Rising to a Tragic Occasion
AFSCME members from across the nation responded generously to the events of Sept. 11 by donating money, collecting food and volunteering in person at the disaster sites.
By Jon Melegrito
Bake sales. Raffle drawings. Potluck lunches. Dinner fundraisers. Holiday ornaments. Those and other projects generated close to a million dollars for the AFSCME September 11 Relief Fund.
For two months after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, AFSCME members — collectively and individually — showed what it meant to be part of a national labor movement in times of crisis. Some of the money raised went to local charities designated to assist union families directly affected by the terrorist attacks. (Families of AFSCME's nine lost workers have each received $25,000 to help with emergency expenses. They will also receive $3,000 for each child. The fund has raised over $800,000 so far.) In addition, a number of unions mobilized their respective communities to replenish food banks — a source of support for thousands of displaced workers who are struggling to feed their families.
Here's a rundown of typical post-Sept. 11 activities:
Alaska
Joanne Singer, and a few other members of Alaska State Employees Association/AFSCME Local 52, flew 4,000 miles to be in New York City for three weeks in October as part of their job working for the Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team.
Trained to respond to fires and other disasters, Singer helped the New York Fire Department put together a daily logistics plan and monitored its implementation. Her skills as a four-year
support person for the Division of Forestry certainly came in handy. She learned about analyzing sensitive data compiled from findings in the rubble.
"It was a privilege serving the people of my state," Singer says proudly. "I am honored to have played a part, no matter how small, in supporting the firefighters." Their job assignment at The Pile was anything but standard. They all agreed that "in some ways, any wildfire will now seem small potatoes."
California
Unemployed hotel and airport workers in Los Angeles — close to 70,000 jobs so far — are struggling to keep their health insurance current and their utility bills paid. Mostly new immigrants with limited resources, they include airline workers, luggage handlers and parking lot attendants. Robert Reeves Sr.,
president of the Employees Association of the Metropolitan Water District/Local 1902, got his executive board to aid the workers from its reserve fund. Along with personal contributions from members, they raised a total of $9,600 for the September 11 Fund.
"We remembered how generous people from the East Coast were during the last California earthquake," Reeves recalls. "There should never be any doubt that we come to bat when it's our turn."
Connecticut
Local 287 (Council 4), representing 200 board of education custodial workers in New Haven, may have raised money the hard way, but in the end "it also raised the community's awareness about who we are," says its president, Brian Stanfield. Standing on the corner of two main thoroughfares one September day, 30 members waved signs asking motorists driving by to donate canned goods and supplies for the terrorists' victims. As early as 7 in the morning and as late as 7 in the evening, drivers stopped to unload their donations. Many others wrote checks.
The total take exceeded the workers' own expectations. Altogether they raised almost $3,000 in just one day. Under an arrangement with the Red Cross, the local Stop & Shop Supermarket doubled that amount. "This was a unifying activity for our members — doing something outside our regular jobs," says Stanfield.
District of Columbia
For two days in October, the International staff's bake sale attracted an eager lunch crowd of office workers, tourists, policy wonks and politicians. Passers-by, near the headquarters building, were drawn to the "I Love New York" signs posted around the AFSCME stand. Chanting "Help the Needy, Buy a Pie," D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey and a cadre of police officers joined union volunteers in selling all 600 pies and raised close to $4,000.
Florida
The state's hospitality industry has suffered massive layoffs since September. Debbie Ryan, president of Local 3345 (Council 79) in Orlando, notes sadly that an entire flight attendants' local was wiped out due to the faltering airline industry. Disney World alone sent home 3,000 workers — most of whom belong to unions.
At a get-together Ryan convened, the members decided to act swiftly. "First, we organized a town hall meeting and invited public officials to talk to us about the economic downturn and its adverse effect on workers," Ryan says. "Then we mobilized the community and collected canned goods to help those who are struggling. Although we're not a big local, it makes us feel good to know we can do something."
Hawaii
The hotel industry's sudden slide has been especially tough on poor families in this tourism-dependent state. The single fastest-growing segment of folks using food banks has been families whose breadwinner had a hotel job.
Sharon Morris of the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA)/AFSCME Local 152, stepped in and got the ball rolling. AFSCME's leadership in the AFL-CIO's Community Action Committee, she reports, sparked an island-wide food drive to help the more than 4,000 union households affected by the events of Sept. 11. Members worked closely with various unions and businesses to replenish the depleted supply of Oahu's food bank. "We hustled volunteers for the one-day drive, and posted them at grocery stores and shopping malls," Morris says.
HGEA also mobilized nurses and clerical staff in Hawaii's hospitals, collecting close to 12,000 pounds of food.
"What's heartening was the participation of spouses and teenage children in this effort," Morris adds. "There was a contagious feeling of solidarity. The children, especially, got a better understanding of what unions do."
Illinois
Beverly Sandifer, president of Local 1215 (Council 31), spent her entire vacation on the rescue effort, joined by members of her church group. For five days in September, she worked long, tedious hours peeling potatoes, paring onions, cooking meals and serving food to rescue workers at the Pentagon. "It was very hectic," she recalls. "We had to prepare 25,000 meals a day."
The following month, Sandifer again volunteered with the same group and spent a week in New York City, where she played a different role: providing emergency therapy to workers. "We massaged their hands, arms and backs. We washed their feet. We talked and prayed with them. We also gave them supplies like warm clothing, face masks, gloves and socks."
Sandifer regards her two-week leave from her public library job as "personally and professionally fulfilling."
Adrian Delgado, a Council 31 Personal Support Program counselor, also spent a week in New York City in October with a team of firefighters from Chicago. They went as part of an effort mounted by the International Association of Fire Fighters. They included Delgado because of his counseling skills as a licensed clinical social worker. But when he arrived, Delgado was immediately deployed to provide direct services to other workers. "I talked to guys who were at Ground Zero on Sept. 11 and were having flashbacks," he says. "They were waking up in the middle of the night trembling and experiencing shame and guilt because they had survived."
The time spent at the respite center, Delgado says, was all worthwhile. "I'm just glad to help our union brothers and sisters recover."
Massachusetts
Robert Coppage, a campus police officer at Massasoit Community College and a member of Local 1067 (Council 93), volunteered at Ground Zero. "When I heard what happened, I just couldn't sit down and do nothing," he recalls. He was, after all, trained as an emergency medical technician.
So Coppage secured permission to leave, drove to New York and found himself, along with hundreds of volunteers, assisting firefighters in the rescue effort. In a couple of days, "I developed a common bond with the people there. As a security officer, I now have a much deeper appreciation of the work I do."
Members of Local 3477 conducted a "Fill the Boot" fundraiser in conjunction with the Fall River Firefighters Local 1314. As of this writing, they were still striving to reach their goal of $50,000.
Ohio
State Department of Transportation employees held a benefit luncheon nine days after the attacks and raised $4,000. Members of all seven district chapters contributed. Edward C. Hamlin of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA)/AFSCME Local 11 points out that "As highway workers, we needed to show the traveling public that we're all in this together."
The same spirit inspired OCSEA members to volunteer in Pennsylvania where the fourth plane crashed. Tes Ide, Henry Allen and Marie Poe — all employees of the Mt. Vernon (Ohio) Mental Retardation Development Center — spent over two weeks with the Red Cross preparing and serving food to troopers working at the site.
After putting in a full day's work at a mental retardation development center, Sharon Brown (also of OCSEA) used her creative talents to produce handmade patriotic badges (left). Before the Christmas holidays, she made and sold 1,500 of the ornaments at $2 each and donated all the net proceeds to needy AFSCME families. Carved out of pine and painted, the design includes a star, a heart and an apple — representing the three crash sites — glued to-gether on an American flag. Using only a small saw and a sander, Brown spent many hours in her wood shop producing these hot-selling items. She sold out the first batch of 100 at the AFSCME Eastern Regional Women's Conference in New York City.
New York was also in Mary Kay Thomas' mind when she and co-worker Gail Coburn of Local 101 (Council 8) joined their Dayton church group on a trip to Connecticut one October weekend. She had an idea: "We might as well pass by Ground Zero and give some food and supplies to the rescue workers." Word got around, she recalls. "When people in the community learned about our plan, they responded quickly and filled our van."
Oregon
Mike Oster, president of Local 1847 (Council 75) — which represents Port of Portland police officers — says that their added responsibilities and longer work shifts guarding the airport have taken a toll on personal lives. The officers nonetheless found time in September to organize a fund drive and raise $1,000. "The families of those who died are part of our family," Oster says. "This is about taking care of our own."
Thinking back to the terrorist attacks, the 17-year police veteran says he has always been aware of the dangers of law enforcement. "I am heartened that the public has a greater appreciation now for police and firefighters and the hazards they live with every day."
Other locals contributed to the relief effort as well. "We raised about $40,000 for the AFSCME fund," says Mary Botkin, Council 75 political director. "Although it may not seem like much in the big picture, for Oregon it was pretty significant. We tried to do a coordinated blood drive but the Red Cross could not get it together for us. Anyway, in the end, it wasn't blood that was needed — a miracle was in order."
Washington
At Local 491 (Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28), which represents caretakers of a school for "developmentally delayed" adults, members ordered close to 200 sweatshirts with the message "Sept. 11: We Won't Forget" emblazoned in red, white and blue lettering. Says Pres. Amy Murphy, "We were elated with the response. We've only got a few left."
Local 53, comprising close to 1,000 employees in Tacoma and Pierce County, netted more than $5,000 at a fundraising dinner that Pres. Steve Chenoweth describes as "the least we could do."
Wisconsin
Members of Local 3777 (Council 24) raffled off $2,000 worth of sports souvenirs and other prizes, including autographed baseballs and football game tickets — that were donated by the Milwaukee Brewers and the Green Bay Packers. Appropriately, the fundraiser was held in a sports bar in Racine. Says Local Pres. Terry Weilandt of the 50 corrections officers who organized the event: "I'm so proud of these guys for going all out and taking personal time to solicit these donations."
In Rock County, courthouse employees — all members of Local 2489 — contributed money to a food pantry that was providing groceries to laid-off workers. Each one donated an amount equal to his or her membership dues.
Robert Lyons, Council 40 executive director, says that several other locals gave generously as well.
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AFSCME's collective and individual responses affirmed what the union is all about. As Sharon Morris of HGEA puts it: "Public employees take such a beating sometimes, but we always rise to the occasion."
September 11 Fund Top Contributors
On Duty at Ground Zero
Ron Asman got a call from the Red Cross on Sept. 12: Report to Ground Zero immediately. To make sure he was able to comply, a Columbus (Ohio) businessman provided his company's executive jet to fly him and six others. Asman was in New York City, on duty, that same evening.
An instructor with the Ohio Department of Transportation and a member of OCSEA/AFSCME Local 11, he did two three-week "tours" in New York — in September as a government liaison officer and in November as a safety and security officer.
During his first stint, Asman worked at the Emergency Operations Center, putting in 12-hour shifts maintaining contacts between the Red Cross and the different relief agencies. His duties included delivering supplies to workers, securing cots and directing other volunteers. He also handled complaints about sightseers at the worksites. A safety issue also arose. At one point, he issued a command to workers to clear Ground Zero because a building was about to collapse.
On his second tour, the Red Cross specifically requested Asman's services because of his expertise as a licensed private security guard. His main task was to oversee contracts for security companies, making sure they were doing their job.
Honored by the Ohio House of Representatives with a commendation, Asman shrugs off the idea that he did anything unusual. "I believe every person in Ohio would have dropped what they were doing to go to New York and help if they were able to," he says. "And the experience has made me even better prepared to help in future disasters."
— J.M.
