It's incredibly hard for restaurant owners to take the day off, especially around the holidays. But Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 141 made that possible for the owner of the Mill Town Café in Green Bay, Wis., who needed time off to receive a bone marrow transplant the Friday before Christmas. 

While John Boehner and his allies in the U.S. House of Representatives play politics with aid to families whose lives were shattered by Superstorm Sandy, numerous unions have stepped up to provide money and supplies to those in need. Here are a few examples of how unions are helping families recover from the storm's devastation.

The South Central Federation of Labor in Wisconsin collected $445 in gas cards and bus cards to donate to the Community Action Coalition, which provides case management for families struggling to become self-sufficient.

Think union members only care about other union members?

Go see Jimmy Evans, training director at Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 816 apprenticeship school in Paducah, Ky.

OK, it might be hard to see him. A mini-mountain of canned goods is rising in the hallway outside his office.

Pennsylvania union members were busy this holiday as they continued a 40-year tradition of filling stockings with sweet treats for children with special needs. 

As part of a strong holiday program, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 668 puts up the entire holiday lighting display for downtown Lafayette, Ind. Between 25 and 50 volunteers show up weeks in advance of the local holiday festival and install the lights in the downtown plaza and county courthouse rotunda, a tradition the local has taken part in for 65 years. Members continue to make sure all the lights are working and fix any problems that come up throughout the holiday season.

In Omaha, Neb., painters volunteer to ring the Salvation Army bells. 

The Greater Green Bay (Wis.) Labor Council participates in two community service drives each year. Volunteers like Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA) members Len Boknevitz and Glen Fay (pictured, left to right) will engage in about 260 to 280 hours of bell-ringing for the Salvation Army as part of the "Bells of Organized Labor" event.

UAW locals 531 and 2317 in Lafayette, Ind., served a piping hot Christmas meal on Dec. 19 to local people who live on a low income or don't have a home. The union members split the cost of the meal between the two locals.

See more photos on the United Way of Greater Lafayette's Facebook page. 

It could have been a pretty bleak and hungry holiday season for the families of the 1,300 American Crystal Sugar workers who have been locked out of their jobs since August 2011. But thanks to the combined efforts of the unions of the St. Paul (Minn.) Regional Labor Federation and the American Income Life Insurance Co., there’ll be presents under the trees and food in the pantries.