Trained for disaster
200 UAW retirees now part of emergency response teams
Bill Piekutowski says if needed, he is ready for just about any emergency.
The UAW Local 163 retiree has a green safety vest, a green hard hat and a bag loaded with necessities such as a blanket, flashlight, bandages, goggles and more. He can wrap wounds, set bones and comfort victims.
“I might not be able to do what a doctor or a trained medical professional would do in an emergency, said Piekutowski, “but with the training I’ve had, I’ll sure be able to help out.”
Piekutowski is one of more than 200 UAW retirees who have completed Community Emergency Response Team Training (CERT) run in Michigan’s Wayne County. He and his wife, Rita, took the class together with about 10 other retirees from the local.
‘I might not be able to do what a doctor or a trained medical professional would do in an emergency, but with the training I’ve had, I’ll sure be able to help out.’
–Bill Piekutowski
The program, administered by the Wayne County Department of Homeland Security, teaches basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medical operations. Participants become certified in community emergency response.
Classroom instruction and mock disaster training prepares them to take an active role in assisting in case of emergencies including flood, fire, hurricane and terrorism.
More than 800 UAW retirees have signed up to take the classes. At some locals, spouses and other family members also get involved.
Piekutowski said when he heard about CERT through his local union, he didn’t hesitate to sign up.
“I never would have known about this if it wasn’t for the UAW,” said Piekutowski, the local’s retiree chairman. “This turned out to be so much more than I expected it to be.”
“I know some things that I didn’t know before,” said Mike Lang of UAW Local 182. “I know not to just run into a building. I know to look around first and to take someone with me,” said Lang, chairman of his local’s retiree chapter.
Lang, who teamed up in CERT training with his wife, Edna, says they were among 22 trainees from Local 182.
“In our group, (age) 13 was the youngest and the oldest was 86,” Lang said. Another bonus, he said was “that I got to see retirees that I had not seen for years.”
Lang, who retired from Ford Motor Co. in 1997, said, “I never even thought about anything like this. It just goes to show you that no matter what age you are, you can always do something to help somebody.”
