Following the devastation of Hurricane Michael, Teamsters Joint Council 75 is working the Florida AFL-CIO, the American Red Cross and a variety of other organizations to assist union members and their communities with rebuilding after the storm hit the Florida Panhandle.
“We estimate about 400 of our members have been affected,” said Joint Council 75 and Local 512 President Jim Shurling. “I’d like to thank all of the union volunteers, both from our Teamsters and AFL-CIO affiliates, who are out here and have stepped up like we’ve never seen before to make things happen on the ground.”
The labor coalition’s disaster relief operation is in the process of wrapping up the first phase of its emergency management plan and is beginning the second phase of recovery for the area – stabilization. Teamsters Disaster Relief is working to secure drop-off locations for supplies throughout communities in the affected areas and assist with the process of getting victims of the hurricane back into their homes so they can rebuild their lives.
We’ve been working and people know that the labor movement is out here; people know that the labor movement cares,” Teamsters Joint Council 13 Human Rights Coordinator Roy Gillespie said. “Us being in a right-to-work state, we even had some people sign up as new members when they saw us out in the community.”
