Ohio Plant Fire Costs 60 Jobs, IAM Reaching Out to Help
AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report.
Until a fire tore through the facility late last week, Janesville Acoustics was one of the world’s largest producers of acoustical and thermal fiber insulation, and a leading producer of automotive decorative trim and molded fiber products. It took 62 fire fighters and 26 pieces of equipment to battle the massive blaze.
The Newcomerstown, Ohio, plant is a total loss and the fire put 92 workers, including 60 Machinist (IAM) Local 1285 production and maintenance employees, out of work.
The fire couldn’t have come at worse times says IAM communications representative John Carr. Read the rest of this entry »
NALC Volunteers Help Rebuild New Orleans
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Judy Parkins, AFL-CIO director of Community Services, sends us this report.
Members of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 124 in New Orleans and volunteers from the Prince of Wales Social Aid and Pleasure Club pitched in with Rebuild Together New Orleans in October.
The volunteers spent the first two weekends of the month painting a house for a senior who was returning to New Orleans some six years after Hurricane Katrina. Stanley Taylor, one of several NALC retirees who wielded brushes and rollers, said:
We are involved because of the generosity showed to us in our time of need and our desire to give back in the spirit of “charity begins at home.”
Taylor serves on the AFL-CIO Community Services United Way/Labor Committee in New Orleans.
Reports of a Scary Halloween in Erie, Pa.
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Just when you thought it was a safe bet you wouldn’t see any more ghouls and vampires lurking around, AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this from Pennsylvania.
The Community Services Committee of the Erie-Crawford Central Labor Council in Erie, Pa., partnered with local church members to sponsor a Halloween party. Several gun incidents prompted parents to come together to provide a safe and fun environment for more than 60 children at the Word of Faith Church in Erie. The good will fostered between the two groups will allow them to work together on future community issues.
AFL-CIO Community Services Helps Out Families in Bedford, Mich.
AFL-CIO Community Services liaison Michael Smith helped out with this event and sends us this report.
More than 400 families received free food in Bedford, Mich., over the weekend as part of an event coordinated by the Monroe-Lenawee AFL-CIO, the Monroe County United Way and the Monroe County Opportunity Program.
The people who reach out for help are so thankful, and we’re just trying to help them prepare for a long winter.
Throughout the morning, families pulled into the parking lot at Bedford High School, collecting boxes containing frozen meat, canned vegetables and rice.
School Supply Drive by Saginaw Labor Council to Kick Off United Way Campaign
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AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report.
More than 90 children received school supply bags through donations of union members in 10 locals from Saginaw County, Mich. AFL-CIO/Michigan Community Services liaison Steven Lamb reports that earlier this month, the unions gave the school supply bags to the YMCA, First Ward Community Center, Salvation Army and the Neighborhood House to distribute to area school children.
Taking part in the donation drive: UAW locals 668, 699, 467, 6000 and 455; Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 557, Machinists (IAM) Local 557, Ironworkers Local 25, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 951 and Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 324. PMN Saginaw Metal Castings also contributed supplies.
Finding Help for Pa. Flood Survivors
Karen Gownley of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO reports on contacts for those in need after the floods in that state.
Many parts of Pennsylvania were devastated by the September floods. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO has a network of labor liaisons who are helping connect those who need help with those who can help.
- -In the Harrisburg area, the United Way of the Capital Region has set up a Capital Region Flood Recovery Fund. Click here for complete information and instructions on donations. If you need assistance, contact Labor Liaison John Waters at jwaters@uwrc.org.
- -In Lancaster County, if you are able to help the flood victims or need assistance, contact Labor Liaison Jean Martin at llancclc@verizon.net.
- -In the Wilkes-Barre area, call 570-829-1341 or 1-888-829-1341 for round-the-clock free information and referral services regarding any type of assistance needed. If you are able to help, please contact Labor Liaison Walter Klepaski at walt@unitedwaywb.org.
Community Services Network Kicks Off United Way Campaign
Bud Biscardo from United Way Worldwide reports on the kickoff of the 2011 United Way campaign.
Across the country, the AFL-CIO Community Services Network is kicking off the 2011 United Way campaign with union-sponsored events—rallies, golf outings, kickoff lunches and dinners. All these events have one goal: to show union members’ strong support for the United Way.
Philadelphia ‘Stuff the Bus’ Effort Big Success
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Nicole Fuller, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison for the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania/Philadelphia Council (UWSEPA), reports on the effort to provide book bags for children in need.
Five years ago, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison Janet Hammond Ryder, who is retiring this year, spearheaded a partnership with the UWSEPA, unions, local businesses and grassroots community leaders to raise money, collect school supplies and pack them in book bags and distribute them to children living in shelters in Philadelphia and three surrounding counties. Her vision dubbed “Stuff the Bus” is now being duplicated in sister United Way agencies.
Union Bikers Raise Money to Help Children Read to Grade Level
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John Padget, labor liaison for the Cedar Valley (Iowa) United Way, reports on a fundraiser by union motorcycle riders to help children read to grade level.
Last weekend, dozens of union motorcycle riders, members of the Community Ride in the Cedar Valley/Waterloo, Iowa, area, came together for an ”I Can Read Ride” fundraiser to help school children who are struggling to read at grade level. Community Ride consists of union members from a variety of unions who share a common interest in motorcycles and a desire to see our community become a better place to live, work and raise a family. The riders raised just more than $3,000.
There is a big need for the program in Black Hawk County, which includes Cedar Valley. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of all fourth graders in the county are proficient in reading compared to 79 percent statewide . The numbers drop considerably for low-income fourth graders (58 percent) and African American fourth graders (51 percent) in the county.
New Community Services Liaison: People Are in Need Like Never Before
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AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report.
We are happy to introduce Nicole Fuller, our new AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison for the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania/Philadelphia Council.
Fuller was a member of the UAW for more than 11 years in Detroit. She was the representative for the Employee Support Services Program at one of Ford Motor Co.’s parts facilities prior to moving to Philadelphia.
In Philadelphia, Fuller worked as a trainer and coordinator for the Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health (PHILAPOSH). She is currently a member of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 38010.
Fuller has been recognized in Michigan and Philadelphia for her work and dedication in the labor movement and community service.
Fuller says:
I hope the experience, education and passion that I bring to this position will afford me the opportunity to continue building, as well as developing new programs and partnerships. People are in need like never before during my lifetime and I would like to help make a difference.
