Slow recovery continues for AFT hurricane victims
Harship and generosity mark post-Katrina efforts

The 15,000 AFT members in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi who were affected by Hurricane Katrina—not to mention the tens of thousands of students they serve—are recovering as well as can be expected given the scale of the disaster. While most New Orleans schools may not open for months, schools in some surrounding districts, such as St. Tammany and Jefferson parishes, reopened in early October.

Teachers and PSRPs in those districts have shown remarkable dedication, with the vast majority of them returning to work despite many losing their homes. Unfortunately, student populations in some hard-hit areas are way down, which may ultimately lead to layoffs.

Jerome Troullier’s story of hardship and slow recovery is typical of AFT members across the region. A custodian at Honey Island Elementary School in St. Tammany, Troullier rode out Katrina with his wife, two children and grandson at a relative’s house. When he returned four days later, he found his house—a doublewide mobile home—still standing, but ravaged by flooding. He expects it to be uninhabitable for nearly six months and cost $40,000 to repair.

On the positive side, his school reopened on Oct. 3, and Troullier hasn’t missed a paycheck. “It’s basically the same thing every day right now—wake up early, go to work, finish work, go do some repairs on the house, return to the motel late at night and fall asleep,” he says. “It’s tiring, but it’s what I have to do so my family can come back home.”

Stories of the generosity of the AFT family in helping those affected by the tragedy are also numerous. AFT affiliates in Texas were quick to extend a helping hand to AFT colleagues who left their communities because of Katrina. Within days of the storm, Texas affiliates mobilized to help evacuated members meet their most immediate needs. An estimated 10,000 New Orleans students are enrolled in Houston schools.

PSRP affiliates have done their part, as well. Participants at a New York State United Teachers school-related personnel leadership conference, for example, collected more than 2,000 books for schools in the Gulf region. On a more personal level, members of the Denver Federation for Paraprofessionals have unofficially adopted the AFT’s PSRP local in Jefferson Parish, La., through friendships among staff in both areas. Denver members—who aren’t exactly overpaid—have raised more than $1,000 for Jefferson Parish and also plan to send postcards reminding their colleagues in Louisiana that they’re thinking of them.

Even so, the need among AFT members who lost possessions, homes and cars remains critical. The AFT continues to seek donations to the union’s Disaster Relief Fund, which provides direct assistance to members affected by the hurricane. (See box to the right for how to contribute.)

Unfortunately, partisan politics have not been pushed aside since the disaster. Some Republican leaders in Washington want to turn the wrecked Gulf Coast into an experiment in free-market “solutions.” On their agenda: school vouchers, tax breaks, cuts in federal domestic spending, and gutted or weakened wage, anti-discrimination and environmental laws.

Late October brought some good news for workers. As New Orleans was still pumping floodwater from its streets, President Bush signed an executive order suspending prevailing protection for relief workers. The action meant lower pay for workers in the Gulf Coast, who were already among the lowest paid in the country. The president rescinded that order effective Nov. 8. “Our hope is that the president’s reversal sends a message to those seeking to make the Gulf Region a laboratory for anti-worker policies,” says AFT president Edward J. McElroy.

The AFT has proposed that Congress amend Title I to include a one-time supplemental payment for each displaced student, regardless of family income. The federal government would pay the full cost of educating these students.

News and updates on the AFT’s response to the hurricanes are available at www.aft.org.