this is "nightline." tonight, stimulus stalemate, out of work, and families hungry. for millions of households desperate lay desperately in need of help. >> i don't blame the president for the virus. i don't blame the congress, what i blame them is what i feel like is a second >> plus, beyond "me too." a heroine's story, a construction worker fired after reporting daily sexual harassment. >> you are a person, a human being and deserve to be treated as searuch. >> we're just women in construction. we get dirty like everyone else. i think they feel like we're low

budget so we don't matter. "nightline" starts right now with byron pitts. >> families are selling their possessions, heading to food banks in droves. last week more than 1.2 million americans filing for unemployment, something needs to give, but for a divided congress, covid-19 stimulus packages are a sore spot. janai norman has the story. >> reporter: desiree didn't just lose one job, she lost three. a substitute teacher, she also worked as an actor and ran a small business doing face painting on the side. >> i've had several people insultingly say well, you're supposed to have an emergency fund. okay. i did. orr:he madthrgh into my on unemployment, in part helpe w federal aid. >> we have to pay electric,

water, a mortgage, we have to pay that. >> reporter: i have to ask about the save the $600 sign in the back. >> this is both an emotional and mental and everything. it's anguish in writing, a cry for help. >> reporter: now, a week after that emergency assistance expired, lawmakers are still locked in a stalemate, divided over a more permanent relief package, as millions of americans navigate a cash-strapped new normal. >> we have enough to probably go for about a month and a half, two months. >> i'm frightened. i'm frightened about what's going to happen to so many families. >> where >> we're not lazy, but we don't want to lose our homes. >> reporter: democrats blasting the administration and peers across the aisle saying there aren't enough jobs and people need help. >> republicans want to apply just a band-aid. d some republicans pointing ay e

out with this add benefit, some americans are bringing in more money now than they would if they were working. >> democrats can't exactly tell us why in the world that we ought to be spending literally billions of dollars that's not focussed on getting the economy opened up again. >> the people who lost their jobs and are drawing unemployment benefits have what economists would call a high marginal propensity to consume. >> reporter: leersa coisa cook professor of economics. >> consumer spernding is about 70% of gdp. the entire economy could crash if we are not helping those people who have lost their jobs and are applying for unemployment insurance. >> reporter: when the president signed the c.a.r.e.s act in march, a $600 bonus was given to

people who were jobless. the $600 was added to the compensation from your state through july 31st. in new jersey, where the maximum pay out is $713, you would receive as much as $1,314 every week. in colorado, $1,218, and in louisiana, $847. >> it's just too much. it disincentivizes people from working. that's going to slow our economic recovery. >> reporter: andy puzder wrote an op ed. >> first of all, we need to help everybody who's been disadvantaged by the pandemic. the problem with the $600 bonus is that it was actually intended to discourage people from working. we didn't want people to get back into the economy. we wanted them to stay home, so we didn't overwhelm the medical system and see the disease spread. we're sort of through that phase

now. >> we're still seeing cases rise in many places. what would you say to those folks who feel like they need that $600 weekly bonus and are afraid to go to work because they don't want to get sick. >> if you're afraid to go to work, if you're staying home and getting unemployment benefits, you should be fine. what we're talking about here is earning substantially more than you did before the pandemic forced staying home. >> reporter: that is one thing you keep saying, the $600 weekly bonus is a disincentive to work, that is dissuading people from going out and working. what evidence do you have to back that up? >> we have about 30 million people on unemployment insurance in the united states and small businesses can't find workers, they can't find people to work. >> usually when we advertise one opening we'll get 30 to 50 resumes within 24 hours, and we've received four since may 1st. it's hard to know exactly why that's happening. >> reporter: angelina swanson

feels torn. she's all for the $600 unemployment checks but she believes they've had an impact on her business. >> i think it's vital to keeping families fed and keeping them on their feet, and i also think it's causing problems for small businesses like mine in getting people back. >> reporter: since reopening her spa, she's been short staffed and struggling to find applicants. >> i do think it is because people are enjoying stimulus checks, and, you know, i'm sure there is a small fear of coming back in, interacting with the public and possibly being exposed to covid. >> that is probably true, that some are making more on unemployment. that is not deterring them taking a job. i mean, people aren't going to come out if they're sick, and they're not going to come out if they think they're going to get sick. >> reporter: scott was one of those americans grateful for

that extra $600 a week to help make ends meet. >> it was a great lifeline for us to pay some bills that couldn't be reduced. there's a huge middle class sector, like us, that need that to, to get by. >> reporter: we first met scott in april, after he was laid off from his job at an online advertising company at the end of march, when coronavirus hit hard. >> i'd say we've, we've exhausted pretty much every option for assistance that we can. >> i'm at my next food bank, my second one for today. >> i'm looking through my books, going to divide it up. >> reporter: now wrought thitho $600 a week, they're looking at what possessions they can sell to get by. >> i went through my cameras. i have some antique ones and regular ones that i need to sell. >> reporter: and rationing medication while waiting for insurance to come through. >> at least i've got some credit card payments deferred for the next month. >> reporter: when do you think

things are going to come to a head? >> right now we have enough to last until the end of september. >> reporter: what would you say to those who say that the $600 a week bonus is a disincentive to work? >> they're misinformed. many people don't believe something until it actually happens to them. >> reporter: as lawmakers leave washington for summer recess, desiree is left worrying about how to stay afloat. >> one of the things i did not anticipate during the pandemic was surgery, not for myself but for callie here, tore muscles in her leg. now i'm looking at a $3,700 bill that i just don't have the money for. it's very emotional for my, because i'm a proud person. and i've always been an extremely hard worker. i would almost say a workaholic. so, for me to have to reach out to people to raise money to get my dog surgery, it took a lot for me to do. >> reporter: do you feel like

the politicians in washington are essentially letting you down? >> yes, i do. i mean, there's no easy answers. i don't blame the president for the virus. i don't blame the congress for the virus. because at the end of the day, when we came out, we couldn't go back to our jobs. because industries are lost. they are lost. our thanks to janai. coming up, strength in numbers. blue collar workers expanding the focus of me too. >> from low wages to no benefits to sexual harassment. hey, what's up? but, we have aunts. you're slouching again, ted. expired, expired... expired. thanks, aunt bonnie. it's a lot of house. i hope you can keep it clean. at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. which helps us save a lot of money oh, teddy. did you get my friend request?

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ask. shop. discover at your local xfinity store today. for many working people, there are sexual harassment cases that often don't make headlines. tonight, a woman using the strength of her convictions to battle abuse. here's juju chang. >> i hated going to work. i hated passing all the men. i endured slurs about me like you're sexy, you look really

good. why aren't your pants tighter? i was told women didn't belong on the construction site. >> reporter: tee tiara williams says she was harassed not only by colleagues but by superiors. >> >> i had to endure sexual harassment every day. i woke up sad and depressed that i had to woman here every day and passed by these men that completely violated everything that was my right as a human being, even fully clothed in front of them i felt naked. >> reporter: as a single mom, $15 an hour represented the highest-paying job she'd ever had, an opportunity to provide for her 6-year-old son. on the construction site, tiara and a few other women held the lowest-ranks and lowest-paying jobs. >> it was horrible, not just for me but for all the women. we always felt like someone was

staring at our female body parts. >> reporter: you were objectified, it sounds like. >> mm-hm. >> reporter: and comments, gestures? >> all types of comments and gestures. and when you didn't respond to them properly you were called like a [ bleep ], whore, slut. >> reporter: the construction industry has the second-highest rate of sexual harassment in the workforce, according to the bureau of labor statistics, and yet tiara feels left out of the me too movement, saying blue collar workers like her and her co-workers, all women of color, were missed by the headlines. on some level were your stories are a recognition that sexual harassment has to do with power and not just glamorous women in ball gowns. >> there's no me too movement for us. we're just women in construction. we do labor work. we get dirty like everyone else. i just think they think we're low budget, so we don't matter.

>> reporter: after nearly two years of what tiara says was daily sexual harassment she reported to her supervisors, two days later she was out of a job. >> i got a call saying i was being fired for insubordination and time stealing. i've never been written up on the job. i've never had any verbal warnings or anything before then. >> reporter: so you felt it was retaliation. >> i knew it was retaliation. >> reporter: tiara felt powerless. at the time, she didn't belong to a union. in fact, tradeoff, the company she worked for, specializes in providing non-union labor to construction sites. but local 79 heard of her story and connected her to a lawyer and she decided to fight back. how would you characterize the culture at tradeoff? >> it was the wild west, no training, no complaint procedure, no supervision. >> reporter: jason represents tiara and four other women who sued tradeoff for sexual

harassment. >> they're told that they're not valuable as construction workers. they're only valuable as sexual objects. the harassment ranged from requests for sexual favors in exchange for benefits, like o r overtime to physical groping and unwelcome contact, sending sexually explicit photos, physical violence, to retaliating against people when they did complain. >> reporter: tiara was one of the first women to come forward about the company. we met her in 2019, when she was just beginning to find her voice. >> new york city is a union town! >> reporter: tiara, and eventually more than a dozen other women's allegations, were brought to the attention of new york's first female elected attorney general. >> she's a hero, she stood up and joined with others and realized that she would not be a victim but in fact a survivor. >> reporter: the attorney

general's 17-month long investigation found a pattern of severe sexual harassment over four years. including solicitation of sexua firing of at least 12 women after they complained about sexual harassment. the result, a stunning landmark settlement last month for women in construction. tradeoff settling with 18 former employees to the tune of $1.5 million. what message do you think it sends to workers out there of all stripes, who feel like they're in an all-boys club, in a male-dominated environment, where they have no voice? >> sends a strong message. not only to tradeoff, but to other construction sites, that they have to get their business in order, adopt a sexual harassment policy and cannot tolerate sexual harassment of any kind. it is junacceptable. >> reporter: in their

settlement, tradeoff has denied all of the findings, saying they believe they were driven by a long-lasting dispute with the union. but also adding, tradeoff considers any level of harassment to be unacceptable and deeply regrets that our processes for training and oversight failed some of the women who worked for us. we've acknowledged those deficiencies and pledge to greatly improve them. notably, part of the settlement requires an independent monitor for three years. why is it important for you to have eyes on those? >> because i don't trust them, and it's important. it's important, again, that we verify. >> reporter: this is the first settlement in the ag's office with a construction company. >> mm-hm. >> reporter: what goes through your mind? >> my son thinks i'm a rock star right now, and i'm really excited about that. >> reporter: for tiara, the settlement has emboldened her

crusade. she now works as an organizer for that same union that helped her. one she considers a game changer for women. >> thank you very much. >> no problem. if you ever have anything, call me, even if you're off work and i'm off work. >> workers united will never be divided! >> reporter: she repeatedly refused to sign non-disclosure agreements so she could continue to speak out. organizing her first rally just last week. >> i never want to feel what i felt before. from low wages to no benefits to sexual harassment. >> reporter: across new york city wherever tiara went, we noticed she got stopped on the street by strangers. >> i've worked in a lot of different fields, and sexual harassment is real. like i shouldn't have to play with you to get the same pay. >> i've been through it, i went from non-union to working union. i'm not afraid to tell my story anymore. that's what makes me good at my

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s and finally tonight, beirut united. after the blast in beirut, windows shattered, homes wrecked, but the city's spirit staying strong, as volunteers take to the streets to sweep up glass and debris. an army of helping hands, working together to take care of their home. bru bruised but not broken. there's "nightline" for this evening. you can catch our full episodes on hulu. thanks for the company, america, goodnight. >> dicky: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live" with anthony anderson. tonight, d.l. hughley, and bubba wallace, and now, anthony anderson! >> anthony: hello and welcome to "jimmy kimmel live."

my name is anthony anderson. this is my second night in a row guest hosting the show. i actually do a lot here on abc. i'm on "black-ish," "to tell the truth," and for the past 11 years, i've been playing the role of george stephanopolis on "good morning america." i have to be honest, i'm feeling a little sentimental tonight. we looked it up, and this is my 41st appearance on this show. it was sweet, the staff gave me a cake today with candles and everything. but then i blew on it and we had to throw it away. y'all could have let me eat the damn cake myself. this is the worst summer in recorded history and continues to roll on. i remember the old days when having a bad summer just meant you sat in poison ivy. in 2020, itchy ass is your best case scenario. remember that movie, "i know what you did last summer?" they should make one about this summer.