WHEREAS:

The disaster of nature that devastated southern Florida brought a double challenge to public employees and AFSCME members: as citizens they suffered loss of homes, transportation and possessions, while as public employees they were committed to provide essential services under the most incredible circumstances; and,

WHEREAS:

The record of individual acts of heroism and service by men and women engulfed in the Florida disaster has been recounted in the press and other media, but little attention has been drawn to the achievement of restoring and maintaining public services in such a situation; and,

WHEREAS:

Not only did many AFSCME members in Florida immediately join community efforts to help their neighbors and other survivors of Hurricane Andrew, but AFSCME public employees also established an amazing record of restoring and maintaining emergency health and utility services at great personal risk and effort in the face of destruction of transportation and other services.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The International Executive Board commends with the highest praise AFSCME members in Florida who responded to the needs of their communities by providing essential health, communications, transportation and other services to the public; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:

Because of the failure of the media to acknowledge and report on the commitment of public employees in Florida, the International shall undertake efforts to assure dissemination of the facts to the public in order to complete and balance the record; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:

AFSCME expresses its warm thanks and appreciation to members of the AFSCME family throughout the United States who responded to the needs of people in Florida struck by Hurricane Andrew. Their support was in the finest tradition of solidarity and paralleled the outstanding record of AFSCME public employees in Florida who served their communities both as individual citizens and neighbors and as dedicated public employees.