More than 70,000 IBEW members across the Northeast live in Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster zones. Many are facing tens of thousands of dollars in damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and the resulting flooding. Some are without a home all together.

That's why the IBEW is tapping its Unity Fund — first set up last year to help working families stand up against anti-worker attacks in Wisconsin and Ohio — to help members rebuild their homes and lives.

"This is what solidarity is all about — not a hand out but a helping hand to get our brothers and sisters back on their feet," says International President Edwin D. Hill.

Third District International Representative Wyatt Earp, who is working to identify members affected throughout New Jersey, says he's met many members who faced the holidays without a home.

"For a lot of coastal residents, their entire first floor was flooded, making many of them pretty much uninhabitable," says Earp. "Others are facing some major repairs, and will have to gut much of their house to clean up the mold and water damage."

Earp says in addition to raising funds and identifying members in need, local unions and signatory contractors have teamed up to set up emergency house repair hotlines for members.

Go to www.ibew.org/unityfund/ if you would like to make a credit card donation. Or make checks payable to IBEW Unity Fund (memo line Sandy) and mail them to:

IBEW Unity Fund
900 Seventh St. N.W
Washington, D.C. 20001