On July, 13th, Oregon AFSCME member Zola Neal and her partner narrowly escaped an apartment complex fire in NE Portland, just blocks from the union’s Portland office. While, lucky and thankful to escape unharmed, the couple did lose all of their belongings in the fire and without renter’s insurance, their situation was even tougher. Zola’s community stepped up for her, creating a GoFundMe page and assisting her with housing and support. Zola, who’s on the Oregon AFSCME Volunteers of America Bargaining team fighting for their first contract, received additional support from her union family.
On August 7th, Oregon AFSCME and the Oregon AFL-CIO, hosted a spaghetti dinner with the proceeds going to Zola and her family. Twenty-five union members showed up, some who had never met Zola, to support her and break bread with their union brothers and sisters. As Oregon AFSCME Executive Director Stacy Chamberlain said, “One of the best things about being in a union is knowing that no matter how hard things get, you have your brothers and sisters around you to have your back.”
The dinner, helped raise over $500 to support Zola, and also showed that when tragedy strikes, our union family is always there to support us.
