Support Haiti Earthquake Relief EffortsSupport Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts

The devastating earthquake in Haiti is on everyone’s mind, and union members are among the many who are stepping up to help relief efforts on-the-ground and with financial support.

If you plan to make a financial contribution to support the recovery efforts in Haiti, consider donating to one of the organizations below.  You can follow the links to learn more about how each group is contributing to the relief effort.

• The  Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers’ Campaign.  You can learn more about what they are doing to help Haitian workers and their families here.
• The TransAfrica Forum, a longtime ally of the labor movement, suggests donations to two organizations already providing aid on the ground in Haiti:
  • Partners in Health Read about their work in the NY Times here.
  • Doctors Without Borders Read about their work here.
• The United Church of Christ, longtime ally of Jobs with Justice and the labor movement, is collecting donations for their mission partners in Haiti.  Read about their work here.

From the AFL-CIO blog, here is a sampling of what some unions in the United States are doing to support the relief efforts:

• More than 3,400 registered nurses from across the United States responded in less than one day to the call by National Nurses United (NNU) to provide assistance in Haiti. Now the RNs are issuing an urgent appeal for the public to support these efforts with donations of funds to support travel costs and medical supplies on their upcoming emergency nursing mission. Click here to sign up to volunteer or donate or call 1-800-578-8225.
• The United Steelworkers (USW) announced the union will donate $20,000 from the union’s Humanity Fund to assist with emergency aid in Haiti.
• Screen Actors (SAG) President Ken Howard urged SAG members to “give whatever you can to the charity of your preference in support of the Haitian earthquake relief effort.” Numerous SAG members, including Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, have pledged their support to victims of the earthquake. Jolie, 34, has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations since 2001.
• The Transport Workers launched a “humanitarian relief effort” to support Haiti and the Haitian people. You can send your donation payable to the TWU Disaster Relief Fund, c/o Transport Workers Union, 1700 Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10019, Attn: John O’Donnell.
• Search-and-rescue teams from Fairfax County, Va., and Los Angeles County, Calif., made up of members of Fire Fighters (IAFF) locals 2068 and 1014, are already in Haiti to aid in the rescue efforts. Other teams are likely to follow.
• Many of the employees who will provide direct assistance to the Haitians in the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are AFGE members.

SEIU Healthcare members – nurses, personal care assistants, doctors and others – are mobilizing to determine the types of direct support that are needed by the people of Haiti.  SEIU Healthcare workers can get more information by signing up on their website.