Hundreds of people are lined up here at Alabama State University in Montgomery, the only site in Alabama where the Dept. of Labor is helping ppl w/ many basic unemployment claim issues, most of which can’t be handle via phone or online. People started lining up at 7 pm last night
Another view of the line. Every night, people are sitting for many hours on the ground, on folding chairs & in tents, hoping to get assistance resolving basic problems like denied claims & unexplained benefit revocations. People I’ve spoken to drove in from as far as Mobile.
The line of people looking for help resolving issues with unemployment benefits in Alabama continues to grow here in Montgomery. People who’ve been here before and been turned away due to insufficient capacity say the Department of Labor only sees 200-450 ppl per day 
It’s been raining on and off all night and morning. Some people have tents or umbrellas but many are just sitting out in the elements. Over 300 people currently in line by my rough count. All this in Montgomery, one of Alabama’s most persistent coronavirus hotspots.
I’m headed back to Birmingham now to write a story for @aldotcom/@reckonalabama on this situation and one lawyer’s efforts to get these people some relief. I’ve talked to numerous people here today and they all say they just want the benefits they’re entitled to as taxpayers
62-yr-old Nora Hardy left her home in Mobile at 3 pm & got in line here at 7:00 last night. She lost her unemployment benefits in mid-May over an error on a form: “My husband passed away so I really do need the income ... It’s really pitiful for America to be going through this.”
Pierre Hines is a father of 3 who drove down from Oxford, AL, where he was temporarily laid off from his job as a field technician on 3/23. He received unemployment through May, when he was cut off: “I like working but I need unemployment. I got a wife, kids, a house. I need it.”
The parking lot for the indoor stadium here on ASU’s campus where the Dept of Labor is meeting w/ ppl is full & a man ran the length of the 300-plus- person line earlier, yelling that cars were being towed on a nearby street, prompting several ppl to run off to move their cars
Worth noting that state unemployment benefits are particularly low in Alabama. An out-of-work gig economy worker in line here said she got $114/week before her benefits were cut off. A man who was laid off from a company where he worked full-time for 20+ years said he got $275/wk
Here's my story on the situation facing many out-of-work Alabamians who have had problems getting unemployment benefits: al.com/news/2020/06/h…
