Federal Employees Ready to Meet Disaster Response Needs

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, union members are ready to serve

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Southeast Louisiana, causing catastrophic destruction along the Gulf Coast.

Federal workers were among the first to respond to that crisis. Five years later, they stand ready to meet future disaster response needs, according to leaders from the American Federation of Government Employees.

"Five years ago, tens of thousands of brave federal workers risked their own health and safety to help the people of the Gulf Coast in the face of the biggest natural disaster this country has ever seen," AFGE National President John Gage said. "Their heroic efforts continue to serve as a vivid reminder of the valuable work federal employees perform each and every day."

In the first two weeks after Katrina struck, more than 70,000 federal employees from across the country were deployed to the region to assist in relief and recovery efforts. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, deployed teams of employees to conduct aerial assessments of damage and support cleanup efforts.

Chuck Orzehoskie, president of the National Council of EPA Locals 238, said he "remains proud of the response of EPA's dedicated employees to Hurricane Katrina, and their efforts to help clean up after this disaster. The employees we represent remain dedicated to public service and to protecting human health and the environment."

Jim Aldridge, a police officer at the VA Medical Center in Orlando, Fla., volunteered to go to New Orleans just three days after Katrina had stuck to help guard the VA Medical Center there. Agencies have learned a lot in the five years since that massive relief effort, Aldridge said.

"I think what's come out of it is the need to become prepared. We're more prepared than we were back then," Aldridge said.

While some leaders were blamed for taking too long to respond, federal employees overall were dedicated to doing whatever was necessary to help residents affected by the disaster, said Leo Bosner, a former FEMA employee.

"The Hurricane Katrina errors themselves were not the fault of the individual FEMA employees. FEMA employees did a great job; the leaders did a horrible job," Bosner said.

Visit AFGE's blog at afgeunionblog.wordpress.com to read more recollections from employees.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

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