Public Employee Press

Japan relief effort needs your help

An immense earthquake, followed by a tsunami with waves up to 127 feet high, devastated northeastern Japan March 11 and seriously damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The radiation hazard hampered relief efforts, and radiation continues to leak into the environment. Some 30,000 lives were lost and once-thriving seacoast villages are now sticks and rubble. Aftershocks continue and millions of people are experiencing extreme deprivation.

DC 37 and its parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have set up a mechanism to provide relief through RENGO, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation.

DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts has appealed to members and locals to "show our support and solidarity with our Japanese partners." She pointed to the hundreds of thousands of refugees living in temporary shelters and struggling to obtain the basics of food, water, and heat and thanked those who are "caring for others and sharing as we trade unionists always do."

Checks should be made payable to District Council 37 and should state "Japan Earthquake/Tsunami" in the memo section. Send your check to the District Council 37 Executive Office, Room 525, 125 Barclay St., New York, NY 10007. Donations will be combined and sent to RENGO's Relief Fund. "Please send your check as soon as possible and keep the people of Japan in your prayers," Roberts said.