It’s been a week since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, and the residents of the commonwealth are still waiting for help from the mainland. They’re quickly finding out who their real friends are and neither President Donald Trump nor Congress seem to be among them.
During a week when leaders should have been scrambling to provide much-needed relief to victims of the hurricane in Puerto Rico, they were instead focused on trying (and failing) to take away health care from millions of Americans and creating distractions such as Trump’s rants against the National Football League.
AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders issued a statement asking Trump and Congress to delay no more in providing relief to Puerto Ricans:
“The people of Puerto Rico are American citizens with the same rights and privileges as any mainland resident and they cannot wait a minute longer for Washington to act. No legislative or political priority is more important than addressing this rapidly escalating crisis,” he said.
AFSCME members in Puerto Rico include thousands of public service workers and retirees who are among those struggling to survive and rebuild. As an AFSCME member, you can help them by donating to our union’s Fallen Heroes Fund.
The International Union continues to lobby Capitol Hill and coordinate with Servidores Publicos Unidos de Puerto Rico (SPU)-AFSCME Council 95 to seek out all ways to support active and retired members.