Local 37 opens doors to aid AFL-CIO disaster relief efforts

As the Louisiana AFL-CIO affiliates pitched in with plans and resources to bring relief supplies to union members impacted by Hurricane Ida, they knew they would need space big enough to bring in and unload semi-trailers, as well as people on the ground to run forklifts and unload and maintain supply inventories. And they would need electricity.

Local 37 in Slidell, Louisiana, stepped up.

“Slidell is a little out of the hard hit area, but it’s not that far,” says L-37 business manager/secretary-treasurer Tim Bradbury, who was part of the affiliate planning meeting. “And we’re one of the only places with power and with a facility big enough for what they needed.”

Starting Wednesday, September 8, Local 37 Boilermakers welcomed the Teamsters’ 18-wheelers full of ice, water, household cleaning supplies, extension cords, gas and other fuel and more. Bradbury says fuel is especially in need for families, since the hurricane knocked out electricity, possibly for weeks, for more than 1 million people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Supplies were purchased by the AFL-CIO through the Louisiana AFL-CIO’s Disaster Relief Fund, which was established to help union members impacted by natural disasters.

Those who wish to contribute to disaster relief efforts may send checks to:

or through the Boilermaker Disaster Relief Fund (make a check or money order payable to William Creeden, IST with “Disaster Relief Fund” on the memo line)