ILWU members up and down the coast pitched in to make sure struggling workers in their communities had a happy holiday season.
Year after year, ILWU members, Auxiliaries and pensioners assist families who are struggling through hard times, especially during the holiday season. With the prolonged recession that has hurt so many workers these past few years, the help that ILWU members gave their communities was especially valuable. ILWU members organized toy drives, worked in hospitality kitchens and much more to ensure that struggling workers and their families were not left out this holiday season.
Thanks to all of the ILWU members who volunteered their time and donated money to those in need.
On December 20th, ILWU Local 13’s Lisa Tonson organized this year’s toy drive. Fifteen hundred area donations from Southern California ILWU members.
On Saturday, December 18th Local 23 held their annual holiday toy drive giveaway at their hall in Fife. Members donated over $20,000 to purchase toys and clothing for children in need this season and the gifts rapidly filled the union hall. Enough was raised so that members could donate two toys to each child. Over 400 children from nine different selected organizations were helped. Organizations who are receiving help from ILWU Local 23 members 
are:
- Pierce County Aids Foundation
- St. Leo’s Food Connection
- Children’s Home Society
- The Hospitality Kitchen
- South Sound Recovery Services
- Lions for Kids House (children’sclothing bank)
- Local women’s shelters
- Local schools
Representative from the nine local organizations, assisted by local #23 volunteers, were on hand to “shop” through our collection of donated toys, children’s clothing and bicycles for each child. In addition to the toy drive, members also donated $200 gift cards to low-income children at local schools, as a reward for achievement in the classroom.
Local 19 volunteers wrapping presents for the toy drive.
Local 19 members contributed throughout the year $11,000 which was used to buy gifts this holiday season for kids at the following charities:
- Children’s Hospital
- Tree House
- Teen Feed
- Cobb group home
They also had a giving tree set-up in the hall for several local families. Members could pull a gift tag from the giving tree to fulfill the family’s needs. Through the gift tree, Local 19 members donated an additional $2,000.
Longshore members and pensioners from Locals 4, 40 and 92 bought and assembled dozens of bikes for children in their community who are living through hard times.
For the 5th year in a row, members and pensioners from locals Local 4, 40 and 92 filled the Local 4 dispatch hall in Vancouver with dozens of shiny new bikes. The Children’s Home Society and Children’s Justice Center distributed the gifts to families in the area after the bikes were purchased and assembled by active and retired longshore workers. Members of the International Association of Fire Fighters donated helmets that were provided with the bikes.
Auxiliary Local 11 members in Vancouver organized a Children’s Christmas Party at the Local 4 hall that treated dozens of children to an afternoon of face-painting, cookie decorating, holiday decorating, and visiting Santa. Emmy Bishop and other volunteers did a fantastic job, according to Local 4 Dispatcher Troy Olson.
Bayer workers help the laid off: ILWU Local 6 members working at the Bayer production facility in Berkeley, CA donated enough money to purchase gifts for children from families who were hit by layoffs in August, 2010. Bayer demanded the layoffs despite record sales and billions in profit.
Help for harbor-area kids: Toy drive coordinator Lisa Tonson of Local 13 with a union Santa Clause. Tonson’s work every year on the holiday toy drive and Thanksgiving basket giveaway has been invaluable. According to one volunteer, “Christmas doesn’t happen in San Pedro without these two.”