Labor & Employment Law

Flight Attendants Donate Services to Haiti Relief Flight

By James Parks

Members of the Flight Attendants-CWA working for United Airlines donated their services on a Haiti relief flight to call attention to the efforts of the American Red Cross. You can take action now to help the Haitian survivors by clicking on the AFL-CIO Haitian Disaster Relief site here.

Five Chicago-based United flight attendants helped usher aid workers and supplies to Haiti and returned last night with some of the earthquake survivors.

The United Airlines Foundation announced it will match up to a total of $50,000 to the American Red Cross when donations are made by United employees or passengers. To make a donation with the matching funds, click here. 

Tony Retkowski, one of the Flight Attendants who flew to Haiti, said:

We were able to take part in the evacuation of orphans, families and elderly Haitians, all of whom were weary from their very horrendous experience.  From darling little children to the kind woman you could imagine as your grandmother, all of these people were amazingly grateful.

The other AFA-CWA members on the flight were Meg Mikesell, Paul Antuna, Kathy Browne and Gerald Sermana.

 In other actions to aid Haiti:

• More than 12,000 registered nurses from across the United States have responded to the call by National Nurses United (NNU) to provide assistance. Now the RNs are issuing an urgent appeal for the public to support these efforts with donations of funds for travel costs and medical supplies on their upcoming emergency nursing mission. Click here to sign up to volunteer or donate or call 1-800-578-8225.
• The Solidarity Center’s Cathy Feingold reports from the Dominican Republic, where union relief and rescue efforts are being coordinated, that union leaders are working to quickly repair their offices to serve as safe havens for workers and their families. The headquarters of three of the Haitian labor federations sustained only minor damage and are now being used to provide basic services to members. More than 200 families are being housed and getting medical treatment at the Confederation of Haitian Workers training center alone. Read Feingold’s latest update here.
• Three unions in the South Florida AFL-CIO are working together to coordinate donations of money and move supplies by truck and ship. The members of Longshoremen Local 1416 (ILA), Postal Workers Local 172 (APWU) and Teamsters Local 769 are collecting donations of water, nonperishable food items, cleaning supplies and over the counter medications. If you live in South Florida, you can drop off the items at the ILA Local 1416 union hall, 816 NW 2nd Ave., Miami, from 5 a.m.-2 p.m. Volunteers also are needed  to load shipping containers at the Port of Miami. To volunteer, call the South Florida AFL-CIO at 305-593-8886. For monetary donations, send checks to Catholic Charities or Operation Helping Hands to the South Florida AFL-CIO, 2500 NW 97^th Ave., Suite 201, Miami, FL 33172.

To learn about what some other unions are doing to provide aid to Haiti, click here, here, here,  here and here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on January 22, 2010 (boomark / email).