Following Michigan State Senate approval of legislation designed to end expanded federal unemployment benefits in Michigan in a bid to get the workforce back to normal, the head of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association is issuing thanks and a plea for Governor Whitmer to sign the deal.
MRLA President & CEO Justin Winslow issued the following statement Thursday regarding the Michigan Senate’s passage of HB 4434:
The MRLA applauds the Senate’s passage of HB 4434 today that we hope will move Michigan towards the economic recovery of its devastated hospitality industry.
When the pandemic wreaked havoc on Michigan’s restaurants and hotels, the MRLA responded by raising and appropriating nearly $50-million in direct aid to support the many displaced hospitality workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. There is no doubt that supplemental unemployment benefits were also needed for emergency relief at that time.
We now live in a restriction-free Michigan with an abundance of safe and effective vaccines, yet restaurateurs and hoteliers are unable to fill the innumerable openings at wages rising at twice the rate of any other industry.
Michigan’s leisure and hospitality sector is operating with nearly 100,000 fewer jobs than it did in 2019. Even at 100% occupancy, thousands of restaurants remain closed for shifts and in many cases entire days because they cannot recruit and retain sufficient staffing levels and many hotels are leaving available rooms empty for the same reason.
We implore Governor Whitmer to take the logical final step in moving Michigan beyond the COVID-19 era by making the sensible policy decision to immediately end federal supplemental unemployment benefits.
