Thousands of Fire Fighters (IAFF) who were on the front lines in the response to Superstorm Sandy lost their own homes and personal lives while working hard to save the lives and homes of others. Many of them are now struggling and need direct financial assistance immediately. Despite the help they are receiving from family, friends and their fellow IAFF members, they need more help in starting their lives over.

Check out the AFL-CIO's new In Our Communities website feature, "Recovering After Superstorm Sandy."

The recovery from Superstorm Sandy could be one of the most expensive in American history, with estimates climbingtoward the $50 billion mark in property damage alone. As Americans all across the country pitch in, most of the work repairing and rebuilding the storm-ravaged areas will be done by talented and hardworking union members. Many of the organizations dealing with Sandy’s devastation emphasize the importance of union workers’ expertise and skill, as well as of sufficient government financial support for rebuilding physical structures and roads and, in many cases, people's lives. Here is what our members have been doing to help with the recovery:

"The Role of Government During Natural Disasters" is a cross-post from the IAFF Frontline Blog by Rich Duffy of the Fire Fighters (IAFF).

The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast is a great example of why we need a centralized federal government that can respond to states and communities in need of disaster relief.  Hurricane Sandy also underscores a very important issue for Americans, and that is what role the federal government should play in during a disaster (man-made or natural).

More than 300 union and community activists "unwelcomed" Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) to Kalispell, Mont., yesterday with signs and chants letting him know that there’s no room in Big Sky Country for the anti-worker, anti-union, education and health care cutting policies that mark his record.

Check out the AFL-CIO's new In Our Communities website feature, "Firefighters Give Back to Their Communities On and Off the Job." 

It’s hard to miss a burly firefighter in a bright pink T-shirt. And for tens of thousands of Fire Fighters (IAFF) union members across the country, that’s exactly the point. When the public sees them in pink tees, they are reminded that breast cancer is a deadly disease requiring regular exams and mammograms. And they are urged to help women who can’t afford regular check-ups.

This is a cross-post from the Fire Fighters (IAFF) union. 

IAFF Local 48 member Doug Stern from Cincinnati spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday night.

Stern says for the majority of his life he identified as a Republican. But with last year’s political assault on Ohio’s public employees, he felt that the Republican Party left him and other members of the middle class behind.

This is a crosspost by Tony Burke from the Fire Fighters blog.

For 16 years, the IAFF Burn Foundation has brought young survivors together to form new bonds at its annual international Burn Camp.