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OSHA Will Review Flight Attendant Conditions
OSHA to Look Into Hazards of Flight Attendants' Jobs
By Randolph E. Schmid
W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 8
Airline flight attendants were welcoming the news today that the Labor Department's workplace safety agency will look into the hazards of their jobs.
"Quite frankly, it's about time we were extended the protections most American workers have enjoyed for decades," said Patricia Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which has been waging a campaign for closer job safety supervision.
Teamsters Happy
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters also welcomed the memorandum of understanding signed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"For too long the health and safety of airline workers have been jeopardized by disputes between these two federal agencies,"said Teamsters President James P. Hoffa.
The two agencies said they will form a team to review how OSHA standards on record keeping, bloodborne pathogens, noise, sanitation, hazard communication, access to employee exposure and medical records and whistle-blower protection can apply to airline cabin crews.
The joint team is to report its findings on applicability of these OSHA requirements by Dec. 6.
Based upon the recommendations, the agencies said, the FAA will issue a new policy statement on application of OSHA regulations to flight attendant safety and health.
In turn, OSHA said it will consult with the FAA before proposing new standards for attendants, to determine whether aviation safety would be affected.
High Injury Rate for Attendants
While OSHA safety and health standards apply to most American workers, airline crews have been under the jurisdiction of the FAA. Under the new agreement, FAA will continue to be responsible for flight-deck crew such as pilots and co-pilots, and OSHA will continue to enforce its standards for other aviation industry employees, such as maintenance and ground support personnel.
The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents 47,000 workers at 26 airlines, has been particularly critical of the high injury rate for flight attendants.
The association reported that a review of illness and injury logs at 11 airlines covering 31,024 flight attendants in 1998 showed that 10 percent reported injuries requiring follow-up medical attention or causing them to lose time from work. By comparison, the national average for such injuries is 3.1 percent, the AFA said, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Major sources of injuries for flight attendants, the group said, include:
Food and beverage carts that can weigh up to 500 pounds.
Cuts and burns from galley equipment and oven racks.
Slipping on galley floors and icy walkways.
Handling or being struck by oversized and overweight carry-on baggage.
Exposure to potentially infected blood when providing in-flight emergency medical treatment including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, without the proper equipment or medical follow-up.
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Corey Caldwell
AFA-CWA Communications
(202) 434-0586
(202) 550-5520 cell
_______________________________
Corey Caldwell
AFA-CWA Communications
(202) 434-0586
(202) 550-5520 cell
