Thread by @VoteGloriaJ

Starting a thread with stories of folks who are unemployed and terrified of what will happen to them when their benefits are stopped July 3rd by @GovBillLee. As the deadline gets closer, they are more and more frightened. Here are stories of some of the lifelines he is cutting.

1. "Hello Ms.Johnson. I am a single mother to 3 beautiful childern. I am the only provider and caregiver to my childern. When covid hit, my children's preschool shutdown. At the time I was barely making ends meet anyways,

but with no child care and my oldest not being in school either, there was no possible way for me to continue to work. I filed unemployment then but did not qualify for the extra $600, but $300 a week at least kept household items in the home.

I have tried to go back to work when schools opened but I couldn't go a week with out missing due to virtual learning days for my children or the number of times we had to quarantine waiting for test results for covid or the amount of times my children were sick.

I reapply for unemployment again. Thank the Lord I did qualify this time for the $300 weekly, every penny that I have received in unemployment has went to paying my rent and car payment.

I honestly would have lost my car and been homeless with my children if it had not been for this unemployment but when Bill Lee ended our unemployment early and daycare and Boys & Girls Club still not operating at full capacity I don't know what quite what I'm going to do.

It is going to put a big hardship on me as a single mother to provide for my children when there is no daycare and schools are not operating. Could you please speak on our behalf and see if Tennessee will reconsider ending or unemployment. Thank you so much for your time

Did you hear this single mom @GovBillLee? Will you help her or cut her lifeline? @6News @wbir @FOX17

2. Ms Johnson, so many small businesses have had to close permanently due to the mandatory Covid 19 shutdown my son lost his business and some of my friends lost theirs as well

most of these people invested all their savings into their business, now they have nothing, some are single parents that can't afford daycare, some are too old to work fast food or factory,

please try to help Tennesseans stop gov Lee from cutting their unemployment off early! Many will be able to find work when school starts. I have friends that are older they were employed prior to the shutdown,

but they have been unable to find work due to their age no, employer says its because of their age, but of course, like myself we know it is.

President Biden signed into law for unemployment to continue until Sept. but Lee and many other govs have opted out, I feel like its politically motivated.

I live in Warren Co. Tennessee a small town where most of the available jobs are part-time, no benefits, and poverty wages! We desperately need help. Help will be most appreciated.

Did you hear her @GovBillLee? Will you help her or cut her families lifeline? More coming...

3. Hi Gloria, I currently live in Knoxville. I am messaging in response to a post on Facebook where I am in a group looking for help on extending unemployment benefits. I am 44 years old and have worked almost everyday since I was 17, until Covid-19.

I was a server and was let go on March16,2020 with many other people in the industry. I had never received any benefits other than foodstamps for my kids on and off through the years.

I have always worked hard and not depended on anyone. So as many others I applied and received unemployment benefits. Last September and October I began looking for employment again and in mid October I became very sick and yes I had Covid-19.

October 30,2020 I was hospitalized and on November 11,2020 my right leg was amputated above the knee due to blood clots. I was in the hospital until December 23,2020 and received no unemployment from November 2020 until March 2021.

I am currently learning to walk again and seeking a job in customer service or anything honestly that requires minimal ambulatory. So because of covid I have lost everything that was my life.

I put in multiple applications in a month, but being 44 and having to change careers all these jobs that the governor says that need filled don't seem to want me. So now the little money I do receive is being taken from me.

I thought this emergency federal money was to aid Americans in getting back to work and when I need it most it is being denied to me because my governor thinks we are lazy pieces of s***.

So any help you can give or guidance is appreciated and people need to realize this has costs thousands of us a lose of who we once were. We don't want a handout, we want to be given a chance.

President Biden has given us aid and now Governor Lee thinks he can put a time as when to say when we can and should return to work. It doesn't work like that. Thank you for your time.

I hope you read this one @GovBillLee and are in tears as I am. Are you going to help this woman or will you cut off her lifeline? @NC5 @WSMV

4. Hi. I have a five year old daughter. I got vaccinated as soon as possible because honestly we’ve got to get out of the house. We’ve been out to eat like five times since, and in doing so we’ve caught COVID.

With benefits ending in the week idk what to do other than pop some aspirin and Benadryl and rejoin the workforce with COVID. My family has to eat.

My family has to eat. We have to keep our lights on. And my daughter will have to attend a daycare or stay with my elderly father. She’s sicker than I am but a few aspirin will get her in the door of a daycare and I guess we can sort things out after my work shift.

I really don’t know what else to do. You can definitely use my name and my story. Maybe I will look like a bad person but what else am I supposed to do.

Do you see the choices folks are being forced in to with your decision @GovBillLee? Do you see how TN families are being asked to put themselves and others in harms way. Are you going to cut this mom's lifeline?

5. I know, and it's like a lot of us you know have compromised immune systems or our children do even like I'm now homeschooling both of my children which I've never even considered homeschooling in and it came to that.

So I'm not bringing anything in except the unemployment but not only are they stopping the $300 extra payment they're stopping it.

So anyone that was on an extension for pua or p e u c are getting just completely cut off going from something to absolutely nothing and that's going to be the hardest part

I hope you are still reading @GovBillLee, I will stay up posting these as long as these scared Tennesseans keep telling me their stories tonight. I guess you are sleeping away in a big comfy bed while these parents are scared to death. Please make time for these stories.

6. As you know, Governor Lee is ending the $300 federal unemployment benefit as of July 3rd. I work live events. Mostly corporate events.

I can tell you based on communicating with my clients on a regular basis that the majority of our work is not returning for the foreseeable future do due very low vaccination rates, etc.

Losing the federal benefit will be a disaster for many of us that work live events while we are waiting ever so patiently for work to return in a safe and responsible manner.

Throughout this pandemic, it feels like we have been completely forgotten.

I sincerely hope you can assist us with getting representation to put a stop to this. This pandemic sadly is far from over.

Notice this person is still out of work because you aren't taking vaccinating Tennesseans seriously. Where are the ads and the push from you to get vaccinated. You are slowing the process and keeping people out of work @GovBillLee. Will you cut off this person's lifeline?

7. I was working last year up until the pandemic hit then I was laid off from my job when it closed it's doors they said they would call me back to work but they never did they remained closed due to the pandemic.

I was able to help my mom who is disabled and can't work with paying bills but now with the governor ending the pandemic unemployment benefits early it has thrown me into a rock and hard place.

We are not out of the woods yet with the pandemic. Health problems and protecting my mom from COVID-19 is one of the reasons I haven't been able to find a job on top of that I have tried applying to places and not one place has called me back wanting to hire me.

Here is another one @GovBillLee, trying to keep himself afloat and help his mom. Will you cut his lifeline as well as his mom's? Will you take 1/2 a billion $$ from Tennessee's economy for politics?

8. I'm on unemployment due to be cut off by Gov Bill Lee 3 months early. I just survived a severley violent and abusive relationship and now have court all summer to keep my son safe and trying to survive while my 1 year old does therapy as well while I still search for work.

I'm pleading for this to be contested. It took all I had to finally escape from this. Hopefully my voice will be heard I know I'm not the only woman in this situation. I pray he listens.

She is pleading with you @GovBillLee, this is your decision. Are you really going to keep this woman from being able to flee an abusive situation? Are you going to cut the lifeline of her and her children?

9. We TNs are people just like the governor of this great state and he has definitely put everyone in a bind. For 12 weeks I've been fighting unemployment just to get benefits and sending everything they have asked for just to be told,

you have to wait for an adjudicator to make a decision. Well not only has governor Lee put a bind on the great people of this state but the unemployment system is way beyond broken! Hours and hours waiting to talk to someone too being told we have no answers for you at this time

and to keep certifying weekly, to looking for employment with no avail, applying for assistance for training school with that taking forever because I was told, "it is a federal funded program and it takes forever" and just more and more waiting.

Having to apply for food stamps because I have no money to eat and can not pay my bills. Truly feel that we are roaches to the Governor and that he has failed us, the people that voted him into that position he is in.

My mental health is being even more effected with all this going on and I don't even have health insurance to seek out a therapist because I lost my great job at the start of this pandemic and was on unemployment for awhile,

found another job that only lasted 6 months and they just stopped giving me hours (Amazon delivery) after their peak season and deleted me from their system and never said anything to me.

Once I filed unemployment against them for lack of work, I get an appeal hearing (filed by them), which in return, they withdrew the appeal and according to appeals that I won the case, now here it is 12 weeks later and I am still waiting for benefits.

I apologize for this very long message but I am not usually a fighter but I am fed up. No one has any answers and honestly, it is taking a toll on my mental health.

I just need some relief and someone to help me and all of us to fight for our right to our benefits we have worked so hard for while paying our taxes when we was working.

I have worked hard since I was 16 years old and I am now 40 with nothing. My savings wiped out that I worked so hard to save.

Once again, I apologize for this very long message and I am extremely thankful for all you are doing and we appreciate you more than you will ever understand. God has blessed you with a caring soul!!

This is the thing @GovBillLee, you aren't seeing their names, but I am. They are baring their soul to a stranger because they are fighting for their families. It takes such courage. Can you find the courage to do the right thing and keep these families in tact?

10. Hello just wanted to share a little, not all of us fall under Bill Lee’s assumption of being lazy some of us have fished for our own food even as a child!

I was the oldest of three girls my mom was a single mom I helped with my sisters, then at 12 I gave up my summers and was ready on the back of a truck at 3 AM and chopped cotton for two summers in a row.

then when I turned 14 I had my very first job on the books as a sonic drive in car hop for under $3 an hour, and have worked ever since. I am not afraid of hard work because I’ve actually done a little bit of everything in my life time

something @GovBillLee has no clue about, Not to mention none of us asked for the pandemic to happen I was doing just fine as an independent contractor making bank driving for uber and Lyft in Nashville

then everything shut down, although bars and things are open it’s still slow with all the festivals, sporting events and concerts are still not back to where they were.

I am turning 50 in a few days and single so I am my only income no one wants to hire someone my age and being a woman and I’m sorry but I am not cut out for working fast food at my age not to mention it will not be enough to pay my bills.

I’ve lost just about everything because of this pandemic and now trying to start over at my age is very hard and it is a very defeating feeling everything I worked so hard for is just gone!

Well @GovBillLee, I hope you are still with us, these folks are pleading for you to do the right thing, are you listening? Will you cut off this family's lifeline?

11. Hello Representative. Thank you. I am an older worker, not remotely interested in hospitality jobs (which is main thrust of this elimination). I have worked faithfully all my life, paying into all systems.

I was laid off at age 59 last March, 2020 due to Covid. I work(ed) in a small family print shop as a graphic designer. When Covid cancelled all events, no print materials, (invites, brochures, etc) were needed and neither was I.

The end of the year saw the company close its doors after 35+ years. I've tried to find a job suitable to my age, physicality, and income range I need, to no avail.

Rich politicians like Gov Lee have no idea how Covid has affected lives. I also lost my boyfriend of 4 years July 26, 2020. I mentally need 2 more months of help. Thank you.

Here is another older Tennessean, I understand how difficult this is for them as well, do you understand @GovBillLee? Have you ever had to look for a job in your 50's? I'm guessing no, please don't cut off this woman's lifeline.

12. First let me say, thank you for helping us all. Unemployment has been a lifeline for many including myself that is self employed. My husband and I owned a construction company.

Just before covid hit, my husband passed unexpectedly in an auto accident leaving behind myself and our 8 kids (4 still under 18).

Unfortunately we had no life insurance and the business was all I had. Covid had devastated our company but I want to keep it going because it is my husbands legacy to our children.

No matter how much I want to reopen at this time, it is not possible. Building materials was hit hard in the beginning of covid and many materials are still limited not to mention the prices are out the roof.

People simply aren’t building right now. They are still focusing on living essentials. Many contractors like myself are just on hold right now.

Thankfully in the beginning my husband and I had a little nest egg but funeral and general life expenses with kids didn’t sustain us long.

Unemployment has been a saving grace. Anyway, I would be happy to share more details of my story and help any way I can, including participation in a zoom meeting. Thank you again for your help.

Did you hear that @GovBillLee, she wanted her husband's business to be a legacy to her kids--that should sound familiar. Are you going to cut this family's lifeline and with it, their dad's legacy?

13. I began working part-time as the administrative assistant at Renters Warehouse in 2019. I am almost 70 years old. Over the course of 2020, I continued to help with answering phones amongst other things remotely when they allowed me.

They wanted there in-person most of the time, even though I am a high risk candidate for COVID. My supervisor and I were the only ones at the office most of the time. Any customers plus the owner would show up without masks on, as well.

As things began opening again in 2021, I asked if I could take a vacation. My direct supervisor had recently helped me receive some paid personal time, since I was not allowed to have vacation time.

Of course most of that time was spent on doctor’s appointments, so I knew I had to take unpaid time for the vacation.

Before I left, I didn’t have any reason to suspect that they were going to let me go. When I came back, I was told they discharged me while I was gone but I was not informed of this until I returned to work in-person.

I applied for unemployment over 2 weeks ago, and my case has not approved yet. I was informed that an HR consulting company I wasn’t familiar with had sent a letter on the Renters Warehouse behalf concerning my unemployment claim.

I googled the group, Thomas and Company, and they are skilled in helping a company fight against claims for unemployment. I also know personally my company received a PPP loan, which goes against letting me go.

I had no misconduct while I worked for Renters Warehouse and also no warning about my discharge.

Tennessee has been nothing but hurtful to me as a senior citizen. I moved here after my divorce, to be closer to my daughter. I did not know I would not be able to afford a life here.

Any help is appreciated. My daughter encouraged me to share my story.

Thanks to you and your daughters encouragement, I hope that you read this story of a TN senior @GovBillLee, she deserves to be heard!