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Labor, Red Cross Lend a Hand to Union Members in Need
Carl Askew has seen the aftermath of deadly hurricanes, tornados, earth quakes, wildfires and floods. He never expected that the worst disaster he’d ever see would be man-made.
“I’ve seen mass destruction, times when tornados came through and leveled everything in their path. But I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Askew, the retired president of CWA Local 4320, Columbus, Ohio, and, for the past five years, one of the country’s 11 labor liaisons for the Red Cross.
Askew and another CWA member who holds the same job, Kelly Reffett of Local 4202 in Illinois, each headed to New York City immediately after the Sept. 11 disaster at the World Trade Center. They spent weeks helping to coordinate relief efforts between the Red Cross and the city’s active labor community.
After a break, both returned to New York in December.
In their role at disaster scenes, they help ensure that union members and their families get the help they need if they’ve lost loved ones, their homes or their jobs. And they let union locals know how they can pitch in.
In New York, for instance, Askew told the Central Labor Council that the Red Cross needed a building for a service center close to the World Trade Center collapse. It turned out that CWA Local 1180 had ideal facilities a few blocks away and was eager to help.
Kathleen Donaghy, a Red Cross public relations worker, said 1180’s gift was a godsend. “Space is at a premium here,” she said. “Any empty spaces were gobbled up by businesses that needed to relocate. If it weren’t for the local’s building, I don’t know what we would have done.”
Askew also called on union carpenters, electricians and plumbers for help getting a Red Cross building in Brooklyn fixed up as the agency’s main office for coordinating disaster relief. Some workers haven’t charged anything for their services; others are giving the Red Cross deep discounts.
At the 1180 hall-turned-service center, families of victims, as well as people who lost jobs and homes, could drop in or call for help. “We interview them to find out what their needs are,” Askew said. “It could be temporary housing, food, medicine, prescription glasses, furniture. We can give them vouchers for food and furniture. We can get their apartments cleaned, if they’re full of dust. We can pay rent for them.”
Among the toughest cases Askew worked on in New York, was helping a newly widowed mother bring her three children to the United States. “The father was one of the workers at Windows on the World (atop the north tower). The mother was here and the children were in Ecuador,” he said. “We finally got them reunited.”
Reffett worked with the family too, as well as with others who were continents apart when disaster struck. She and Askew also visited victims in the hospital, families at their homes, and set up meetings at union halls, where Red Cross workers presented their array of services to make it as easy as possible for members and their families to get help.
“Normally, in disasters, people come to the service centers for help. But with the high numbers of people affected from HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees) and other locals, it served the members better for us to come to them,” Reffett said. “They were able to get their union benefits and their Red Cross benefits in one location. They didn’t have to keep telling their story so many times.”
The two also visited the collapse site, talking to heavy equipment operators, construction workers, engineers, cable technicians and other union members putting in long, stressful shifts. They made sure the workers knew where they could find respite centers for showers and meals, as well as mental health counseling. “These are big, robust people, but right now they have emotions they have to get out,” Askew said.
The Red Cross will likely be providing services to New York victims and their families at least through 2002, and possibly longer. Askew said many people, including union members and families affected, haven’t sought help yet. But when they do, he said the Red Cross will be there.
“This is the biggest disaster I’ve seen and I hope it’s the biggest disaster I ever see,” Askew said. “The term people here are using is ‘writing the book.’ We’re literally doing things that we’ve never done before.”
Reffett, who has leave from Ameritech to serve as a labor liaison, said the days are long and stressful, but she wouldn’t trade the work for anything.
“I’ve held every position in CWA locals except vice president and president. I’ve been president of my Central Labor Council for 14 years. But I’ve never had such rewarding work in all my life as being able to work directly with locals and union families affected by disaster,” she said. “It’s tough. It brings tears to my eyes. But it’s an obsession. When it’s 8 o’clock at night and it’s time to call it a day, you don’t want to stop. There’s still so much work to do.”
“I’ve seen mass destruction, times when tornados came through and leveled everything in their path. But I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Askew, the retired president of CWA Local 4320, Columbus, Ohio, and, for the past five years, one of the country’s 11 labor liaisons for the Red Cross.
Askew and another CWA member who holds the same job, Kelly Reffett of Local 4202 in Illinois, each headed to New York City immediately after the Sept. 11 disaster at the World Trade Center. They spent weeks helping to coordinate relief efforts between the Red Cross and the city’s active labor community.
After a break, both returned to New York in December.
In their role at disaster scenes, they help ensure that union members and their families get the help they need if they’ve lost loved ones, their homes or their jobs. And they let union locals know how they can pitch in.
In New York, for instance, Askew told the Central Labor Council that the Red Cross needed a building for a service center close to the World Trade Center collapse. It turned out that CWA Local 1180 had ideal facilities a few blocks away and was eager to help.
Kathleen Donaghy, a Red Cross public relations worker, said 1180’s gift was a godsend. “Space is at a premium here,” she said. “Any empty spaces were gobbled up by businesses that needed to relocate. If it weren’t for the local’s building, I don’t know what we would have done.”
Askew also called on union carpenters, electricians and plumbers for help getting a Red Cross building in Brooklyn fixed up as the agency’s main office for coordinating disaster relief. Some workers haven’t charged anything for their services; others are giving the Red Cross deep discounts.
At the 1180 hall-turned-service center, families of victims, as well as people who lost jobs and homes, could drop in or call for help. “We interview them to find out what their needs are,” Askew said. “It could be temporary housing, food, medicine, prescription glasses, furniture. We can give them vouchers for food and furniture. We can get their apartments cleaned, if they’re full of dust. We can pay rent for them.”
Among the toughest cases Askew worked on in New York, was helping a newly widowed mother bring her three children to the United States. “The father was one of the workers at Windows on the World (atop the north tower). The mother was here and the children were in Ecuador,” he said. “We finally got them reunited.”
Reffett worked with the family too, as well as with others who were continents apart when disaster struck. She and Askew also visited victims in the hospital, families at their homes, and set up meetings at union halls, where Red Cross workers presented their array of services to make it as easy as possible for members and their families to get help.
“Normally, in disasters, people come to the service centers for help. But with the high numbers of people affected from HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees) and other locals, it served the members better for us to come to them,” Reffett said. “They were able to get their union benefits and their Red Cross benefits in one location. They didn’t have to keep telling their story so many times.”
The two also visited the collapse site, talking to heavy equipment operators, construction workers, engineers, cable technicians and other union members putting in long, stressful shifts. They made sure the workers knew where they could find respite centers for showers and meals, as well as mental health counseling. “These are big, robust people, but right now they have emotions they have to get out,” Askew said.
The Red Cross will likely be providing services to New York victims and their families at least through 2002, and possibly longer. Askew said many people, including union members and families affected, haven’t sought help yet. But when they do, he said the Red Cross will be there.
“This is the biggest disaster I’ve seen and I hope it’s the biggest disaster I ever see,” Askew said. “The term people here are using is ‘writing the book.’ We’re literally doing things that we’ve never done before.”
Reffett, who has leave from Ameritech to serve as a labor liaison, said the days are long and stressful, but she wouldn’t trade the work for anything.
“I’ve held every position in CWA locals except vice president and president. I’ve been president of my Central Labor Council for 14 years. But I’ve never had such rewarding work in all my life as being able to work directly with locals and union families affected by disaster,” she said. “It’s tough. It brings tears to my eyes. But it’s an obsession. When it’s 8 o’clock at night and it’s time to call it a day, you don’t want to stop. There’s still so much work to do.”