UPDATE FROM LOCAL CWA PRESIDENT
Brothers and Sisters,
One week ago we all learned of the devastating effects that Hurricane Katrina had on the Gulf States of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Many of you have family and friends that were directly affected by this terrible storm. In particular, our CWA members in MSY have been devastated by this event. They have been evacuated from the city and most of them have lost their homes. The Local is working with the company to allow these employees to transfer to any Mainline or Mainline Express station in our system. The company is providing for their immediate needs; however, long-term they will all need our assistance. Last week at the CWA national convention, our newly elected President Larry Cohen, pledged 4 million dollars from the members relief fund to help the CWA members affected in these 3 states. In addition, I spoke to our newly elected District 3 Vice President Noah Savant, who pledged additional funds from the District's Hurricane relief fund. Our office here in CLT will be coordinating the dispersal of these funds to our members once they are established in the cities they have chosen. Many of you have expressed your concern about the well being of our MSY members. We will be initiating additional relief opportunities for all of you to participate in the coming weeks. This will be a long-term effort to aid our members, and the officers of your Local are committed to help them through this process. For now, I ask for your thoughts and prayers for all those affected by Hurricane Katrina. With your help, we can help our members to return some normalcy to their lives.
