(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Some call it a Labor of Love, but to the Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and its Affiliated Member Unions, it’s a show of Labor Covering Western New York - and for the second year in a row, the Buffalo Council and its Affiliates are joining a major community donation drive to gather new blankets for patients of all ages at Buffalo’s Children’s Hospital.

“Last year when they pulled the truck up with the donations, I said to myself: ‘Oh my god, it’s full to the roof,’” Buffalo AFL-CIO Labor Council President John Mudie - who also serves as Executive Vice President of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1122, told WNYLaborToday.com.  “It was ‘overwhelming,’ but this year we’re looking to ‘double our efforts’ and hit the (3,000) mark.  We even have an IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local (2213) in Syracuse that has a bunch of new blankets that they want to donate to this year’s drive.”

Once again, the Buffalo Labor Council is teaming up with New York State Senator Tim Kennedy to spearhead the new blanket collection drive that actually kicked off on October 1st and is running through the Christmas Holidays and New Year’s, right up to January 31st.

Unions and their Members are being asked to collect and store their new blanket donations in their Union Halls for pick up, a firm date that will be announced in the not too distant future.

Young patients staying in Buffalo’s new Children's Hospital can be made to feel more at home this winter with warm blankets from the Warm Up Western New York initiative that Organized Labor is participating in this year.

"Wrapping a ‘small scared child in a warm cozy blanket can make a world of difference, in not only curbing any anxiousness, but providing a sense of warmth and familiarity that's often found only at home,’" Senator Kennedy, a Buffalo Democrat, said.

William Mayer, an International Union of Painters & Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 4 Delegate to the Buffalo Labor Council - who also serves as the Buffalo Labor Council’s Community Services Chair, as well as its Social Media Director, tells WNYLaborToday.com this year’s effort is “yet another way for the Labor Community to give back to those communities where our Members work, live and raise their families - it’s all about ‘Labor Covering Western New York.’”

“It’s ‘such a great opportunity to give back,’” Mayer, a Union Painter, tells Your On-Line Labor Newspaper.  “With Union approval now up to (61%) according to the latest Gallup Poll, our efforts to make our Affiliated Unions and our Members ‘aware of this drive’ via the Social Networks also allows Organized Labor to ‘make many more people aware of who we are, what we do and the positive role we play in our communities.’  So, we ‘will continue to blast this message out’ during the months of December and January on everything – from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram and Snapchat, to name just a few.”

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Pictured below, New York State Senator Tim Kennedy (on the left), Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President John Mudie (in the middle) and William Mayer - an International Union of Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 4 Delegate to the Buffalo Labor Council - who also serves as the Labor Council’s Community Services Chair and serves as its Social Media Director, pose with some of the donated blankets from last year’s campaign.  (File Photo Courtesy of William Mayer Via His Facebook Page)