BAC Members Step Up to Support Frontline Heroes

Hundreds of BAC members across the North America are putting their hearts and e orts in action to support frontline workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic. On the job, BAC members are building our cities; off the job, they are extending a helping hand to people in communities, especially in challenging times like this. From the east coast to the west, members are working with contractors and local businesses to deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and food to all frontline workers.

LOCAL 1 NEW YORK

In New York City, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of BAC Local 1 New York are stepping up to support healthcare workers and others on the front line. For many days, they’ve been working with local businesses, including Morris Park Inn and Island Empanada in the Bronx, to deliver packaged food to local medical sta and first responders combating the pandemic.

“Essential workers help essential workers,” Morris Park Business Improvement District, a community organization in the Bronx, said in its tweet, thanking BAC Local 1 New York members, many of whom are also deemed as essential workers for the city.

“We need solidarity more in trying times like this,” BAC Local 1 NY President Jack Argila said. “We thank all our doctors, all the frontline workers and their families for saving lives and keeping us safe. We want to do as much as we can to support them. We are all in this together.”

LOCAL 2 MICHIGAN

Like many places throughout the country, healthcare workers in Michigan are experiencing a shortage of PPE. Concerns for patients, co-workers, and their families are taking a massive toll both physically and psychologically on them.

Knowing the need of PPE for the ER team at Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte, Michigan, BAC Local 2 Michigan President Chuck Kukawka approved the donation to help better protect these frontline workers. Kukawka and Tom Ward, Local 2 MI Apprentice Coordinator, arranged to drop off 30 half-face reusable 3M respirators, 60 packages of P100 filters, 170 pairs of nitrile gloves, 20 Tyvek suits, and 600 pairs of booties.

“Some of the local ER staff were brought to tears upon receiving the PPE,” Ward said.

“I am glad we could assist these heroes. We stand in solidarity with brothers and sisters on the frontline,” Kukawka said.

OHIO-KENTUCKY ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT COUNCIL

BAC Ohio-Kentucky Administrative District Council donated boxes of N95 respirators to medical staff battling coronavirus at St. John West Shore in Westlake, Ohio, where the recovery floor has been turned into a COVID-19 isolation floor.

LOCAL 15 MISSOURI/ KANSAS/NEBRASKA

BAC Local 15 MO/KS/NE Apprenticeship and Training Director RJ Heinse delivered their last boxes of N95 respirators to frontline medical staff at Kindred Hospital Northland in Kansas City, MO. The 50-bed transitional care hospital is also experiencing a shortage of PPE for their medical staff.

LOCAL 1 OREGON/WASHINGTON/ IDAHO/MONTANA

Brothers and sisters of BAC Local 1 OR/WA/ID/MT have donated their N95 respirators to area frontline workers, including medical staff at OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute in Portland, Oregon, to help make sure they have the PPE necessary to fight the good fight.

A registered nurse working at the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit said, “I cannot tell you how much we appreciate the donations of these N95 masks. A huge shout-out to BAC Local 1 President Matthew Eleazer and the members. You guys are absolute saints and we cannot thank you enough.”