Your generosity made it happen
By ED FINKELSTEIN
Publisher
As a result of union members’ generosity, 136 union families were helped by the Robert E. Kelly $5 for the Fight Fund last year.
A total of $33,457.30 was distributed to members of 29 different unions, “Because our members care for one another,” said St. Louis Labor Council President Pat White. “A special ‘thank you’ to all our brothers and sisters who donated and continue to donate because the need is always there… and they care.”
Additional support for some cases was provided by the United Way both through direct help and referrals to other service agencies that could help deal with their problems, said United Way Vice President of Labor Engagement Sonja Gholston-Byrd.
The $5 for the Fight Fund is administered by the United Way in coordination with the St. Louis Labor Council, making payments from the Fight Fund directly to vendors and service providers to help union members with rent and mortgage payments, utilities, medical bills and other needs.
Brother and sisters who received help from the Fight Fund included members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 788, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Locals 96 and 104, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2730, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) St. Louis Local 420, Communication Workers (CWA) Locals 6300 and 14620, Laborers Locals 42, 110, 660 and 773, Machinists (IAM) District 9, IUE 86114, Meat, Deli & Seafood Local 88, Missouri NEA, National Treasury Employees (NTEU) Local 14, Operating Engineers Local 513, Postal Workers (APWU), Roofers Local 2, Service Employees (SEIU) Local 1 and SEIU Healthcare, Teamsters Locals 604, 610 and 682, UNITE HERE (restaurant and hotel workers) Local 74, United Autoworkers (UAW) Local 2250, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 655, Upholsterers Local 30 and United Steelworkers (USW).
HELP PROVIDED
Some examples of union members in need and assistance provided through the Fight Fund include:
- A union educator and sole wage earner, with five children and a spouse undergoing medical treatment, received help in restoring their gas service.
- A single mother employed at a federal government agency had her gas service restored.
- A single mom on unpaid leave at a nursing home due to illness had her electric service restored.
- A tradesman with part-time custody of his three children had no hot water. The Fight Fund paid for a company to deliver propane gas needed for the hot water.
- A single parent with four children, suspended from work pending arbitration, had electric service threatened. The Fight Fund kept her service on.
- A laid-off laborer, sole supporter of a family of four applying for unemployment and food stamps, had his electric service restored. The Fight Fund also provided food gift cards.
- A single parent in the public school system, laid-off and two months behind on rent, reached out to the Fight Fund, which negotiated with the landlord and made a partial rent payment, allowing the union member and her family to remain in the home.
Here’s how you can help union families in crisis
Donations to the $5 for the Fight Fund can be made by check or online. One hundred percent of every donation goes directly to the Fight Fund to help union families facing unexpected expenses due to injury, job loss, changing life circumstances, medical emergencies or other unexpected changes.
There are three ways to donate:
• Mail a check or money order to “$5 for the Fight, c/o St. Louis Labor Council, 3301 Hollenberg Drive, Bridgeton, MO 63044; please include your union affiliation.
• Online – Visit the 5-for-the-Fight donation page at to make a secure one-time donation or an automatic monthly deduction.
• Schnucks eScrip program – This is “free money,” as Schnucks donates a percentage of your purchase to the Fight Fund. It doesn’t cost you a thing. You can pick up an eScrip card at your local Schnucks store.
LEVELS OF GIVING
Donors are recognized on the Donor Honor Roll page and published periodically in the Labor Tribune print edition. The Honor Roll recognizes nine categories of giving:
- Apprentice – $1 to $12/George Washington Honor Roll.
- Journeyman – $13-50/Andrew Jackson Honor Roll.
- Steward – $51-$99/Ulysses S. Grant Honor Roll.
- Chief Steward – $100 +/Ben Franklin Honor Roll.
- Job Foreman – $500+/William McKinley Honor Roll.
- General Foreman – $1,000 +/Grover Cleveland Honor Roll.
- Major Donors – $2,500 +.
- In Memoriam – to honor a loved one or friend or fellow union member.
- Organizations/Companies
Your gifts accumulate to move you from one category to the next.
From a lot of grateful people, “Thank you” for agreeing that “We share because we care for one another.”
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