Like tens of thousands of union members, Eric Orlowski, Painters and Allied Trades Local 660 member from Buffalo, N.Y., joined U.S. troops to serve his country in the Persian Gulf. On March 22, Orlowski, a single father, was killed by machine gun fire in the line of duty. Lance Cpl. Orlowski, 26, was assigned to the 2nd Tank Battalion of the 2nd Marine Division based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

“My heart goes out to Eric’s family, loved ones and fellow marines,” says Painters and Allied Trades General President James Williams. “These are trying times, and no words can adequately comfort those he has left behind.”

On April 5, NBC correspondent David Bloom, reporting from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, died of a pulmonary embolism, the sudden blocking of an artery of the lung by a blood clot. Bloom, 39, a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, had been packing his gear when he suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness at a location 25 miles south of Baghdad. He was transported to a field medical unit where he was pronounced dead. Since the war began, Bloom had filed more than 100 reports for NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC.

As in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the nation needs experienced workers, the first calls for assistance go out to union members. Longshoremen union leaders in Jacksonville, Fla., received word March 10 that highly trained union longshore workers were needed to load military cargo ships. In less than one day, ILA President John Bowers mobilized some 40 workers from other southern ports to help with the effort.

ILA Local 1423 member Clarissa Demery was among those who heeded the call. Demery traveled from her home in Brunswick, Ga., to Jacksonville to load military cargo ships with fuel trucks, tanks and other equipment U.S. forces need to fight the war in Iraq.

“We want everything to be shipped over there safely,” she says. “I want to help get it there so they have the right equipment to fight this war.”

"The AFL-CIO has maintained that the best way to disarm Saddam Hussein would be with a broad international coalition sanctioned by the United Nations," says AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney, "but we are unequivocal in our support of our country and America's men and women on the front lines as well as their families here at home."

More than 20,000 union members have been called up as reservists as part of the war in Iraq, including 4,000 police officers and hundreds of air traffic controllers and pilots. An estimated 26,000 Fire Fighters are in the military reserves but the union does not know how many have been activated.

At the same time, more than 4,000 members of the maritime unions—International Longshore and Warehouse Union, ILA, Seafarers, Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association and Masters, Mates & Pilots—are loading and transporting equipment, supplies and materiel to support the troops in the Persian Gulf.

“I want to protect our freedom. No one wants to go to war, but we’re trained to do this,” says Michelle Chandler, a member of IAFF and single mother who will leave her 19-month-old daughter to join the war when called up as a reservist.

“If we are there, we will do our job,” she says. “When I joined the military, I didn’t expect to fight a war. I want to do what I can to support my country.”

Reservists say their union membership is critical in ensuring their rights on the job are protected. (Reservists Rights on the AFL-CIO website enables union members to find out about their rights at work when serving military duty.)

Forest Keener, a member of the Air Traffic Controllers, stationed in Saudi Arabia who has experienced “some resistance from management when it comes to deployments,” says he is grateful for his union’s backing. “The union has helped support me in previous deployments by reminding management there are laws that protect reservists and allows us to deploy without fear of reprisal,” Keener says, writing by e-mail from Prince Sultan Air Base.

For Keener, having a voice on the job to speak up for fairness during wartime is part of the benefits of union membership. “In addition to the camaraderie, the union helps hold management accountable,” he says.

Bob Joyce, 66, a 12-year member of SIU, readily delayed his retirement to work as a seaman on the 700-foot, 53,000-ton vessel Cape Wrath, which carries such motorized vehicles as tanks and trucks.

When Joyce speaks of his motivation for postponing retirement and signing on for another tour of duty, the veteran of the first Persian Gulf war speaks for all union members serving our country. “I volunteered because I’m patriotic and I try to be a good American and a good Seafarers’ member."

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Find out more about reservists' rights at work.

Read more about:

Painters and Allied Trades member Eric Orlowski;

Longshoremen member Clarissa Demery;

Fire Fighter Michelle Chandler;

Air Traffic Controller Forest Keener; and

Seafarer Bob Joyce.

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