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JetBlue Aircraft Cleaners Demand Better Protection From Bodily Fluids, And A Living Wage
By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 17, 2015
Modified Jun 18, 2015
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32BJ
By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 17, 2015
Modified Jun 18, 2015
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Airport terminal and cabin cleaners who work for JetBlue are protesting outside of the airline's Long Island City headquarters this afternoon to demand living wages and benefits, as well as more stringent health and safety standards to protect them from all the vomit and blood they regularly encounter.
Workers allege that Roma and Ultimate Aircraft, JetBlue's non-union cleaning service subcontractors, fail to supply their employees with sanitary gloves or goggles to clean airport bathrooms and airplane galleys, and distribute unmarked cleaning chemicals. Workers say their wages, which start at the Port Authority-mandated minimum of $10.10, are not livable. Today's protesters are also calling on JetBlue to formally acknowledge their membership in SEIU 32BJ, the service workers union they recently voted to join.
Dominise Wright has been working the graveyard shift for Ultimate Aircraft as an on-flight cleaner for just shy of two years, and recently got a raise to $11.00 per hour. Wright commutes from Bed-Stuy, where she lives with her sister. "I have my cellphone bill to pay, and putting food in the house, and paying rent—even now making $11 an hour is not doing anything." Wright opted out of Ultimate's optional health care plan, which, according to a 32BJ spokeswoman, withholds up to $300 monthly. She uses Medicaid instead.
On a given night, Wright and a handful of workers clean between 10 and 16 airplanes, from the restrooms to the seat-back pockets. While cleaning airplane galleys, "Sometimes I find vomit on the floor, sometimes blood, sometimes used wet and dry wipes, and gum under the seats."
Workers allege that without adequate gloves from their employer, they must use JetBlue gloves that are stored on each flight for attendants, but are too thin to adequately protect them from harsh chemicals. "The chemicals soak right through and break the gloves," Wright said. She added that she occasionally comes across syringes in seatback pockets.
On Monday, cabin cleaners filed the latest in a string of OSHA complaints, this one focusing on lack of protective equipment and exposure to blood-borne pathogens in JFK's Terminal Five. One anonymous Ultimate employee of two years wrote in his testimonial: "I have never been offered a hepatitis vaccine. I never got training on the chemicals we use.... When we find blood we are supposed to clean it with a rag and spray. When we tell the supervisors they say, 'Just clean it.'"
Another wrote, "The company gives me 5 rags to clean 14 or more planes and each plane has 3-4 bathrooms. I have to use the same rag to clean the floor, wall, toilet, and sink."
As a whole, the airline industry relies heavily on non-union subcontractors. In January 2014, cabin cleaners, bag haulers, and other minimum wage airport employees—all employed by subcontractors—rallied outside of Port Authority, demanding a living wage, in addition to vacation days and health benefits. Later that month, 32 protestors were arrested outside of LaGuardia while rallying for similar benefits.
Reached by phone, a JetBlue spokesman reiterated that "all of our 17,000 crew members make more than minimum wage." Ultimate Airline did not immediately responded to requests for comment.
UPDATE: Ultimate Aircraft issued the following statement yesterday afternoon: "We recognize our employees work hard in a demanding industry. However, we respect and comply with safety regulations and provide equipment and training to ensure our employees are able to perform their jobs safely and properly."
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