Local lawmakers push bill to give food stamps to striking workers

(WKBN) — Senators in Ohio and Pennsylvania are behind a bill to give food stamp benefits to striking workers.

Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa., announced Monday the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023.

The legislation would allow striking workers to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Right now, striking workers are excluded from the program unless they were eligible before the strike.

Unions often supplement striking workers with strike pay; however, Brown says that striking workers still face “serious financial insecurity.” He also added that some striking workers are not union members and may not receive benefits. The Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023 would repeal the restriction on striking workers from receiving SNAP.

The Food Secure Strikers Act would:

• Repeal the restriction on striking workers from receiving SNAP and affirmatively protect the eligibility of striking workers to receive SNAP;

• Protect public sector workers who are fired for striking from being “considered to have voluntarily quit” for eligibility purposes; and;

• Clarify that any income-eligible household can receive SNAP benefits regardless of if a member of that household is involved in a strike.