Airline Cabin Cleaners Strike Over Ebola Exposure Fears

[MHSC]

Nearly 200 airline cabin cleaners walked off the job at a New York City airport overnight, striking over health and safety issues that include fears over possible exposure to Ebola.

The protest involves Air Serv cabin cleaners in Terminal D at New York?s LaGuardia airport, a contractor that serves Delta, as well as supporting workers from LaGuardia and JFK International airports.

Protesting workers carried signs and chanted during today?s rally, protesting against conditions that they say often find them encountering hypodermic needles, vomit and blood.

Meanwhile, the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ was scheduled to conduct infectious disease training today for airport cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and wheelchair attendants.

"The training will cover current guidance from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)," the union said in a release. "This includes guidelines for cleaning airplane cabins and lavatories, for cleaning an area with possible Ebola exposure, and for determining which equipment employers are required to supply."

The union added, "Amid rising fears of the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, the training will help workers better identify infectious disease hazards and protect against exposure and spread."

Such a response comes as additional screening is scheduled to begin at JFK and four other main U.S. airports, a means of trying to catch any travelers from Ebola-ravaged countries who may be carrying the disease.

About 150 travelers a day will have their temperatures checked using no-touch thermometers, and health officials expect false alarms from malaria-related fevers.

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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/airline-cabin-cleaners-strike-ebola-exposure-fears/story?id=26066160

 

[Lizw]

Re: Airline Cabin Cleaners Strike Over Ebola Exposure Fears

Perhaps a bit of a silver lining to the Ebola cloud. When AIDS first turned up, there was the same kind of sudden interest in infection control and sanitation among ambulance crews and EMS officials. Before that, it wasn't uncommon for EMT's not to wear any kind of personal protection at all, and needle sticks happened all tbe time. We didn't even have proper disposal containers for used needles, never mind training. If Ebola raises the general consciousness about infection control, all to the good.

On the other hand, my daughter in urban Maryland recently needed to have blood drawn. The nurse not only didn't wear gloves, but didn't seem to notice that she'd gotten my daughter's blood on her hands until my daughter pointed it out to her. Then, instead of washing her hands carefully, she just opened an alcohol packet and wiped her hands with that. When my daughter objected vigorously to this lack of safe procedures, the nurse shrugged and told my daughter that she "didn't swing that way." WTF?? I'll bet she's being more careful now, or at least I sure hope she is.