(NEWARK, N.J., October 4, 2017) – Today, three Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) nurse members joined more than 300 working men and women who volunteered to travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico from Newark, N.J. to help with Hurricane Maria’s relief efforts.

The flight – a Boeing 777-300ER, which was volunteered by United Airlines for a business and labor partnership – was a response to the urgent need for highly skilled workers to come to Puerto Rico to assist with the rebuilding effort and help people in need of medical and humanitarian assistance.

OPEIU members joined other members from, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), and United Airlines who teamed up to fly the more than 300 first responders and skilled volunteers -- including nurses, doctors, firefighters, electricians, engineers, carpenters and truck drivers -- to help with relief efforts and the rebuilding of Puerto Rico.

GSAF/OPEIU Local 100 Executive Board Member Luiz Morizot, left, lends a hand to the Hurricane Irma relief effort by delivery supplies to a shelter set up at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exhibition Center.

This month, the Trump administration announced it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided temporary permission for over 800,000 undocumented young people brought to the United States as children to live and work in the country. The young people covered by DACA include teachers, journalists, entertainers, behavioral health specialists, and many other young professionals. As the place in the labor movement for professionals, the Department for Professional Employees’ (DPE’s) affiliate unions’ members bring to the table a diverse array of backgrounds, nationalities, and immigration experiences — including Dreamers.

If you are a union member who participates in certain Union Plus programs and have been affected by Hurricane Irma, you may be eligible for financial assistance through the Union Plus Disaster Relief Grant program.1

Union Plus Disaster Relief Grants of $500 are available to eligible participants of one of the following programs:

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Negotiations have begun with Search and Rescue cabin crew (SAR CC) and pilots represented by OPEIU at Cougar Helicopter Inc. (CHI), located in St. John’s Newfoundland Labrador Canada.

Pictured are the negotiating committee members on August 14, left to right, GHPA/OPEIU Local 103 President Luke Yosca, OPEIU DAG 110 SAR Pilot Scott Ferguson, OPEIU DAG 110s SAR CC President Cody Neal, OPEIU DAG 110s SAR CC Negotiator Steve Pettie, and OPEIU DAG 110s SAR CC Vice President Sean Matthews.

These members with Cougar work in some of the world’s worst weather conditions. The SAR pilots and cabin crew are currently negotiating for their second collective labor agreement. Dispatchers, weather observers and radio operators are now bargaining for their first union agreement. All three groups have negotiators selected from their different units, and are assisted by OPEIU Senior International Representative Patt A. Gibbs.

 

If you are a union member who participates in certain Union Plus programs and have been affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, you may be eligible for financial assistance through the Union Plus Disaster Relief Grant program¹. 

Union Plus Disaster Relief Grants of $500 are available to eligible participants of one of the following programs:

• Union Plus Credit Card Program²
• Union Plus Life Insurance
• Accidental Death Insurance
• Union Plus Auto Insurance or
• Union Plus Mortgage Program

Participants who live in the following counties may be eligible for individual assistance: Aransas, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Harris, Jackson, Kleberg, Liberty, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria and Wharton.