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CWAers Respond to Needs of Gulf Coast Members
CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach traveled to Gulf Port, Miss., with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka and two Mississippi labor leaders, guided by the Red Cross, as members in New Orleans and elsewhere began the slow process of recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life," said Rechenbach after touring Gulf Port on Sept. 8. "You go along that Gulf coast and as far as the eye can see, everything is leveled."
Seeing the devastation "gives you a much deeper sense of just how important our member relief effort is to these families."
He said the union doesn't know yet how many CWA members were affected by the storm and its aftermath, but knows that like many people he met on his trip, there are CWA families who lost everything.
Meanwhile, a network of CWA locals continued to send members' disaster relief requests to headquarters, as members nationwide stepped up contributions. As of Sept. 14, the CWA Disaster Relief Fund had received donations totaling $43,000. CWA Convention delegates voted $4 million for the relief effort. Money is already being disbursed to CWA families in need.
Mike Farenholt, president of Local 3410 in New Orleans, on Sept. 14 said Bell South technicians are working 14 hours a day and more, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, to get service restored. Many others have been moved to Alabama and other locations to pick up additional work rerouted from Louisiana.
In the greater New Orleans area, about 18 Bell South central offices remained out of work, mostly because the standing water is still much too high. Some locations were covered by 30 to 40 feet of water, Farenholt said.
Several hundred technicians are working out of two locations - Kenner and Marrero, La. - and the Marrero garage has a huge tent city sleeping about 300 technicians. Many of them don't have a home to go to, Fahrenholt said.
Other Bell South employees have been temporarily transferred to other cities in the Southeast, as far away as Atlanta. The company's putting them up in hotels, and for some of the people, it's a blessing because they've got a place to take their families, he said.
Fahrenholt, a full-time president, has returned to working as a technician. The local's offices are still closed until water recedes from the streets, and he wanted to be out in the field working alongside his local's members, who got a big kick out of seeing him in uniform, on the job. "They tell me, 'just stay out of my way."'
Among other reports that have filtered into CWA headquarters:
Red Cross volunteer Carlos Flores, a CWA-NABET Local 59053 shop steward and member of the KVEA/KWHY negotiating committee, has been helping evacuate Hurricane Katrina victims from the New Orleans area. Because his employer wouldn't give him paid leave, the local's executive board as set aside funds to cover his time off, recognizing his long-standing involvement as a Red Cross volunteer and the many skills he brings to crisis management. The executive board also donated funds to be sent to the Red Cross on behalf of all Local 59053 members.
Members of the CWA-Texas State Employees Union at state Health and Human Services offices are working late nights and weekends to get Katrina evacuees signed up for food stamps. Ironically, client needs are skyrocketing at the same time Texas is readying to close more than 100 eligibility offices and lay off thousands off state workers. They are to be replaced by four call centers across the state to "service" needy Texans, says Arthur Valdez of the TSEU Executive Board. "What if there are future disasters?" he asks. "How will people in need get services?"
Hundreds of CWA members at Verizon and their families volunteered their time the evening of Sept. 9 to take calls during a fundraising telethon broadcast on the six TV networks. Vickie Kintzer, the CWA District 13 health care coordinator at Verizon, said 500 Verizon employees have volunteered to work at the Robbinsville, N.J., call center, among 6,000 volunteering across the country. They include CWA and IBEW members.
Suzanne Bradley, a member of CWA Local 1168, Nurses United, in Buffalo, N.Y., proudly reports that her local gave $100 from its Sunshine Fund and its Community Service Committee collected clothing, toys and school supplies after Bradley's sister's family was forced to evacuate their home in Slidell, La. "Our local has always responded generously to disasters when they touch union families across the country, but I never expected my family would be on the receiving end. I'm thankful to be part of a union that cares about all working families," she says.
Malocca Hawkins, CWA member, steward, and member of her community services committee, is just one of hundreds of CWA volunteers who wanted to help out homeless families who will be coming to California for assistance. Hawkins remarked she wanted to help out the victims, but wasn't able to travel to them, so this was the next best thing - helping convert a housing shelter in Bell, Calif. for families left homeless. The Bell shelter is expected to house 1,000 to 2,000 families.
CWA members at SBC have helped the company's donations to Katrina victims climb to $1.2 million, the most money that SBC employees have ever raised so quickly after a disaster. The company is matching donations dollar for dollar.
The SBC Yellow Pages office in Tulsa, members of CWA Local 6012, have "adopted" an extended family that includes a former Yellow Page employee and a present Bell South CWA member. Local Steward Yondi Benear said the 19 family members are now living in one house in Lafayette, La. They come from New Orleans, where two of their three houses were destroyed and the third was damaged. The workers are donating and collecting linens, toiletries, clothes and other personal and household items, as well as chain store gift cards to help family members buy what they need.
Reports of relief efforts in the field are being constantly updated on the CWA website, ga.cwa-union.org. Just go to the home page and click on "Katrina Relief Honor Roll." If you have an item to add, please e-mail disasterrelief@cwa-union.org. The CWA News is seeking high-resolution digital photos of members in action for publication. Please send one or two as e-mail attachments to jcusick@cwa-union.org.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life," said Rechenbach after touring Gulf Port on Sept. 8. "You go along that Gulf coast and as far as the eye can see, everything is leveled."
Seeing the devastation "gives you a much deeper sense of just how important our member relief effort is to these families."
He said the union doesn't know yet how many CWA members were affected by the storm and its aftermath, but knows that like many people he met on his trip, there are CWA families who lost everything.
Meanwhile, a network of CWA locals continued to send members' disaster relief requests to headquarters, as members nationwide stepped up contributions. As of Sept. 14, the CWA Disaster Relief Fund had received donations totaling $43,000. CWA Convention delegates voted $4 million for the relief effort. Money is already being disbursed to CWA families in need.
Mike Farenholt, president of Local 3410 in New Orleans, on Sept. 14 said Bell South technicians are working 14 hours a day and more, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, to get service restored. Many others have been moved to Alabama and other locations to pick up additional work rerouted from Louisiana.
In the greater New Orleans area, about 18 Bell South central offices remained out of work, mostly because the standing water is still much too high. Some locations were covered by 30 to 40 feet of water, Farenholt said.
Several hundred technicians are working out of two locations - Kenner and Marrero, La. - and the Marrero garage has a huge tent city sleeping about 300 technicians. Many of them don't have a home to go to, Fahrenholt said.
Other Bell South employees have been temporarily transferred to other cities in the Southeast, as far away as Atlanta. The company's putting them up in hotels, and for some of the people, it's a blessing because they've got a place to take their families, he said.
Fahrenholt, a full-time president, has returned to working as a technician. The local's offices are still closed until water recedes from the streets, and he wanted to be out in the field working alongside his local's members, who got a big kick out of seeing him in uniform, on the job. "They tell me, 'just stay out of my way."'
Among other reports that have filtered into CWA headquarters:
Red Cross volunteer Carlos Flores, a CWA-NABET Local 59053 shop steward and member of the KVEA/KWHY negotiating committee, has been helping evacuate Hurricane Katrina victims from the New Orleans area. Because his employer wouldn't give him paid leave, the local's executive board as set aside funds to cover his time off, recognizing his long-standing involvement as a Red Cross volunteer and the many skills he brings to crisis management. The executive board also donated funds to be sent to the Red Cross on behalf of all Local 59053 members.
Members of the CWA-Texas State Employees Union at state Health and Human Services offices are working late nights and weekends to get Katrina evacuees signed up for food stamps. Ironically, client needs are skyrocketing at the same time Texas is readying to close more than 100 eligibility offices and lay off thousands off state workers. They are to be replaced by four call centers across the state to "service" needy Texans, says Arthur Valdez of the TSEU Executive Board. "What if there are future disasters?" he asks. "How will people in need get services?"
Hundreds of CWA members at Verizon and their families volunteered their time the evening of Sept. 9 to take calls during a fundraising telethon broadcast on the six TV networks. Vickie Kintzer, the CWA District 13 health care coordinator at Verizon, said 500 Verizon employees have volunteered to work at the Robbinsville, N.J., call center, among 6,000 volunteering across the country. They include CWA and IBEW members.
Suzanne Bradley, a member of CWA Local 1168, Nurses United, in Buffalo, N.Y., proudly reports that her local gave $100 from its Sunshine Fund and its Community Service Committee collected clothing, toys and school supplies after Bradley's sister's family was forced to evacuate their home in Slidell, La. "Our local has always responded generously to disasters when they touch union families across the country, but I never expected my family would be on the receiving end. I'm thankful to be part of a union that cares about all working families," she says.
Malocca Hawkins, CWA member, steward, and member of her community services committee, is just one of hundreds of CWA volunteers who wanted to help out homeless families who will be coming to California for assistance. Hawkins remarked she wanted to help out the victims, but wasn't able to travel to them, so this was the next best thing - helping convert a housing shelter in Bell, Calif. for families left homeless. The Bell shelter is expected to house 1,000 to 2,000 families.
CWA members at SBC have helped the company's donations to Katrina victims climb to $1.2 million, the most money that SBC employees have ever raised so quickly after a disaster. The company is matching donations dollar for dollar.
The SBC Yellow Pages office in Tulsa, members of CWA Local 6012, have "adopted" an extended family that includes a former Yellow Page employee and a present Bell South CWA member. Local Steward Yondi Benear said the 19 family members are now living in one house in Lafayette, La. They come from New Orleans, where two of their three houses were destroyed and the third was damaged. The workers are donating and collecting linens, toiletries, clothes and other personal and household items, as well as chain store gift cards to help family members buy what they need.
Reports of relief efforts in the field are being constantly updated on the CWA website, ga.cwa-union.org. Just go to the home page and click on "Katrina Relief Honor Roll." If you have an item to add, please e-mail disasterrelief@cwa-union.org. The CWA News is seeking high-resolution digital photos of members in action for publication. Please send one or two as e-mail attachments to jcusick@cwa-union.org.