by Tula Connell, Jun 14, 2011
AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer reminds us that residents in the Midwest are still struggling with flood waters—and union members are there to assist them.
As the waters of the Missouri River continue to rise, union members are mobilizing to help and preserve labor landmarks along the river’s bank.
Union members have rushed in to help evacuate those in need from the rising waters, including three of our brothers and sisters from Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7400 who live in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Following an e-mail appeal from Omaha Federation of Labor Community Service liaison Marie Smith, union members showed up en masse with dollies, trucks and moving equipment to help move these families to a safer area.
And as always, the labor movement is keeping a watchful eye throughout the community on the immediate and long-term needs in case the waters spill farther into the community.
For example, Bill Biede, president of the Southwest Iowa Labor Council, has been mobilizing union members throughout the area and working alongside them filling sandbags, setting up a line of defense. As Marie Smith says:
Efforts by union volunteers during this crisis have been greatly appreciated and continue to demonstrate the strength, determination, and kind-hearted deeds that shine steadily throughout the labor movement.
Mike Baker, business manager of Ironworkers Local 21, and President Stu Steffens took action to secure the bronze figures at the labor monument along the river using steel cables to save these works of art from the rising Missouri River and its fast-moving currents. Action could not have been more pressing, as two of the sculptures are now waist-deep in the Missouri River. A union observer noted how “life imitates art” as the workers utilized tactics similar to the action captured in the bronze figures.
Terry Moore, president of the Omaha Federation of Labor, issued a statement praising the Ironworkers Local 21 members and other union volunteers:
The labor movement and its labor agency stand ready to help wherever we can in this time of disaster. We realize the hardship that many people are feeling at this time. Our rapid response efforts will continue to reach out and help as many people as we can.
This is just a fraction of the great work being done by our brothers and sisters up and down the Missouri River and, unfortunately, it’s likely there will be more stories to come.
