On January 12th, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed Port-au-Prince, Haiti, leaving an estimated 50, 000 people dead and over 3 million without bare necessities such as food and clean water.

We are asking that the members of AFSCME donate $ 10 to the American Red Cross by texting “HAITI” to 90999 or text “YELE” to 501501 to donate $5. Any little bit counts to men, women and children who are without everything.

Also, the Solidarity Center, a non-profit organization founded by the AFL-CIO, is preparing to send a delegation of Haitian union activists living in the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince to support unions as they provide basic necessities to their members. You can log-on to www.solidaritycenter.org to find out more information to donate.

The Solidarity Center is working with CNUS, the Confederation of United Unions in the Dominican Republic, to establish a donation center with nonperishable goods that will be shipped to union counterparts in Haiti. Donations to the Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers fund will be passed to partners there, and the Center will work with them to ensure that assistance reaches the neediest workers and their families.