When the tornado hit Moore, Okla., on Monday, International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) members Andrew Terry, Jay Keehn, Michael Myers and David Carpenter were quick to respond to the tragedy in their hometown. All of the members of IUPA Local 3 offered their services, as did members of numerous other locals in the area. The response was so overwhelming that officials on the ground had to put many volunteers on standby.

She said she’d get a Mohawk. She got a Mohawk.

“I’m sporting a new ‘do,’” says Alice Phillips, business manager for Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 483 of Tacoma, Wash. “It feels…light. It’s different.”

The shaved head and spiked hair came about because Phillips wanted her union local to double last year’s donation of union-made peanut butter as part of the Letter Carriers’ (NALC's) National Food Drive. The 21st annual drive to combat hunger is the nation’s largest single-day food drive and is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In 2012, letter carriers collected 70 million pounds of food donations along their postal routes.

Oklahoma City-area union members who were impacted by tornadoes and who participate in Union Plus programs may be eligible for financial assistance. 

Union Plus Disaster Relief Grants of $500 are available to help participants in the Union Plus Credit Card, Insurance or Mortgage programs who are facing financial hardship due to this devastating natural disaster. The money does not have to be repaid.

UPDATE: The death toll from the Moore tornado has been revised downward and stands at 24 as of noon today. But officials say they expect it to increase as rescue workers search the wreckage. 

While rescue operations continue in Moore, Okla., after one of the worst and deadliest tornadoes on record that has claimed more than 50 lives, with the toll expected to climb, relief efforts are being organized. The Oklahoma State AFL-CIO and central labor council community service liaisons are working through the United Way. 

Dorothy was a longtime activist with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO. In the summer of 2012, she lost her only son and found that her home, which she bought for her retirement, was in serious need of repair. That's when her church, Journey Church, in Norman, Okla., and the state federation stepped in and did what they could to change her life.

Check out this video to see what they did in only eight hours. 

Three members of Machinists (IAM) Local 264 in Boston were honored for their bravery and quick thinking in response to the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15. John Foley, Dave Litif and Mike Rown, who were volunteering at the finish line of the marathon, immediately moved to tear down barricades around the blast site to help people leave the area and began treating the wounded.

Alice Phillips of Tacoma, Wash., is a union leader who’s willing to create a little buzz.

At least, that’s the sound the clippers will make when Phillips, the IBEW business manager, fulfills her pledge to get a Mohawk haircut if the members of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 483 would double last year’s donation of union-made peanut butter as part of the Letter Carriers’ National Food Drive. They brought the jars. So she’s on the hook.

Letter carrier and union member Tom Sapienza was making his rounds Saturday when he came upon a burning building. Without hesitation, he and several others entered the building to look for trapped residents. No one was seriously injured in the blaze. Afterward, Sapienza went back to doing his job.

In this video, members of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the Electrical Workers (IBEW) explain how they help keep the USS Midway, which is now a museum, up to date and running smoothly, preserving an important bit of American history.

Tomorrow is the final day of the Letter Carriers' (NALC) 21st annual "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive. It is the largest annual food collection day in the United States. In 2012, the drive collected more than 70 million pounds of food, and it has collected nearly 1.2 billion pounds of food since it began in 1993.