Local utility workers teamed up with Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley last week to make the holiday season a little brighter for the surviving family members of homicide victims.

Utility Workers Union of America Local 369 brought 30 frozen turkeys to Conley’s annual breakfast for homicide survivors on Dec. 14. Local 369, based in Braintree, is the state’s largest utility worker union, representing 3,300 members across the region. Their members work for both National Grid and NStar.
“Each year we host an informal gathering of parents, siblings, spouses and others affected by homicide,” Conley said. “These are folks we’ve built a relationship with over a period of many years. So when Local 369 reached out to see how they could help the families who need it most, we knew exactly who to connect them with.”

Kevin McAnany, who helped organize the turkey donations along with other members of the Local 369 Political Action Committee, said that they found needy organizations by teaming up with local elected officials, including Councillors-at-Large Felix Arroyo and Ayanna Pressley in Boston.
“Before Thanksgiving, we did 125 turkeys. For Christmas, we did 400 turkeys,” he said.

Local 369 members, l-r, Paul Conners, Tony Moore and Dorchester’s Mark Flaherty participated in the turkey donation effort on Dec. 19.