Our union sends aid to Haiti earthquake victims

All of us are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking tragedy that occurred this week in Haiti. Reports about the earthquake are still coming in, but it is already clear that this is a calamity of truly frightening proportion.

We know many of our members are directly affected by the situation. We know some of you have lost loved ones. And we know we all should do what we can to assist those that survived the earthquake and are so desperately in need of help.

 

The need for financial relief in Haiti is immediate, so instead of taking up collections in the shops the Hotel Trades Council and Local 6 have already donated $25,000 each to the American Red Cross.

We strongly urge members to join the relief effort. In addition, we urge the federal government to grant temporary protected status to those Haitians in the U.S. who currently face deportation over their immigration status.

While you may have heard that food, medicine, tents and other specific items are sorely needed in Haiti, Haitian officials and disaster relief experts have all said that the best contribution of all is money. That's because money can be targeted for the things that are true priorities in the relief effort.

We are sure that many of you want to help the relief effort in Haiti. We urge you to do so by contributing money to any of the reputable agencies listed below. At the same time, we extend our heartfelt sympathy to our many members who have been directly affected by the terrible misfortune that has occurred in Haiti. You are in our thoughts and you will remain so through the difficult days and weeks ahead.

To donate money for the relief effort in Haiti:

• American Red Cross. You can call 1-800-REDCROSS or visit redcross.org online to make a contribution. Also, you can make an instant $10 contribution by texting "Haiti" to 90999.
• Save the Children. Save the Children is an organization that assisted members of our Union after 9/11 and distributed food to unemployed members in 2009. You can contribute money to the Haiti Earthquake Children in Emergency Fund through Save the Children. Go to savethechildren.org.
• The Clinton Foundation. Go to clintonfoundation.org. Or you can text "Haiti" to 20222 to donate $10.
• The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. The fund will forward donations to the appropriate agencies. Call 311 or go to nyc.gov.
• Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation. Visit yele.org or text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5.
• Catholic Relief Services. Go to crs.org or call 1-877-HELP-CRS.