National College Players Association - United Steelworkers

away. It also picked up his 60-foothouseboat, ripped off its roof anddropped it nose down in a nearby cove.Three guests inside survived.As the April 27 storm was movingtowards them, Price and his wife madea split second decision to take shelterunder concrete decking. After the housewas blown from its foundation, thetornado lifted and dropped the six-inchconcrete slab that was over their heads.It broke into pieces without crushingthem.“We were lucky twice,’’ Price said.Recovering in JoplinLess than a month later, on May22, more than 100 separate tornadoesravaged the Missouri-Oklahoma region.Much of Joplin, Mo., was destroyed andthe death toll reached 155.An estimated 8,000 homes weredamaged or destroyed in Joplin. Thestorm also caused serious damage toSt. John’s Regional Medical Centerand hundreds of commercial and publicbuildings.“The destruction is so thorough,it becomes disorienting,’’ said TeresaBuckmaster, president of Local 812 atEaglePicher Technologies in Joplin.“You don’t know where you are, nolandmarks, no trees, no street signs.”Several 812 members lost theirhomes. Concern rapidly grew into action,with multiple USW locals providingtime money and provisions. Offersof assistance came from as far away asCanada.“I can’t explain how grateful andthankful we are to all those who helpedus,’’ Buckmaster said of USW memberswho came to their assistance.Local unions in Springfield, 70miles away, drove to Joplin and begancooking food, cutting wood and sortingthrough rubble, said David Wiseman, aDistrict 11 staff representative in Independence,Mo.Wiseman was also part of a groupthat made two 170-mile trips from Independenceto Joplin hauling pallets ofwater, flashlights, bedding and toiletriesWhen hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding or other natural disasters hit ourcommunities, Steelworkers step up to the plate to help.Here is a list of local unions and councils that have made exemplarydonations to disaster relief through the Steelworkers Charitable andEducational Organization (SCEO) and a Workers Helping Workers disaster reliefbenefit concert at the 2011 Convention.SCEO was founded in 2004 to provide financial assistance in cases of naturaldisaster as well as to promote human and civil rights and educational opportunitiesfor working families.Local District Donation Local District Donation675 12 $20,000831L 8 $15,00010-86 10 $10,000SRU $5,000550 8 $5,0002801 12 $5,0007600 12 $5,0004-200 4 $5,0001057 9 $5,000D-12 Council 12 $5,0001329 13 $3,1212001 13 $2,0008586 13 $2,0009477 8 $2,00013-0555 13 $2,0006860 11 $1,796507 9 $1,5984856 12 $1,5001011-7-5 7 $1,313Sub-District 3Council Fund 7 $1,312227 13 $1,24113-1 13 $1,3601148 13 $1,200310 11 $1,2001557 10 $1,1163657 10 $1,10013-423 13 $1,070Medco Council 1 $1,0201196 10 $1,004105 11 $1,000to Local 812 for wider distribution.Showing character“Many of our members who experiencedproperty damage declined ourassistance and asked that we give it tothose who lost everything,” Wisemansaid. “It says a lot about their character.”Tyler Little, a member of Local11-500 in Carthage, Mo., put hiscompassion to work. In the days afterthe storms first hit, Little would pitchin where he could after putting in a fullmidnight shift at a storage facility, gettingonly a few hours of sleep.Little started helping members of241 11 $1,000275 13 $1,000307 11 $1,000530 9 $1,000620 13 $1,000931 12 $1,0001155 9 $1,0001167 9 $1,0001200 1 $1,0001312 13 $1,0001350 11 $1,0001398 13 $1,0001444 9 $1,0006787 7 $1,0006817 9 $1,0008526 9 $1,0008567 10 $1,0008713 9 $1,0008888 8 $1,0009059 13 $1,0009231 2 $1,0009360 4 $1,0009443 8 $1,00012044 4 $1,00012934 2 $1,0007-1 7 $1,00013-447 13 $1,000211-A 13 $1,0002-209 2 $1,000753L 9 $1,0007700 9 $1,0003-1704 9 $1,00016031 4 $1,0008-00719 8 $1,00014087 9 $1,000407 12 $1,000his local clear downed trees and latermoved on to aid others who were diggingthrough the rubble of their homesto find anything worth saving.After the first week, it got easier forLittle to find his way around Joplin.People began using pieces of lumberand sheetrock to mark street nameswhere signs and landmarks had beendestroyed.“It was really sad to see thesepeople,’’ Little said. “To drive throughthere, not even knowing them, it was reallyhard to keep from tearing up.”USW@Work • Fall 2011 33