My husband just was put back on indefinate layoff again last week. He worked at a plant that makes interior parts for SUVs and trucks. He was just recalled from another indefinate layoff that lasted for nearly three years this February.
more of this sad tale after the fold:
During the last indefinate layoff it took him nearly a year to find a replacement job, and that job paid only a fraction of what he made at Lear and was a 30 mile drive one way to boot. But it paid better than what he made in Unemployment and we could pay most of our bills each month. He quit that job without notice when he was called back to Lear because he only had a small time frame to decide where to work. He chose Lear because it was closer, paid better and actually had benefits. He also was hoping that this time he would have enough seniority to keep working this time around.
Wrong.
While he worked at both Lear and the job he took in between layoffs, he did try to better himself. He took a course in forklift driving, but everytime it came to actually getting the certification, his employer blew him off. The extra training might have made the difference in weather he was laid off or not, or it might help him find a better job, but that point is moot right now,and his going back to school with NO income at all is not going to happen.
Now he's back to where he was three years ago; no job and his Unemployment Comp is a whopping $259.00 a week to support a family of four; not enough to keep a roof over our head AND buy groceries, too.
We're both applying for jobs, but I have been out of the workforce for a decade now and my chances of even getting hired even at Buger King are next to nothing. I applied yesterday anyway because I have to do something to help keep our house.
We also have an appointment for an application to the state Foodshare program, but that won't be for another week and I doubt that we will recieve any benefit until next month, if we're approved.
In the meantime, we have to figure out how to pay the bills and eat, and right now, eating is going to have to depend on what I can beg from the local food pantries and what I can use my last few dollars on. It's a good thing my kids like ramen and Kraft Dinner, because that's what we're going to be living on until we can get some additional help.