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CWA Continues to Aid Members in Hurricane Recovery
CWA members in Districts 3 and 6 continued with restoration and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as the CWA Newsletter went online. Some were returning to their homes and workplaces in parts of New Orleans where the waters had finally receded, while hundreds of others who evacuated from Texas coastal areas after Rita struck still could not.
To CWA members, retirees, and families along the Gulf Coast who have lost homes, cars, pets and most tragically, loved ones and friends, CWA President Larry Cohen offered assurance.
"Please know that you are uppermost in our hearts and minds," Cohen said. "In addition to support from CWA's relief fund, our locals and individual members are donating money, water, food, clothing and other supplies, and are eager to help in every way."
District 6 Vice President Andy Milburn noted that while Houston was largely spared, the city had been evacuated and tens of thousands of people were struggling to get back home along jammed highways. Gas stations were out of fuel, leaving many motorists stranded. SBC technicians in the Texas "Golden Triangle" of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange have just returned to work, he said.
"The company has been housing them and putting them up on cots. They have a generator. There is no power in any of those cities, and they're not sure when there will be any. That whole grid is down and it may be several weeks before it's back up again," Milburn said.
Milburn also spoke with Local 6139 President Ronn Harmon, of Beaumont, Texas. "We don't know how many of our members' houses are damaged, because they can't get back in there. The police won't let you off the exits along Interstate 10 unless you have business to restore some kind of service," he said.
That's also true for 350 service reps who work at SBC's Beaumont location who can't come back to work because they have no housing, power or water. The company is paying them through Oct. 3, Milburn said, then will reassess the situation to see about asking workers to report in Dallas or other locations."
District 3 Vice President Noah Savant said Lake Charles, La., near the Texas border, still had no power, though Bell South had reopened its operator services office there. "They've put the operators up in a gymnasium," Savant said.
Local 3407 President Katherine Hay left instructions on the local's voice mail system instructing members where to report for work and for shelter. "You'll have to bring a sleeping bag and toiletries," Hay said.
By late September, more than 400 members had applied for and received checks from the union to help them get back on their feet. Because members have been displaced throughout the South, designated locals in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas are working with headquarters to distribute funds.
Brooks Sunkett, CWA vice president for Public, Health Care and Education Workers, said MASE/CWA Local 3570 has started an adopt-a-family program for its members affected by the hurricanes, and that Local 3570 President Brenda Scott has appeared on local TV news programs in Jackson, Miss., appealing to members affected by the hurricanes to contact the local.
"They've had about 20 applications so far from people who lost their homes along the Gulf Coast and around Biloxi," Sunkett said.
Said Scott, "We're going to provide what assistance we can to those people and to any others we learn of."
Scott said she has reached out to public sector and other locals to adopt a family from her local, and that several have responded so far: 1034, 1040, 1103, 1180, 3179, 7777, 9119 and 9400.
"We put them directly in touch with the families so they can learn about their needs, then they decide what they can do for them," Scott said. One local is donating $3,000 to a family, another local, $1,000, and one has committed $250 a month to two families for a year.
Many other locals have offered assistance in whatever ways they can, including Local 7705 in Ogden, Utah, which approved a donation of $5,000 to CWA's Disaster Relief Fund. The local mobilization committee is also asking members to contribute the equivalent of an hour's wage to the fund.
Additional contributions are coming from the international labor community: The Mexican telecom union STRM sent the fund a check for $5,000.
To CWA members, retirees, and families along the Gulf Coast who have lost homes, cars, pets and most tragically, loved ones and friends, CWA President Larry Cohen offered assurance.
"Please know that you are uppermost in our hearts and minds," Cohen said. "In addition to support from CWA's relief fund, our locals and individual members are donating money, water, food, clothing and other supplies, and are eager to help in every way."
District 6 Vice President Andy Milburn noted that while Houston was largely spared, the city had been evacuated and tens of thousands of people were struggling to get back home along jammed highways. Gas stations were out of fuel, leaving many motorists stranded. SBC technicians in the Texas "Golden Triangle" of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange have just returned to work, he said.
"The company has been housing them and putting them up on cots. They have a generator. There is no power in any of those cities, and they're not sure when there will be any. That whole grid is down and it may be several weeks before it's back up again," Milburn said.
Milburn also spoke with Local 6139 President Ronn Harmon, of Beaumont, Texas. "We don't know how many of our members' houses are damaged, because they can't get back in there. The police won't let you off the exits along Interstate 10 unless you have business to restore some kind of service," he said.
That's also true for 350 service reps who work at SBC's Beaumont location who can't come back to work because they have no housing, power or water. The company is paying them through Oct. 3, Milburn said, then will reassess the situation to see about asking workers to report in Dallas or other locations."
District 3 Vice President Noah Savant said Lake Charles, La., near the Texas border, still had no power, though Bell South had reopened its operator services office there. "They've put the operators up in a gymnasium," Savant said.
Local 3407 President Katherine Hay left instructions on the local's voice mail system instructing members where to report for work and for shelter. "You'll have to bring a sleeping bag and toiletries," Hay said.
By late September, more than 400 members had applied for and received checks from the union to help them get back on their feet. Because members have been displaced throughout the South, designated locals in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas are working with headquarters to distribute funds.
Brooks Sunkett, CWA vice president for Public, Health Care and Education Workers, said MASE/CWA Local 3570 has started an adopt-a-family program for its members affected by the hurricanes, and that Local 3570 President Brenda Scott has appeared on local TV news programs in Jackson, Miss., appealing to members affected by the hurricanes to contact the local.
"They've had about 20 applications so far from people who lost their homes along the Gulf Coast and around Biloxi," Sunkett said.
Said Scott, "We're going to provide what assistance we can to those people and to any others we learn of."
Scott said she has reached out to public sector and other locals to adopt a family from her local, and that several have responded so far: 1034, 1040, 1103, 1180, 3179, 7777, 9119 and 9400.
"We put them directly in touch with the families so they can learn about their needs, then they decide what they can do for them," Scott said. One local is donating $3,000 to a family, another local, $1,000, and one has committed $250 a month to two families for a year.
Many other locals have offered assistance in whatever ways they can, including Local 7705 in Ogden, Utah, which approved a donation of $5,000 to CWA's Disaster Relief Fund. The local mobilization committee is also asking members to contribute the equivalent of an hour's wage to the fund.
Additional contributions are coming from the international labor community: The Mexican telecom union STRM sent the fund a check for $5,000.