Support AFSCME sisters and brothers in Texas
The areas heavily-impacted by Hurricane Harvey are home to around 7,400 AFSCME members. Not only that – AFSCME members are on the front lines of the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts.
In times like these, the rest of us need to step up and have the backs of our sisters and brothers. Council 13 will be making a contribution to AFSCME International’s special relief fund, and we encourage all of our local unions and members to do the same. Every contribution counts and makes a difference.
AFSCME members are on the front lines of the rescue and recovery efforts in the areas heavily-impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
As always, public employees are doing what they do best – making heroic efforts to save lives, restore services and protect property. Many of those public employees are AFSCME members. Here are just a few examples of their extraordinary efforts:
- Corey Marshall, water treatment maintenance worker and member of Houston Organization of Public Employees (HOPE), AFSCME Local 123, has been working since Friday at midnight, and hasn’t stopped since, despite having his own home flooded and going days without seeing his family. He’s doing all he can to keep water systems working, and even saved the life of a pregnant woman who soon-after gave birth.
- Animal Care Technician and HOPE member Mariana Castillo has been caring for pets since early Monday at BARC, an animal shelter operated by the City of Houston. She has been working around the clock to make sure the animals are safe, fed and dry at the facility and the city’s convention center.
- AFSCME correctional officers helped evacuate roughly 4,500 prisoners from three different units without incident, thanks to incredible teamwork, planning and preparedness.
- Houston municipal workers and road crews, all members of HOPE, are working with firefighters and police officers to rescue those trapped by the floods and deliver clean water.
- AFSCME emergency medical services (EMS) members from California came to Texas to help; their first action was to evacuate a hospital in Victoria, Texas.
These are just a few stories of many of the heroic efforts by AFSCME members. While public employees are the ones saving lives, they are also personally feeling the devastation of the hurricane. That’s why they need help from their AFSCME family around the country, and you can make a difference by contributing here.