On September 10, 2017 at 9:10 Am (EST), Hurricane Irma made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale as it rolled into the Florida Keys. The center of Irma’s eye crossed Cudjoe Key, 20 miles east of Key West, packing 130-mph winds, where an estimated 10ft storm surge occurred in the afternoon. The hurricane caused major damage to buildings, trailer parks, boats, roads, the electricity supply, mobile phone coverage, internet access, sanitation, the water supply and the fuel supply.
After the storm, South Florida, the main land was in assessment mode from Miami Dade County to St. Lucie County and through Ft. Myers. We were all in full clean up mode. During that time, we were all listening and viewing reports that were coming in from the Keys.
Knowing the fact that our Brothers and Sisters in the Florida Keys needed assistance, Teamsters Local No. 769 put an action plan together for Hurricane relief efforts. Currently, TLU 769 represents the following in the Florida Keys: Monroe County, Monroe County Correction Officers, City of Key West, U.P.S. and Amerigas. On Saturday, September 16, 2017, before sunrise, Brother Rolando Pina (Recording Secretary and Business Agent) and Brother David Renshaw (Business Agent and Human Rights Commission) were granted access and made a round trip to Key West. During that one day round trip, the two of them made 16 stops throughout the Keys. At each stop they delivered some much needed supplies to the members and to communities within the Florida Keys. The relief supplies were donated by the following: Teamsters Local 769, Bimbo Bakery/Entenmann’s, Crystal Water and residence in Pembroke Pines. Currently we are working on delivering multiple relief loads of donations to the Florida Keys.
Members of Teamsters Local 769, if you have suffered losses from this storm; fill out a “Request for Help” form (include all requested documentation) Disaster relief forms must be returned to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund by December 15, 2017. For any assistance and or questions, you may contact David Renshaw at (305) 642-6255 ext. 2236 or email at drenshaw@teamsterslocal769.org.
Teamsters Disaster Relief for victims of hurricane Irma information and forms can be found here.
Florida Keys Facts:
The Florida Keys are a string of tropical islands stretching about 120 miles off the southern tip of the U.S. state of Florida, between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
The longest key is Key Largo, which is 30 miles long and 0.5 miles wide.
There are 42 bridges connecting the Florida Keys islands. The longest bridge, is the Seven Mile Bridge, 15% of total travel time in the Keys is spent on bridges.
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