October 13, 3017
To: All USW District 9 Local Union Presidents, Recording Secretaries and Unit Chairs
RE: United Steelworkers Disaster Relief Fund
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Since late August 2017 three powerful hurricanes, Harvey, Irma and Maria, have created enormous destruction throughout Texas, the Southeast United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The devastation affecting thousands of working families, the images of which are on the news and social media daily, is shocking.
Among those impacted are our own USW brothers and sisters, many of whom lost everything, with little to no hope of even regaining running water and electricity for weeks and/or months. Just imagine how desperate these families must be, especially with the holidays fast approaching, living in tents and shelters, trying to endure what was already tough economic times after just losing everything.
While we cannot raise enough funds to reconstruct every home or replace all that was lost, we can offer our help and assistance in beginning to rebuild their lives and communities. I am asking, if your Local has not already done so, to consider making a donation of $100, $500, $1,000 (nothing is too small when you have lost everything) to the United Steelworkers Charitable and Educational Organization to assist our union brothers and sisters and their families during this time of great loss and devastation. Please note in the memo field of the check, “Disaster Relief Fund.”
Contributions should be sent to:
United Steelworkers
Attn: Steelworkers Charitable Fund
60 Blvd of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
I would ask that you notify the District 9 Office of your contribution by mailing a copy to the address below, emailing to Rapid Response Coordinator Shane Mitchell at smitchell@usw.org or faxing to 205.631.0138 so that we can keep a record of your generous offer.
Please treat this with the urgency that we would all hope to receive if we were the ones in this desperate situation.
In Solidarity,
Daniel Flippo
District 9 Director
/mdm