Unions and their members provide assistance for Haiti

The union movement throughout the U.S. has made a strong effort to provide relief to Haiti in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake that struck there last week. Unions and their members have not only combined to contribute millions of dollars to the relief efforts, they have provided invaluable goods and services.

As we informed members last week, both the Hotel Trades Council and Local 6 contributed $25,000 to the effort. Other large donations are being made by the United Steel Workers (USW), the Transport Workers union (TWU), UNITE HERE and many other unions. As we went to press, members of the entertainment unions (SAG, AFTRA, AE, etc.) were busy putting together a telethon for simultaneous airing on most major broadcast networks on January 22.

Among those scheduled to participate at press time were George Clooney, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Keith Urban, Bono and Wyclef Jean. Much of the telethon was to be broadcast from right here in New York City.

Immediately after the earthquake occurred, the union movement called for a massive global relief effort and began mobilizing to provide assistance. At the same time, the AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE and our own union called for the federal government to grant humanitarian relief in the form of temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States who have immigration issues. That call was answered by President Obama the next day, when he issued an executive order granting temporary protected status to Haitians in the U.S. who were facing deportation.

And unions did much more. As an example, the South Florida AFL-CIO collected donations of water, nonperishable food items, cleaning supplies and over-the- counter medications to ship to Haiti. The donations were made at the union hall of Longshoremen (ILA) Local 1416. The labor council also secured a ship and recruited union members as volunteers to load containers of the donated goods. Maritime union members will take this boat to Haiti.

There's more. Hundreds of registered nurses from across the United States responded in less than one day to the call by the nurses' union, National Nurses United (NNU), to provide assistance in Haiti. Additional union members contributed money to pay for the transport of nurses to Haiti and for the medical supplies they would need there.

Within 24 hours of the disaster, search-and- rescue teams from Virginia and California were on the ground in Haiti, aiding in the effort to save lives. Members of these teams belong to International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Locals 2068 and 1014. They were soon followed by union members on other search-and-rescue teams in the U.S.

We should add that many of the workers who are providing direct assistance to people in Haiti are from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and they are members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

The relief effort in Haiti is an international drive. Shortly after the earthquake occurred, the International Trade union Confederation (ITUC) called for a major international mobilization of humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Haiti. The ITUC arranged for union members from the Dominican Republic, Haiti's neighbor, to cross into Haiti to join the emergency assistance effort.

And yes, union members have contributed money to the relief effort. If you have not yet contributed to the effort to provide relief to Haiti or would like to contribute again, you can use any of these reputable organizations to do so.

• 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.