Airport Workers Fear for Safety Over COVID-19

Eight out of 10 workers on the frontlines at U.S. airports across the country fear for their safety due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey conducted by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

The workers feel they are being unnecessarily exposed to risk through inadequate safety equipment or failure to offer sick pay, according to CNN. Of the 900 workers from 42 airports who were surveyed, 80 percent said they felt their work puts them at increased risk of COVID-19 – and 20 percent of the workers said they hadn’t been given personal protective equipment by their employer, airport or airline.

“We wanted to get a sense of how widespread these concerns about health and safety were,” SEIU Executive Vice-President Rocío Saenz told CNN. “We also knew that Black and brown communities were especially impacted by COVID-19 and airport workers come from these communities. These workers are a critical piece of the industry and shouldn’t be left out of the response to COVID.”
Of the almost 900 workers surveyed in the report, 37 percent identified as Latinx/Hispanic, and 32 percent said they were Black/African American. Immigrants accounted for 54 percent of those surveyed.

Terminal and cabin cleaners, baggage handlers, security officers and wheelchair attendants were among respondents to the union’s questions when the survey was conducted in September.

Aviation workers are hoping to be considered essential employees in order to get one of the two vaccines approved for distribution.

But some airports and airlines refuted the survey.

“We’ve handed out nearly 400,000 cloth face covering to port staff as well as any tenants and airport stakeholders that need them,” said Seattle-Tacoma Airport’s Media Manager Perry Cooper, in a statement provided to CNN. “Our allotment from FEMA still has more than 2 million left to last us through the rest of the situation.”

Cooper added that each individual airport employer is responsible for providing PPE to their employees.

“The airport is a supplement or a way to fill in any gaps for those employers for cloth face coverings,” he said. “Those employers have their protocols and procedures as well. We’ve worked in many ways to get the word out as often as we can to let them know we can help.”

In a statement, United Airlines said: “The health and well-being of our 100,000 employees across the globe is our highest priority. This crisis continues to have a very profound and personal impact on all of our hard-working teammates.”

Added a spokesperson from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport: “Everyone is required to wear a mask inside George Bush Intercontinental Airport. This is a city requirement. If anyone does not have a mask, our team is giving away masks, free of charge, at terminal entrances. We encourage everyone to come and get a free mask.”