The state has paid out over half a million dollars in unemployment benefits to workers during labor disputes this year.
Washington’s new benefit extending unemployment to striking union workers took effect Jan. 1. Since then, the state Employment Security Department has made payments to 138 people, totaling 642 weeks of pay and nearly $506,000, the agency reported this week.
The total could soon climb. Striking workers at Hilton’s Embassy Suites in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood recently applied for the safety net program. Barring an agreement, they expect the benefits to kick in within a few weeks…