(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Looking back, Western New York was devastated by a crippling blizzard in late December, paralyzing the community and taking the lives of more than 40 residents.  The blizzard, deemed by New York State and local officials as a once-in-a-lifetime storm, included days of heavy snow, hurricane-force winds and freezing temperatures that led to power outages, people trapped in their vehicles for days due to impassable streets - and even a forced halt of emergency services because First Responders themselves couldn’t get through the snow. 

But throughout the extraordinarily damaging weather, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Members continued to provide vital services to the community - from 911 Dispatchers and Emergency Room Technicians to State and Local Government Highway Workers, Direct Care Workers and more, CSEA Members both in the Western Region and other areas in the State helped community members literally survive the historic storm. 

“I want to thank all of our Union Members in the Buffalo and Erie County Region who worked tirelessly for hours and days on end - sometimes without breaks or food - and stayed committed to providing crucial services to their community during frigid temperatures, high winds and record-breaking snowfall,” CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan said.

“I also want to highlight and thank Members from various State Agencies, including the State Department of Transportation and Locals across New York who dispatched and deployed themselves and their equipment to Buffalo to help with lifesaving, safety and snow removal efforts,” President Sullivan said. 

CSEA Member Nichelle Moore, an Emergency Room Technician at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), spent nearly three days working while her fiancé and daughter were at home with no power and heat.

Moore said dozens of people sought shelter, food, electricity and heat at the emergency room and staff at the safety-net hospital provided as much support as they could to anyone who made their way there. 

“As I prayed for my family’s safety, it made me want to treat the people who came in as my family as well,” Moore said. “I did everything in my power to make people feel warm and comfortable.  As hard as it was to know that my family was home with no power or heat as I was at work, I knew I had to treat everyone who came through those doors like family as well.” 

Moore compared the unity of Hospital Workers to a quote from the 1997 film Soul Food, which notes: “One finger won’t make an impact, but you ball all those fingers into a fist, and you can strike a mighty blow.  Now, this family has got to be that fist.” 

“A family in the fist at ECMC and we struck a mighty blow by taking care of the people who came in,” Moore said.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: Buffalo blizzard brings out workers’ best amid tragedy (cseany.org)