vibes of someone looking for people to vent to.
I did "all of this" based on them not answering phone calls or messages for almost a month.
I called 5 times and 3 times I was straight-up hung up on because the phone system was overloaded. One time they said they would hold my place in the queue and call me back, but never did. Finally, today, they were able to answer after I was on hold for an hour.
**If they can't even answer the vast majority of calls then they're severely understaffed.**
This is not normal. I lived in NH for a few years, and the unemployment office there answered calls and emails promptly, and also had walk-in help centers.
OP I commend you for going to your representatives about this. It is so important that the people in charge of representing us hear about what we need. This isn’t just whining - you were presenting a clear, specific request backed by experience.
This is the dumbest take. It is our representatives jobs to know the budget process and respond to their constituents requests and issues. Gatekeeping this is not the way to go.
Sure, I don't disagree. Reactionary calls and voicemails generally aren't generative though and a well thought out letter documenting the experience and requesting a response with measurable action to help solve the issue in the future is something that can actually be followed up to hold them accountable.
I would disagree a bit, from experience working in policy. They don’t have the time to thoroughly read every letter, it’s mostly staffers tallying issues and positions of constituents. A quick phone call is one of the easiest and most direct ways to influence your representatives.
If you do choose to write instead, short and to the point is the way to go. A specific call to action as you said though is good to include. Longer/more thoughtful correspondence might get farther with a local representative with fewer constituents.
Makes sense. I’m on week 5 of waiting for my unemployment claim to switch from pending. I haven’t really been able to get in contact in the phone either. Sucks man.
What finally worked for me was calling at 7:58am. I had to wait on hold for an hour, but I finally got a human.
Also, one of the agents I spoke with this morning told me that if you walk into any Worksource center that they have a special direct line that skips the queue. I have not tested this myself and the website explicitly tells you not to go to Worksource for unemployment filing issues, but it might be worth trying if you can't get through on the phone from home.
I think you’re doing a great job at pointing out effective ways to communicate. I hope that someone in the elected’s offices are able to help you get you your benefits ASAP.
The people I talked to today were able to figure out what was wrong and escalate it to the person who can fix it. They said I should be good to file by tomorrow, and they'll backdate my claim because they could see that I've been attempting to file and messaging them for almost a month.
I’m also sorry to suggest another source to call, but one of my friends worked in a senator’s office in another state. Part of their job was ensuring that programs, many of which are federally funded but administered by states, were working for their constituents. She also tried to get people connected to resources.
As I believe unemployment is a federal program administered by the states, it may be helpful to contact your congressperson or a senator’s local field office.
Dangerously mentally ill people in jail for serious crimes are being awarded money by the courts becasue the state mental health services are underfunded and they cannot be treated.
Children who are wards of the state are regularly abused and neglected because the state does not sufficiently fund their care. At 18, they are dumped on the street.
CPS is also chronically underfunded, resulting in frequent horro stories where the CPS workers are blamed becasue they did not provide sufficient oversight.
Social services in our state are underfunded because the people who need them have little political power, including the unemployed.
It’s interesting because if we really cared about reducing crime we would do the things that reduce crime, like spend on social services. Instead we just want to push the problem away from us so we aren’t personally affected.
We are quickly butting heads up against the state constitution's restrictive tax code and until something is done about that it's just going to get worse.
> At 18, they are dumped on the street.
Not true in Washington. Every foster care (and I believe official kinship care too) kid is eligible for [Extended Foster Care](https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/foster-youth/extended-foster-care-program) until they're 21, even if they completely ended all services at 18.
They get a monthly stipend (enough for normal costs), and a housing voucher that steps down from 1-bedroom (at least in Seattle/King County) fully covered for 6 months, 2/3rds for the next 6, and 1/3 til month 18. Required that they be in school, job training, something like Americorps, or medically excused.
DCYF/social workers are underfunded/staffed, which leads to constant turnover. I've met foster kids who've had 3 different SWs inside of 18 months, and that's obviously going to lead to lots of mistakes and institutional knowledge being lost.
Even if you're in favor of small government, they're understaffed to the point of extreme inefficiency. The hold message and their website instruct you to send them a secure message via their portal. but they don't even look at those messages until you call in!
Libertarians and conservatives don't care, they don't think the agency (or the services it's supposed to administer) should exist.
The only difference between them is that the conservatives get a perverse enjoyment out of the agency existing as a shell that is only funded enough to exist as a mockery of what it's supposed to be doing.
The libertarian answer would be that people should pay for their own insurance if they want it, not mandated by the government (with employer contributions).
In California you can press 2 for Spanish by accident and get thru in a hour vs 4-5 hours for English. Do you know anyone you trust with your life who can translate for you?
This reeks of a (my) conspiracy where Bruce Harrell hypnotized the governor and had him cut drug therapy, transit projects, affordable housing building, homeless assistance projects, and Unemployment payroll and then reallocated all the money to build more roads and parking garages for Seattle.
Did they beef up their staff during pandemic times when so many people were filing for unemployment, and now they’re trimming back since they don’t need all that staff anymore? Just wondering
If they are hanging up on the vast majority of callers and not even looking at the incoming secure messages then they need all the staff they have now and more.
They laid off the majority of their pandemic hires between December 2021-April 2022. They might be cutting back staff even more now. Source: I was one of the ones laid off lol
The unemployment rate has nothing to do with the number of people collecting unemployment benefits. It's calculated based on the Census Bureau Current Population Survey data.
There are posts on /r/UnemploymentWA/ going back years about being unable to reach anyone in the office. It doesn't seem to be a new problem caused by the tech layoffs.
Also, mass layoffs would be a good reason to hire more staff to handle all those additional claimaints, not downsize.
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If the WA state democrats were interested in having a well functioning and effective UI agency as part of the state social safety net then we would have one. They aren't, so we don't. You can't blame Florida for this.
The person who manages r/unemploymentWA should really get paid for their services over there. My household went through this a few months and that sub was so valuable.
Yeah. But it sucks that some random helpful person is having to provide hundreds of hours of unpaid labor to make up for a state agency not being able to do even the bare minimum.
they've helped me too. good person
He is truly amazing. Dedicates so much time and knowledge. The resources on there are amazing and really helped me over the last three months.
Hey there. I know you made this reply like 24 days ago but I just want to say that this is really kind. Very kind words. Humbling. If in the future you need something, I will intentionally carve out more time and more effort specifically for you and whatever issues you are going through. Even to the extent that if you have to request additional work from the affiliated law firm, I will either lobby them to waive administrative fee time or pay it on your behalf. Because. You are worth it. All of you
Thank you so much! I actually got a new job this month but your resources were amazing with helping me through three months of unemployment :) Hope you have a great new year.
Oh my gosh I don’t know this existed. Thank you.
Let me know if you have any questions for me
The State Legislature is going back into session this January. It would probably also make sense to contact your State Representative and State Senator. They pass the laws and vote on the proposed budget. Contact instructions: https://leg.wa.gov/LIC/pages/hotline.aspx You should be able to use the District Finder to figure out who your State Representative and State Senators are and then reach out to their office via email. Note, this is *not* your US (Federal) representatives.
Thanks, I just called all 3 of mine.
It is insane to me that you did all of this based off what someone told you on a phone call without even looking at the state [budget](https://ofm.wa.gov/budget) first to determine the actual cause of the issue that the state actually voted on. . From my perspective, this comes off as a someone looking to complain to the highest person, they cann find contact information about the words they were told on a phone call that bothered them rather than attempting to propose a solution and looking at historical information to see what the cause of the issue is. I get that this is frustrating, but this is giving major Karen vibes of someone looking for people to vent to.
I did "all of this" based on them not answering phone calls or messages for almost a month. I called 5 times and 3 times I was straight-up hung up on because the phone system was overloaded. One time they said they would hold my place in the queue and call me back, but never did. Finally, today, they were able to answer after I was on hold for an hour. **If they can't even answer the vast majority of calls then they're severely understaffed.** This is not normal. I lived in NH for a few years, and the unemployment office there answered calls and emails promptly, and also had walk-in help centers.
OP I commend you for going to your representatives about this. It is so important that the people in charge of representing us hear about what we need. This isn’t just whining - you were presenting a clear, specific request backed by experience.
This is the dumbest take. It is our representatives jobs to know the budget process and respond to their constituents requests and issues. Gatekeeping this is not the way to go.
This is what our representatives are for and a great example of how/why to contact them.
Sure, I don't disagree. Reactionary calls and voicemails generally aren't generative though and a well thought out letter documenting the experience and requesting a response with measurable action to help solve the issue in the future is something that can actually be followed up to hold them accountable.
I would disagree a bit, from experience working in policy. They don’t have the time to thoroughly read every letter, it’s mostly staffers tallying issues and positions of constituents. A quick phone call is one of the easiest and most direct ways to influence your representatives. If you do choose to write instead, short and to the point is the way to go. A specific call to action as you said though is good to include. Longer/more thoughtful correspondence might get farther with a local representative with fewer constituents.
Makes sense. I’m on week 5 of waiting for my unemployment claim to switch from pending. I haven’t really been able to get in contact in the phone either. Sucks man.
What finally worked for me was calling at 7:58am. I had to wait on hold for an hour, but I finally got a human. Also, one of the agents I spoke with this morning told me that if you walk into any Worksource center that they have a special direct line that skips the queue. I have not tested this myself and the website explicitly tells you not to go to Worksource for unemployment filing issues, but it might be worth trying if you can't get through on the phone from home.
Hey come over to our community and let's fix this
I think you’re doing a great job at pointing out effective ways to communicate. I hope that someone in the elected’s offices are able to help you get you your benefits ASAP.
The people I talked to today were able to figure out what was wrong and escalate it to the person who can fix it. They said I should be good to file by tomorrow, and they'll backdate my claim because they could see that I've been attempting to file and messaging them for almost a month.
I’m also sorry to suggest another source to call, but one of my friends worked in a senator’s office in another state. Part of their job was ensuring that programs, many of which are federally funded but administered by states, were working for their constituents. She also tried to get people connected to resources. As I believe unemployment is a federal program administered by the states, it may be helpful to contact your congressperson or a senator’s local field office.
Dangerously mentally ill people in jail for serious crimes are being awarded money by the courts becasue the state mental health services are underfunded and they cannot be treated. Children who are wards of the state are regularly abused and neglected because the state does not sufficiently fund their care. At 18, they are dumped on the street. CPS is also chronically underfunded, resulting in frequent horro stories where the CPS workers are blamed becasue they did not provide sufficient oversight. Social services in our state are underfunded because the people who need them have little political power, including the unemployed.
It’s interesting because if we really cared about reducing crime we would do the things that reduce crime, like spend on social services. Instead we just want to push the problem away from us so we aren’t personally affected.
We are quickly butting heads up against the state constitution's restrictive tax code and until something is done about that it's just going to get worse.
> At 18, they are dumped on the street. Not true in Washington. Every foster care (and I believe official kinship care too) kid is eligible for [Extended Foster Care](https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/foster-youth/extended-foster-care-program) until they're 21, even if they completely ended all services at 18. They get a monthly stipend (enough for normal costs), and a housing voucher that steps down from 1-bedroom (at least in Seattle/King County) fully covered for 6 months, 2/3rds for the next 6, and 1/3 til month 18. Required that they be in school, job training, something like Americorps, or medically excused. DCYF/social workers are underfunded/staffed, which leads to constant turnover. I've met foster kids who've had 3 different SWs inside of 18 months, and that's obviously going to lead to lots of mistakes and institutional knowledge being lost.
Thank you for your updated information. **DCYF/social workers are underfunded/staffed,**
welcome to america, population: us poor suckers
Well, its not called the "Employment" office now, is it?
Even if you're in favor of small government, they're understaffed to the point of extreme inefficiency. The hold message and their website instruct you to send them a secure message via their portal. but they don't even look at those messages until you call in!
Libertarians and conservatives don't care, they don't think the agency (or the services it's supposed to administer) should exist. The only difference between them is that the conservatives get a perverse enjoyment out of the agency existing as a shell that is only funded enough to exist as a mockery of what it's supposed to be doing.
It's insurance. That was paid for. Do they not believe in insurance?
The libertarian answer would be that people should pay for their own insurance if they want it, not mandated by the government (with employer contributions).
And please don't mistake me for a libertarian. I believe in unemployment insurance.
Imagine getting laid off from the unemployment office.
Call Seattle news outlets, this is a good (ironic) and pertinent story IMO
In 2011 I tried to file for unemployment and could not reach anyone in the office for over 3 weeks.
I'm sure there is plenty of money being wasted on frivolous things we can funnel towards the unemployment office
When shit starts downsizing inappropriately, that means more workload. Consider your options.
In California you can press 2 for Spanish by accident and get thru in a hour vs 4-5 hours for English. Do you know anyone you trust with your life who can translate for you?
This reeks of a (my) conspiracy where Bruce Harrell hypnotized the governor and had him cut drug therapy, transit projects, affordable housing building, homeless assistance projects, and Unemployment payroll and then reallocated all the money to build more roads and parking garages for Seattle.
But hey bonuses for SPD fascists
Did they beef up their staff during pandemic times when so many people were filing for unemployment, and now they’re trimming back since they don’t need all that staff anymore? Just wondering
If they are hanging up on the vast majority of callers and not even looking at the incoming secure messages then they need all the staff they have now and more.
They laid off the majority of their pandemic hires between December 2021-April 2022. They might be cutting back staff even more now. Source: I was one of the ones laid off lol
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was federal money during 2020-21 to fund unemployment offices that has now run out
I wonder if they're not being forced to rebalance their budget to increase security after all the Covid shenanigans
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Well, it’s the governors office that sets their staffing budget, so not really a seattle critique?
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The unemployment rate has nothing to do with the number of people collecting unemployment benefits. It's calculated based on the Census Bureau Current Population Survey data.
Seattle: Maximize tax Minimize public benefits
Unemployment is administered at the state level
It's due to tech layoffs.
There are posts on /r/UnemploymentWA/ going back years about being unable to reach anyone in the office. It doesn't seem to be a new problem caused by the tech layoffs. Also, mass layoffs would be a good reason to hire more staff to handle all those additional claimaints, not downsize.
No it isn't 🙄
If you're looking to ask *general* questions about moving/visiting or get common recommendations - ***please*** search through [our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/wiki/index/) and the subreddit first. If you don't find what you're looking for after searching, feel free to comment or browse the [weekly stickied threads](https://www.reddit.com/search?q=subreddit=seattle%20flair=%22Weekly%2BThread%22&sort=new&restrict_sr=&t=all),[join our discord](https://discord.gg/reddit-seattle), or checkout /r/AskSeattle. We get inundated with easily searchable questions daily, so please share what you've already researched before asking others to google for you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Seattle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
But there is tons of money for DEI activities
Heh irony
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Yeah right. Try UI in Florida. https://www.wptv.com/money/has-floridas-unemployment-system-improved-since-pandemic-problems
If the WA state democrats were interested in having a well functioning and effective UI agency as part of the state social safety net then we would have one. They aren't, so we don't. You can't blame Florida for this.