36 union members, families helped by $5 for Fight Fund

By ED FINKELSTEIN
Publisher Emeritus

Thanks to your continuing support for the $5 for the Fight campaign, 36 union members and their families received almost $15,000 in financial aid in the first five months of 2023, including $5,252  added from United Way resources, announced Pat White, president of the St. Louis Labor Council.

The Fight Fund helped these Brothers and Sisters and their families (from 16 different locals) with among other needs, financial aid to prevent electrical and water utility service cutoffs, rent aid to prevent evictions and daycare to allow parents to keep their jobs.

Last year, the Fight Fund helped 102 union members and their families from 22 different locals.

THANK YOU
“To everyone who has contributed and continues to do so, and to the generosity of our unions, know that you are helping our Brothers and Sisters in a time of personal crisis, and doing so is what our Labor Movement is all about,” White said. “THANK YOU!”

And the help this year so far is across the board to service workers, various building trades, teamsters, health care workers, postal workers, public employees, hotel workers and auto workers.

“No one is immune to a sudden personal or family crisis,” White added.

The United Way is a key partner with the Labor Council in this program confirming all requests and at times, making referrals to other United Way agencies that can help.

WANT TO HELP?
If you can help, please right now write a check for whatever you can afford to “$5 for the Fight” knowing that your contribution will help someone in desperate need of help. There’s four ways to give:

• Mail: Check/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 – www.labortribune.com, click “$5 for the Fight Donations” that takes you to a secure payment site. Make a one-time donation or check the “Automatic monthly deduction” and amount and each month your designated donation will automatically be deducted from your credit card.

LEVELS OF GIVING
Remember, there are now 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 Rol.l
• Job Foreman – $500+ / William McKinley Honor Rol.l
• 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.

The Honor Roll of givers is published periodically in the Labor Tribune.

If your gift moves you from one category to another, your name will automatically move into the appropriate honor roll.

Remember, 100 percent of your donation goes into the “Fight Fund.” All efforts to promote and service the Fund are donated by the Labor Council, the United Way and the Labor Tribune.

From a lot of grateful people, “thank you” for agreeing that “we share because we care for one another.”

IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, THE FIGHT FUND CAN HELP
If you are in need of emergency financial help, please don’t be too proud to ask for assistance. Here’s how to get it.

• Call – Union member in need of emergency assistance contacts the Labor Participation Department at United Way and leaves a message on the Labor Assistance Line @ 314-539-4189.
• Confirmation – The United Way Labor Liaison will call your union to confirm you are a union member in good standing.
• Assessment – Once union membership is confirmed, and needs have been assessed, the Labor Liaison will research available resources and determine if the union member has a true emergency and is eligible to receive assistance from the $5 For the Fight Fund.
• Payment – If assistance is appropriate, the Labor Liaison will request a payment from the St. Louis Labor Council’s $5 For the Fight Fund. Checks are not written to individuals in need; rather they are paid directly to the union member’s mortgage company, landlord or utility companies to prevent further action.