Date: 27 Aug 92 17:46:23 GMT
From: ehopper@attmail.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: More on AT&T and Hurricane Andrew
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 667, Message 1 of 6

HURRICANE RELIEF *** Although 60,000 storm victims spent Wednesday
night in shelters after Hurricane Andrew struck Louisiana, damage was
considerably less there than in Florida.  All AT&T employees in
Louisiana are accounted for.  Also, according to information received
early today, none of the estimated 400 to 500 AT&T people in the area
struck by Andrew, which was downgraded to a tropical storm today, lost
their homes.  There was no damage done to the network as the storm
ripped through the oil towns and Cajun country of South Louisiana
Wednesday.  Calling volumes doubled Wednesday and are still up today
at 15% above normal.
 
Meanwhile, in Florida today, AT&T people from NCR, American Transtech
and AT&T Universal Card Services mobilized to bring emergency supplies
to AT&T people who have been provided temporary shelter at the
company's Ojus facility outside Coral Gables, Fla. Ojus has been
established as a central emergency relief office for employees.  The
storm, which has been called the most expensive natural disaster in
this country's history, wreaked between $15 and $20 billion damage in
Florida.
 
Some of the 80 AT&T employees unaccounted for Wednesday have been
located through efforts by the business units, although no exact
figures were available this morning. While there were no network
outages in Florida, Andrew destroyed the homes of an estimated 250,000
people, and AT&T moved quickly Wednesday to supply emergency phone
service for victims. The company sent 200 coinless public phones to
the Fort Lauderdale area and set up approximately 12 public phones at
the Homestead Air Force Base in hard-hit South Florida.  AT&T also
shipped phones and equipment used for the Republican National
Convention in Houston to the Louisiana disaster site. Various efforts
are under way to raise cash and provide supplies for storm victims.
 
The AT&T Foundation donated $100,000 Wednesday to the American Red
Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Employees who wish to make tax-deductible
cash donations or equipment donations can do so through the following
organizations:
 
  o    The Pioneers in Florida are collecting bottled water,
       portable radios, batteries, flashlights, portable stoves and
       fuel, canned food, paper products, umbrellas, clothing, baby
       items, toiletries, pet supplies, etc.  Supplies and tax-
       deductible cash donations (checks only, please), which will
       be used to assist AT&T and South Central Bell employees,
       should be sent to the address below.  Checks should be made
       out to Telephone Pioneers of America/Andrew.
 
               Telephone Pioneers of America
               Florida Goldcoast Chapter No. 83
               6451 N. Federal Highway
               Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  33308
 
  o    Donations to Florida storm victims can also be made to:
 
               The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund
               c/o Michael Carroll
               P.O. Box 025230
               Miami, Fla.  33102-5230
 
  o    Dade County Emergency Relief 800-682-3362
 
  o    Emergency-relief collections at various local AT&T building
       sites.  Check with local management for details.
 
After the storm struck, AT&T's Human Resource Division quickly
provided guidance to managers to help affected employees in the
following areas:
 
  o    Reasonable additional time off with or without pay, subject
       to local management discretion, but not to exceed 30 calendar
       days in a 12-month period.
  o    Flex time/flex place, subject to local management discretion,
       to give employees some work-schedule flexibility to handle
       personal matters or work closer to home to oversee home
       repairs.
  o    Wage advances of up to four weeks.
  o    Expedited processing of mortgage applications through
       Prudential Home Mortgage.
  o    Assistance in forming car/van pools to help employees whose
       vehicles were lost or damaged.
  o    Discounts on rental cars through Avis, Hertz and National.
  o    Local employee-sponsored fund-raising activities to aid
       employees in need.
 
                           -------

Ed Hopper    AT&T - IMS    Atlanta, Ga


[Moderator's Note: As pointed out yesterday in these columns, the big
need in south Florida right now is NOT for money -- they have no where
to spend it! What they do need are all sorts of common household items
and emergency supplies as per the list provided by the Telephone
Pioneers above:  baby powder, baby and pet food, flashlights, batteries, 
can-openers, toilet tissue, etc.  I was gratified to get a dozen notes
today from readers who took to heart what I requested yesterday: they
found some cardboard boxes, loaded them with all sorts of household
supplies and other odds and ends, then shipped it out by overnight
delivery on Federal Express today to the Pioneer's office at the
address shown above.  How about the rest of you doing the same?  If
you need to work on it over the weekend, then send it Monday so the
folks will have it Tuesday or Wednesday. If you prefer, you can send
the same type of shipment to the attention of the City Clerk, City of
Homestead, Homestead, Florida. Federal Express will know where to
deliver it along with the truckloads of stuff arriving from big
hearted people all over the world ... two of the notes I got today
were from Digest readers in Europe. Thank you very much.  :)   PAT]