This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Unemployment Insurance Program. On the afternoon of August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. This groundbreaking piece of legislation marked the beginning of the federal-state Unemployment Insurance program. During the past 75 years, millions upon millions of workers who lost jobs through no fault of their own have received temporary unemployment benefits.

Unemployment continues to play a major role in supporting workers when layoffs occur. It is important to recognize the key role that the program plays in economic stabilization. For 75 years Unemployment Insurance has been there when times turn tough, not as a handout, but as a help in the form of weekly paychecks to workers who are ready, willing, and able to work; who are actively seeking employment. Today, with one job for every five people looking, it remains vital in ensuring economic stability for working families, allowing workers to continue to support their families while they get back to work.

The State of Wisconsin had long been known for its progressive attitude toward labor relations and its advocacy for improvement in the socio-political system of the early 1900’s. The state’s leadership embraced the “Wisconsin Idea,” a philosophy proposed by the University of Wisconsin, which holds that the boundaries of the university should be the boundaries of the state. It advocates for the application of research conducted in the University of Wisconsin System to improvements in health, quality of life, the environment, and agriculture for all citizens of the state. As part of these reforms, Wisconsin enacted the nation’s first unemployment insurance law in 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression. Six other states enacted UI laws prior to the Social Security Act of 1935 – California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Utah, and Washington.

Wisconsin issued the first unemployment check in the amount of $15 to Neils B. Ruud of Madison, Wisconsin on August 17, 1936.

A close examination of the check reveals that among the 4 signatures authorizing payment was the signature of Peter Anthony Napiecinski, a member of the Industrial Commission of Wisconsin, and the son of Polish immigrants.

Peter A. Napiecinski (AKA Napieczinski) was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin on May 21, 1892, the son of Thomas and Julia (nee Lewandowska) Napiecinski, Polish immigrants. He was one of eight children in his family, and one of two who went to college.

After graduating from high school, Peter was accepted to the University of Wisconsin — Madison. He worked as a telephone operator on campus to pay his tuition. He was later a starting forward for the University of Wisconsin Badgers basketball team and was also a member of the Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity.

Following graduation, Peter served as a Captain in the United States Army in Europe during World War I. Leading a platoon, he encountered a German contingent. He studied how his men looked at the enemy, and noted their fears. He knew that he needed to say something to prepare them, so he told them, “Work for a cause, but fight for your dreams.”

Following the war, Peter attended Law school. Upon graduation he practiced for 11 years during the Great Depression specializing in rescuing businesses on the verge of bankruptcy. One of the businesses that he was able to save was Acme Galvanizing, which upon re-opening provided jobs for 100 people.

Governor Albert George Schmedeman appointed him to the Industrial Commission of Wisconsin where he served from 1933 to 1937.

Peter lived to be 100 old. He credited his work in the Unemployment Insurance Program as among the greatest accomplishments of his life. He passed on December 26, 1992 in Milwaukee.