Thousands of workers at Verizon Communications are trying to take advantage of a rare New York state law that allows striking workers to receive unemployment benefits.

About 21,000 union members filed applications for unemployment compensation during a two-week Verizon strike that ended Tuesday, according to the US Labor Department.

About 16,000 of those members live in New York, said a spokeswoman for the Communications Workers of America, the larger of two Verizon unions that went on strike.

The Verizon workers who live in New York might be eligible for the $405 maximum weekly benefit that the state provides to jobless residents. The labor office was unable to immediately say who is eligible and under what circumstances.