Atlantic City may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as some casinos and entertainment venues announce their reopening dates. But July is still weeks off, the reopenings will be only partial, and out-of-work union brothers and sisters and Atlantic City residents are still in need.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”21″ display=”basic_imagebrowser”]Never fear. Solidarity always comes to the rescue.A food distribution on Thursday, June 25, sponsored by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey delivered emergency food kits and fruits and vegetables to hundreds of drive-in and walk-up visitors to Bader Field in Atlantic City.
Six lanes of cars ferried families – sometimes several families per car – through the highly efficient distribution site. Volunteers from unions representing every sector of labor from Atlantic City and the nearby region hefted the food into the cars for the visitors, all the while following the strictest health and safety procedures. Most of the volunteers were well-practiced, having participated in the three previous distributions sponsored by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO and its affiliates. Once again, IAM, IATSE, IUOE, Teamsters, UNITE HERE and others stood with their union brothers and sisters in need, and with the entire Atlantic City community.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO expresses our deepest thanks to our union brothers and sisters and their families for their hard work and continuing solidarity on Thursday. Our labor values are uplifting working families every day.
The COVID-19-related shutdown of the Atlantic City casino industry has left the area one of the hardest-hit areas in the country. Even though New Jersey’s restrictions are being relaxed – a ray of hope – the region’s comeback is likely to be slow.
Therefore, these union-led food distributions will continue as long as the need remains. We want our brothers and sisters to know we are there for them, so in the spirit of solidarity, please be generous in this time of crisis.
Please make checks payable to our 501(c)(3) account.
New Jersey State AFL-CIO Community Services Agency Inc.
106 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608