District 751 Machinists give to support food banks

SEATTLE — Unemployed workers in Snohomish and King counties will have a better chance of avoiding hunger this spring, thanks to members of Machinists Union District Lodge 751.

The union’s Women’s Committee collected more than $1,800 and close to 400 pounds of food during its annual April food drive to benefit the Puget Sound Labor Agency food bank. The agency operates food banks in Everett and Seattle that support unemployed union workers and their families.

The total included $637 collected by members of Local 751-C, who passed the hat at their April lodge meeting.

District 751′s donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar and pound-for-pound by the Feinstein Foundation, a Rhode Island organization that’s dedicated to fighting hunger. Combined, “this will be a big help,” said Steve Fox, the Labor Agency’s executive director.

The agency reports that it is feeding 38 percent more people this year, compared to 2010.

“The need is really great this year,” said Susan Palmer, the union’s secretary/treasurer. “Unemployment is high, and many of the people who are working don’t earn enough to make ends meet. As a result, the food bank is running out of food almost every week.”

While the food drive is over, District 751′s efforts to support the Labor Agency will continue. Women’s Committee members are selling buttons sporting the AFL-CIO’s slogan “We Are One,” with all proceeds from the sales going to the agency. As of early May, the button sales had collected more than $800 for the agency. 

Originally formed in 1935 to represent hourly workers at Boeing, Machinists District 751 now represents more than 26,500 working men and women at 44 employers across Washington, Oregon and California.  In 2010, District 751 members gave nearly 6,200 hours of volunteer community service and raised more than $276,000 for Guide Dogs of America, the union’s charity of choice.

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