FL Low Wage Airport Workers: Ebola Concern
Posted October 21, 2014 05:59 am
MIAMI, FL – While the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the medical community scramble to get a handle on the spread of Ebola in the U.S., low-wage workers at Florida's airports are concerned about the risks.
Cabin cleaners, wheelchair attendants, baggage handlers and contract workers make a little less than $8 an hour, but could potentially be exposed to the illness before a patient knows he or she is sick.
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Julie Karant, spokeswoman for the service employees union 32-B-J SEIU, said workers have been concerned for a long time.
"The Ebola crisis has simply put a spotlight on it because airport workers are on the front lines during this alarming period," she said. "Cabin cleaners have reported that they are given gloves but not masks, even though they have to clean up bodily fluids such as vomit, feces and blood."
Contract cleaning services were tasked with cleaning the
Frontier Airlines jet on which nurse Amber Joy Vinson
flew before her Ebola diagnosis. Frontier has cleaned
the Denver-based plane four times and placed the
flight's six-person crew on leave for 21 days, the
normal incubation period for the virus.
Last week, 200 airline cabin cleaners refused to go to
work at LaGuardia Airport in New York over concerns
about the level of protection offered to them in the
form of gloves, body suits and masks.
On Friday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked the federal
government to screen for Ebola at airports in the
Sunshine State.
"They don't give us masks, only the gloves," said
Rachel, who cleans planes at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood
International Airport. "I have blood, I have pee when
we're cleaning the plane. We see everything."
Karant said the airline industry is making
record-breaking profits and contracts often are awarded
to the lowest bidder. That means low salaries, she said,
and can lead to a high turnover rate, possibly impacting
the preparedness of employees as they confront threats
such as Ebola, or even security.
"It's a systemic problem with our airports," she said.
"It's clear that we have to fix this patchwork system of
low-road subcontractors at Fort Lauderdale and at
airports across the nation."
The union is joining other worker's rights groups in
calling on airlines and their contractors to offer
protective gear and equipment and comply with CDC
guidelines.
With more than 145,000 members in 11 states, 32-BJ SEIU
is the largest property-service workers union in the
nation.
Photos/graphics and links added by the Observer
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