Following devastating flooding that killed 20 people in Waverly, Tennessee, in late August, volunteers from local unions are helping fill gaps in rebuilding efforts.
Seventeen inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours on Aug. 21, 2021, on the small town in Middle Tennessee and took out homes, roads, cellphone towers and other critical infrastructure. Although it's been two months since the waters swept two twin infants from their father's arms, residents are still struggling to get back on their feet and piles of debris litter the streets, according to multiple sources.
The AFL-CIO organizes workers from around the country and has been coming to Waverly for weeks to help. Volunteers and union members are providing the skilled labor needed to tear down houses, repair electrical and plumbing systems and help residents clean up.
Because the AFL-CIO is a federation of 57 national and international labor unions that represents 12.5 million working people, volunteers from groups like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Ironworkers responded to calls for help.
Billy Dycus is president of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council and said he's been visiting Waverly on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons for weeks to organize volunteers. Dycus said many of the volunteers are retirees and have been stripping out drywall, removing insulation from underneath houses, taking out decking and preparing electric and plumbing inside houses for repair. Dycus said two months after the flooding, there are houses that haven't even been entered and assessed for damage yet.
(READ MORE: Survivors grapple with aftermath of deadly Tennessee flood)
"There's so much work and everybody's so busy," Dycus said. "Our retirees have a unique skill set that comes from years of experience in the building trades. They're able to provide things beyond the normal workforce."
Plumbers, pipefitters and heating technicians of Middle Tennessee are working arm-in-arm with the AFL-CIO, including the business manager of the United Association Local 572, Eric Coons. The union has had a relationship with AFL-CIO since the 1800s and has been reporting to the same volunteer command center as Dycus. They've also been doing a lot of debris removal, and both Dycus and Coons said they are in it for the long haul.
"We honestly feel like we need to be a presence there until it's done," Coons said, "until we've seen this come to fruition and these people have gotten the help they need."
The union members aren't wearing T-shirts or advertising their presence because Dycus said they're just there to help. The AFL-CIO reports they have around 40 of their own members who live nearby and were affected; Coons said the pipefitters group has union members in the region who also need help.
As part of their efforts, the Tennessee AFL-CIO's Disaster Relief Fund has raised and distributed funds to members. The fund was initially set up in response to the March 3, 2020, tornado that struck many areas of the state. The fund has since raised $54,000.
Despite their work, Dycus said conditions for Waverly residents are often bad. Dycus visited a resident living on an old cot in what used to be his kitchen, trying to repair his house on his own. Dycus said the man's friend helped him get power back to the kitchen and he'd plugged up a TV, but other than that, it was him and his cot.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga residents hope to help former neighbors hurt by Middle Tennessee flooding)
Residents said there have been many issues picking up the pieces. Janet and Paul Rice, a married couple who ran a feed store in Waverly in a building that was 100 years old, said building another store and replacing inventory will never be financially feasible because there has been no financial help for their lost business.
They said piles of debris were also sitting around town for weeks before volunteers were able to move it, but said it's clear there's simply so much to be done it was likely overwhelming for workers. Both said progress on removing the debris is being made every day. Dycus said that is a particular concern because debris from houses built before current codes and regulations may contain asbestos and other chemicals.
Dycus said more effort is needed from state officials and that if a wealthier neighborhood had been hit, recovery efforts would've gone faster.
Despite the huge workload and often overwhelming number of people who need help, the AFL-CIO and pipefitters union members said they aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
"We plan to continue to go on until we can't do anything anymore," Dycus said. "They're just looking for somebody to show up and help."
Read more at Tennessee Lookout.