New York Airport Workers Go On Strike Over Ebola
LaGuardia Airport employees responsible for cleaning airplanes and bathrooms staged a walkout this week, saying they're not being adequately protected against the Ebola virus.
The Air Serv employees—who are contracted to clean Delta planes—told reporters they routinely come into direct contact with human waste while on the job.
"We encounter human feces, blood, most of the time vomit from passengers who get motion sick," one worker told ABC. "We work with short-sleeve shirts and most of the time we deal with getting sprayed on... And I usually go straight to the supervisers and I ask for a change of clothes, sometimes they can't give me a change of clothes right away so I have to go and hose myself and my clothes down. I don't feel safe."
As many as 200 workers walked out Wednesday, but reportedly returned to work the next day. They told reporters they want better gloves and protective uniforms.
During the cleaners' one-day strike—which ended in a city agreement to investigate their complaints—Delta employees were reportedly forced to glove up.
A Delta Airlines spokeswoman said the action was having no impact on the airline's operations, and that no flights had been delayed or canceled as a result. Delta employees at LaGuardia airport had stepped in to clean planes instead, she said.