Public Employee Press

Members and staff help Haiti quake victims

After a catastrophic earthquake hit Port Au Prince, Haiti, Jan. 12 and left 3 million homeless and 200,000 dead, unions responded with volunteers, supplies and donations to help rebuild the Caribbean nation.

At DC 37, Professional Division Director Nola Brooker and Assistant Director Maynard Anderson collected first aid kits, flashlights, toiletries, batteries, canned food, clothing and more.

"We did what we could to collect nonperishable items, from soap to school supplies and packed a barrel," Brooker said. In less than a week, donations from union staff filled a container that Brooklyn's Bethel Christian Church will ship to Haiti.

Parks Enforcement Patrol Officer Charles St. Louis of Local 983, who works in Battery Park City, collected more than $1,600 for the Yele Haiti charity founded by musician Wyclef Jean.

"There will never be too much to give. People will need help for a very long time. I owe it to my mother country to do all I can to help," said St. Louis, a Port Au Prince native who came to the United States 20 years ago, joined the police force, retired and became a PEP Officer in 2008. His uncles and cousins in Haiti survived the devastating quake that destroyed Haiti's Presidential Palace and other national landmarks, schools and hospitals.

Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal "gave generously" to start the ball rolling, said St. Louis, whose supervisor, Sgt. Samuel Hendricks, opened doors to bring Parks Dept. officials on board and helped collect donations from 20 PEP Officers.

The Union Plus program has committed $100,000 in a dollar-for-dollar match to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center's relief fund for Haitian workers. AFSCME donated $25,000, and three days after the quake, Executive Director Lillian Roberts announced that DC 37 would donate $10,000 to Haiti disaster relief.

As the hurricane season began in June, 1 million Haitians were sheltering in tents. DC 37 members can donate to labor's Haiti disaster relief fund at www.solidaritycenter.org.