At Tuesday's Hearing, Flight Attendants to Describe Health Threats

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Note: Excerpt from the article "They are concerned about radiation 
exposure, particularly this year when solar storms are to expected to 
reach a peak"...

As Concern Over on the Job Injuries Grows, Flight Attendants 
Ask:Which Airline is Safer, United or US Airways? At Tuesday's 
Hearing, Attendants to Describe Health Threats    

To Pittsburgh Community and Religious Leaders  

PITTSBURGH, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Before a panel of community and 
religious leaders, US Airways flight attendants will describe the 
health and safety threats they face on the job because of the lack of 
OSHA protections. 

"Most American workers go to work without fear for their health and 
safety." said Richard Delgadillo, president of the Association of 
Flight Attendants Local 40, AFL-CIO. "Flight attendants deserve the 
same rights whether they work for United or US Airways or some 
combination of the two." 

Flight attendants suffer injuries related to operating poorly 
designed food and beverage carts, slipping on galley floors, handling 
or being struck by heavy carry-on baggage, falling on icy walkways, 
and sustaining cuts and burns from galley equipment and oven racks. 
They are concerned about radiation exposure, particularly this year 
when solar storms are to expected to reach a peak, and possible 
exposure to HIV and Hepatitis since flight attendants must provide in-
flight emergency medical treatment including mouth-to-mouth 
resuscitation and assistance during childbirth. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), aviation is a 
dangerous industry. The BLS reports there were approximately 1.2 
million workers employed in the "transportation by air" category in 
1998, and the industry- wide rate of recordable injuries and 
illnesses was higher (14.5%) than in construction (8.8%), agriculture 
(7.9%), or mining (4.9%). The U.S. industry average is 3.1 percent. 

The Association of Flight Attendants reviewed injury and illness logs 
at 11 U.S. airlines which showed that out of 31,024 flight 
attendants, 10 percent reported an injury that required follow-up 
medical attention or caused them to lose time from work in 1998. 

WHO:       Injured flight attendants will describe how devastating 
and painful their injuries are and why they need stronger   
protections on the job. 

WHEN:      Tuesday, July 11, 4 p.m. 

WHERE:     IAM Hall, 228 Moon Clinton Rd. 

PANELIST:  AFA President Pat Friend, State Senator Jerry La Valle, 
State  Rep. Sue Laughlin, Executive Director PA Injured Workers   
Federation Tim Wagner, Sister Betty Sundry, Attorney Sean   
Casey, Central Labor Council President Jack Shea, USWA Director   
Safety and Health Mike Wright and American Red Cross Manager   
Suzanne Jacobs. 

SOURCE  Association of Flight Attendants   

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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