Moved by the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 assembled a convoy of 70 buses and 47 supply vehicles and pulled out of New York early morning of September 3, bound for New Orleans, Louisiana.
“If we can move New York, I guess we can move New Orleans or anyone else who needs support,” said TA Surface Bus Operator Darien Davis.
“It only took 12 hours to turn a good idea into a reality,” said a union spokesperson.
On September 2, a call went out for bus operators and maintenance workers “needed to help out in New Orleans.” The response came swiftly from workers at depots from Eastchester to 100th Street. Among those aboard was TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint.
Union member Darren Davis said he went because “the government dropped the ball. We had to pick it up.”
Labor unions around the country are rushing to the aid of Hurricane Katrina victims. In addition to issuing a plea for 1,000 union volunteers to be deployed to areas where they are needed most, the AFL-CIO’s Hurricane Relief Fund has collected more than $160,000 so far.
Many unions have also set up relief funds. On August 30, delegates to the Communication Workers of America’s convention in Chicago voted to send up to $4 million in hurricane relief aid to help the families of union members in the area.
The American Federation of Teachers has called on members around the country to help the nearly 15,000 teachers, school staff and others affected by Katrina.
The Air Traffic Controllers union is still struggling to account for all of its members in the affected area, and (National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President John S. Carr asked for supplies and volunteers for a “rescue mission” the union is mounting.
Unite/Here, which represents workers in hotels, casinos, restaurants and other jobs, said thousands of its members have lost their jobs and “a majority of them are without homes.” The union is collecting contributions that will provide direct financial assistance “to help our members and their families survive this disaster.”
The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) is compiling a list of union members near the disaster area who are willing to open their homes and offer temporary housing to APWU members and other postal workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Other unions are setting up communication centers in Houston; Pearl, Mississippi; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Mobile, Alabama, with computers and phones so union members can get information and post messages, letting family and friends know they are safe.
Even unions like the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, AFSCME’s District Council 37 and others that don’t have members in the affected areas have set up hurricane relief funds to help those hard hit by one of the nation’s worst natural disasters.
