MAUI STRONG

UNITED PUBLIC WORKERS LAUNCHES WILDFIRE RELIEF EFFORT TO SUPPORT MAUI FAMILIES

HONOLULU, HI (August 12, 2023) – United Public Workers (UPW) AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO was able to fill six large shipping containers and dozens of air cargo containers with more than 150 tons of non-perishable donations collected through its Maui Wildfire Relief Effort. The items will be shipped to Maui and flown via air cargo courtesy of Aloha Air Cargo and Kamaka Air Cargo, where the County of Maui will help distribute them.

Both UPW members and the general public participated in the donation drive on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Islands. A steady stream of cars filled with water, diapers, canned food, and clothing flowed through the parking lots of UPW headquarters on each island starting at 6 a.m. on Friday. Aug. 11.

“The support from the community has been absolutely incredible and uplifting,” said United Public Workers AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO State Director Kalani Werner. “In addition to individual contributions, we received donations from Home Depot, Marine Life Studies, HGEA, AFSCME, SAG-AFTRA, and Island Schools.”

Volunteers assisted with the collection efforts, including a woman visiting Hawaii on vacation who gave up her sightseeing to help collect and sort donations.

United Public Workers would also like to thank the following for their generous assistance.

Special thanks to Randy Perreira and HGEA for collecting and distributing donations, helping us reach a wider audience and make a greater impact.

We want to extend our gratitude to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, and specifically to Joe Kūhiō Lewis, for their invaluable partnership in this endeavor.

Aloha Air Cargo, and Kamaka Air Cargo, transported supplies to Maui for free. We are grateful for their kindness and generosity.

We thank Philip Limon of Aloha Kia of Maui and Kia Trucking for helping us store and distribute supplies. The Enomoto Ohana was especially helpful in distributing supplies—Mahalo to Kapena Eskaran at Conen’s Freight Transport for providing transportation and storage services. Finally, we wish to thank the Hulalani Chartrand-Barco Ohana for providing transportation of donations from Hawaii Island.

UPW sincerely thanks Aloha Shoyu, HMC, Ryder Truck Rental, and Pacific Rim Packaging (Rogemson Albano) for donating pallets, boxes, and poly bags. Mango Tree Event Rental provided event tents for on-site storage. We also mahalo Shane Silva and Casinos Towing and Hopaco and their crew for helping with the transportation and preparation of the donations.