Union Seeks to Identify Hurricane Sandy Victims

The APWU is attempting to identify union members who are suffering from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated hundreds of communities in the northeast and killed more than 100 people. Leonard Montalto, an officer of the Staten Island Local APWU, lost his life in the storm.

The massive hurricane created severe hardships for millions of working people, and the APWU is reaching out to union members who lost their homes or endured serious damage to essential belongings.

“We’re hearing more details about co-workers who are struggling with serious losses,” said APWU Human Relations Director Sue Carney. “As we enter the long-term recovery phase, we’re trying to assess the extent of the damages suffered by APWU members, and want to make sure we don’t overlook anyone,” she added.

“We will use the information we gather to help assess who has the greatest need for assistance and determine what type of assistance we can provide — hopefully before the holidays,” she said.

The union has been urging local officers to complete a special form, the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Impact Sheet, for each affected co-worker. “Completed forms must be submitted by union representatives, management officials or EAP personnel,” Carney said. The sheets should be emailed to scarney@apwu.org or faxed to APWU’s Human Relations Department at 202-216-2634 by Friday, Nov. 30.

USPS workers affected by the storm can apply for assistance through the Postal Employees Relief Fund.

To help our colleagues affected by the October mega-storm, please donate to PERF today.