This year’s proposal to allow striking workers to choose not to work but require their employers to pay them anyway was moved forward Friday by the House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards. Senate Bill 5041 now awaits a full vote in the House. It received the approval of the Senate March 7 in a 28-21 partisan vote.

The bill would allow striking workers to collect three months of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Those benefits come from a fund financed by employers. Businesses involved in a strike also would be on the hook for restoring dollars striking workers collected. Serious.