Local 801 responds to community needs by giving back

Dozens of Local 801 members are working to make life easier for families and students attending Minneapolis public schools. “Our local had conversations around mutual aid and Operation Metro Surge and how it impacted families, especially families afraid to leave their homes to go to the grocery store,” Local 801 President Joe Lehman said.  

“We have a fair amount of folks in the MnDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) building affected by the ICE occupation and that was a deciding factor to do a food drive,” added Local 801 Membership Secretary Danielle Kiesow.   

Lehman said when they began looking at food shelves, Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People (VEAP) “mentioned that some MAPE members used their food shelf in the past, and we thought it was a way to go full circle and give back.”  

For more than 50 years, VEAP has provided a range of programs to help low-income individuals and families meet their immediate needs and move toward stability. Today, VEAP operates one of the largest food pantries in the state and provides access to programs for over 10,000 individuals each month. 

Lehman and Kiesow said their Local was inspired by the food drive that Local 601 and others led at the MAPE Central office. It also gave them the idea of having the food drive in the Transportation building to make it easier for members to donate food and other items. 

“Building management told us we could have donation bins on floors not accessible to the public, which meant bins on the second through eighth floor of the building, which encompassed most of the people in the building. As soon as you got off the elevator to your floor, you saw the donation bins. It got to the point where management told us to empty the bins because there were so many donations,” Kiesow said.     

Members recently collected nearly 100 lbs. of food and non-perishable items like water, paper towels and diapers. Lehman said it took him “several trips” to deliver everything. 

“I was very proud that we were able to donate as much food as we did. I think one of the actions that we forget about when it comes to camaraderie is caring for others and doing other things to benefit the community at large. Showing that care and consideration makes all of us feel good, and to see how much we can donate when we organize shows us how impactful we can be to our communities,” Kiesow said.  

Lehman said there have been other volunteer opportunities to help people facing hard times in the community including helping to write resumes. “It will be fun to see what 801 members choose to do next. I was blown away by our local’s generosity but not surprised,” Lehman said. “We were inspired by work other MAPE locals were doing. Our union as a whole has really met this moment.”