AFTER THE HURRICANES
Rebuilding Lives and Communities

When the Dickinson College Men’s Lacrosse team traveled to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana to help Katrina victims, BAC was represented by Gary Mercadante, Jr. (front row, second from right), son of Local 4 New Jersey member Gary Mercadante, Sr.

While the lion’s share of New Orleans’ reconstruction is several months away as post-Katrina clean-up continues, construction is definitely picking up in coastal Mississippi. At the same time, Local 6 Louisiana/Mississippi/Alabama President Steve McClanahan continues his quest to contact the Local’s far-flung membership, most of whom were displaced by the hurricane. An early infusion of International Union resources and staff to the region is helping McClanahan in this difficult task, and ensuring a strong BAC presence during and after the recovery phase through BAC’s Gulf Coast organizing and training efforts.

As noted in the last issue of the Journal, the BAC Disaster Relief Fund, created to provide financial assistance to BAC members and their families affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, has already helped many members. “The response from our members, Local Unions, staff, and signatory contractors has been fantastic,” says BAC Executive Vice President Gerald O’Malley, who headed up the fundraising effort. “We can’t thank everyone enough for their generosity.”

Local 6 has succeeded in contacting about half of their members, and of those, most have received assistance from the Fund in the form of debit cards, such as Local 6 member Olton Holmes (see article).

BAC Executive Vice President Ken Lambert and IU Organizing Director Don Newton are working closely with McClanahan to coordinate organizing and training activities, including reaching out to new contractors, encouraging signatory contractors from outside the area to bid work, and utilizing the IU’s new mobile organizing classroom, the BAC Job Network, and IMI’s training expertise and mobile training units. “Although challenges to the union sector haven’t gone away,” says Executive Vice President Lambert, “we’re focusing on the opportunities to grow and put our members to work,” opportunities like a dozen casinos and other commercial work going up soon in Biloxi and Gulfport. McClanahan noted the Local’s immediate need for marble masons, and for interested members to please call him (see below).