Superstorm Sandy Can't Wash Away Solidarity
JOURNAL: ISSUE 1 - 2013
|
Severe property damage on the Jersey shore. |
As Superstorm Sandy washed over large stretches of the New York and New Jersey shoreline on October 25th, the devastation in its wake was almost unimaginable – massive flooding, power outages, and property damage to the tune of $30 billion, not to mention the tragic loss of life.
|
U.S. House Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), right, visited the affected neighborhoods in his District including the home of IU Executive Vice President Gerard Scarano. |
Despite crippled communications and the loss of power, which in some areas lasted for weeks, even months, the leaders of Local 1 New York, Local 7 New York/New Jersey and the New Jersey Administrative District Council cranked into high gear to assess the impact on BAC members and reach out to them directly.
Officers immediately began coordinating with area first responders as well as the International Union to ensure that assistance from the International's Disaster Relief Fund could be quickly dispatched. They worked with labor-management committees and vendors to supplement the awards, also adding to them from their own treasuries. To date, 80 members were assisted as a result of their efforts.
At the winter meeting of the BAC Executive Council on March 10th, the IU paid tribute to these three Northeast affiliates for, in the words of BAC President James Boland, "their outstanding member outreach in the wake of Superstorm Sandy… Your compassion and fraternal concern for the well-being of your members and their families have made an enormous difference at a time when they needed their Union the most."
|
The IU Executive Board in March with the recipients of a special award for "outstanding member outreach in the wake of Superstorm Sandy," from left, BAC Secretary-Treasurer Henry Kramer and Executive Vice President Gerard Scarano, Local 7 New York/New Jersey President Tom Lane, Local 1 New York President Jerry Sullivan, BAC President James Boland, Director of the New Jersey Administrative District Council Richard Tolson, and BAC Executive Vice President Tim Driscoll. |
Boland also recognized his fellow IU officers for their recent contributions to the Fund and the IU staff, whose combined annual leave contributions netted $35,000 for the Fund. In addition, he singled out IU Executive Vice President Gerard Scarano for his role in overseeing the Fund and the IU's efforts to help members cope during trying times. Boland said, "That was especially true last fall when Jerry was there at every turn for Locals and members alike, regardless of the considerable property damage that he and family experienced as a direct result of Sandy."