Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Service Employees International Union Stories Description An account of the resource Among the thousands directly affected by the attacks were members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who worked at or near the World Trade Center and Pentagon as janitors, porters, security guards, public employees, building engineers, emergency medical technicians, and firefighters. In the days and weeks that followed the tragedy, several recounted their stories -- how they escaped the buildings, how they helped others to safety, and how they struggle with grief, emotional difficulties, and financial hardship. This collection contains more than fifty of these stories. SEIU Story SEIU Story: Story 'I heard a big thump like a construction grate hitting the ground,' said Gabriel Torres, a 29-year-old security person at the World Trade Center. 'All of the sudden, people were running all over. They told us a plane hit one of the towers.' <P>Gabriel was helping people evacuate when two firefighters asked him to help them navigate through the building to find people in need of assistance. Gabriel took the two men to the underground Path train area. They were in a parking lot beneath building one when the ceiling began to fall. <P>'We got trapped under the debris. We dug our way out. We just kept digging til we saw light. But then we were stuck,' Gabriel said. The three men called out for help, but had to wait for two hours to be rescued. 'I had a hole in my leg. I could see the bone. My head was hurt. Both my elbows are hurt and scraped. I got four or five stitches on my forehead. I gotta use [a] cane to walk,' Gabriel said. <P>As he talked about the devastation, Gabriel's face darkened. 'Too much, too much,' he said. 'I was on the phone with my mother right before I went downstairs. I told her to tell my wife I love her. Then I told my mother that I love her. Then I had to go. I didn't know if I would ever see my family again,' Gabriel said. <P>'Yesterday (9/16) was my son's birthday. He turned two. We baptized him yesterday. We had it planned, so we went ahead and did it. Life goes on.' <P>Now Gabriel worries about how his family will make ends meet. Gabriel's wife has a job with the school board, but her paycheck falls short of the family's expenses. 'When we lost the buildings, we lost our jobs,' he said. SEIU Story: Local Union Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource seiu51.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Original Name The original name of this item. NULL Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-09-17