Frozen Assets
THE NORTHEAST
It was Jan. 7. Maine Department of Public Works Equipment Operator Mike Bernier had already reported to work when the freezing rain struck, coating trees, homes and power lines in treacherous layers of ice.
"It looked like a war zone," says the chair of Local 1458 (Council 93). "In past storms, I had worked long hours, salting and plowing the roads, but this one — I have never seen anything that caused so much damage and devas-tated an entire state." Bernier worked 27 hours starting that first night, cutting and clearing trees that had rendered the roads virtually impassable.
From Maine to upstate New York, the ice storm brought down power lines, burst water pipes and closed roads, sending residents looking for heat and food to shelters across the Northeast. It was the worst ice storm to hit the region since 1929.
AFSCME Local 1343 (Council 93) Pres. Lindol Atkins said that public works employees in Burlington, Vt., cleared debris with the help of fellow unionists who are park, streets and water employees. "Trees were bending and cracking all around us while we worked on power lines," says Atkins.
Atkins praised the local’s administrative and clerical employees who fielded calls. "They worked diligently to answer everybody’s calls. Even our director of public works has said how proud he is of all the work we have done."
In beleaguered New Hampshire, Kim Jewel, treasurer of AFSCME Local 3685 (Council 93), says the 80 members who work at the Mountainview Nursing Home in Ossippee provided a normal routine for the home’s 103 residents despite a weekend power outage.
Members of AFSCME in New York state also went beyond the call of duty. Danny Donohue, president of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)/AFSCME Local 1000, visited with workers at the emergency operations center located in St. Lawrence County. "The devastation was beyond belief. Even as their own homes were without heat and electricity, CSEA local and state government employees worked around the clock in 12-hour shifts to assist others," says Donohue, who serves as an International vice president.
Forty CSEA members who work at a new $22 million food preparation facil-ity helped feed, rescue and house thousands of residents left stranded by the storm. The workers produced some 15,000 pounds of food for local victims and shipped another 36,000 pounds to other upstate shelters. CSEA set up a disaster relief fund to help those most heavily affected by the storm. Donations may be sent to the CSEA Disaster Relief Fund, 143 Washington Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12210.
AFSCME New York Council 82 members — led by Pres. Richard Abrahamson — braved the record-breaking storm, too. They established a disaster relief fund and purchased 20 generators for every AFSCME local in the five-county area: Essex, Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Jefferson.
The fund also helped buy food, baby-care items, batteries and bottled water. Council officers and staff participated for 48 hours straight delivering these products to the locals, who in turn distributed the items to those in critical need.
To make a contribution to the Disaster Relief Fund, write AFSCME Council 82, 63 Colvin Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12206.
As we go to press, electricity and public services had been restored to most of the ice-bound areas — just in time for another wintry storm.
