Dockworkers union, LA nonprofit team up to send supplies to Maui residents displaced by wildfires
WILMINGTON, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- As Hawaii continues to reel from the devastating wildfires that have killed at least 55 people, several Los Angeles-based organizations have mobilized to send relief supplies to Maui.
Among them are the nonprofit Labor Community Services and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13, Local 63 and Local 94.
"It took us back because our own members up there -- some are missing, through the fires," Gary Herrera, president of ILWU Local 13, told ABC7. "And the hotel workers that lost their homes, they lost their place to work. They have nowhere -- there's kids, there's babies.
"Our own local reached out to us, Local 142 out in Hawaii, and said, 'Hey, we need help," Herrera said. "This was a no-brainer. We were going to do this no matter what."
The supplies that are being donated include water, food, face masks and disposable wipes -- all necessities that people in Maui may not have.
"We're going to help them ship out -- this is our first load," said Armando Olivas, executive director of Labor Community Services. "We'll do another load, so we'll make sure we'll send 15 to 20 pallets of goods out."
"There's a lot of work," Herrera said. "We've got Pasha, which is a stevedoring company that has donated the containers to go out and be shipped back to Hawaii Tuesday night and Friday night. So we're filling as many containers as we go, until we can get that done."
Donations can be made at 231 West C Street in Wilmington, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., through Aug. 17.
"What a nightmare," said donor Monica Stevens, referring to the wildfires. "And where are they going to run to? It's an island. They have limited space, so it's up to us -- not just the people there -- to really try to contain it. They have to do what they have to do physically and we have to be their backup support."
