Misc - HL 312 (3)

From: David L. Roberts

Date: 11/25/2019 7:42:09 PM

To: MY DELTA FRIENDS

Subject: How Boeing Lost Its Bearings - The Atlantic

Here is a very interesting article about Boeing and what has been happening there.  Dave
The Long-Forgotten Flight That Sent Boeing Off Course

A company once driven by engineers became driven by finance.
NOVEMBER 20, 2019
Jerry Useem


https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/how-boeing-lost-its-bearings/602188/

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From: phf_larson@yahoo.com
To: phf_larson@yahoo.com
Sent: 12/18/2019 11:47:50 PM Central Standard Time
Subject: flight attendants say their uniforms are making them lose their hair, break out in hives... noticed this tonight.

Delta flight attendants say their uniforms are making them lose their hair, break out in hives, and cough uncontrollably

David Slotnick

© Delta

• Delta flight attendants say that they've experienced a variety of health problems in the past 18 months, problems they suspect have been caused by toxic chemicals in their new uniforms. They also say that the airline has failed to address the issues consistently or adequately.

• Employees at other airlines, including Alaska and American, have had similar complaints in recent years.
• The Association of Flight Attendants, which has been at the center of an organizing drive among Delta's nonunionized cabin-crew employees, says that poor quality control in the global supply chain that produces the uniforms - often treated to be stain-, wrinkle-, and flame-resistant - can lead to a dangerous amount of chemicals such as formaldehyde and heavy metals like nickel and chromium.
• Business Insider spoke with numerous flight attendants who say they've suffered from hives and respiratory issues and may have compromised their immune systems. They say that they've had trouble getting support from Delta.

Learn More

• Delta says that it's worked to identify the cause - it commissioned a toxicology analysis, but the report - released in November - said that it did not find anything to account for the range of symptoms flight attendants are experiencing.
• Are you a flight attendant? Would you like to discuss your experiences? Email this reporter at dslotnick@businessinsider.com.
• Sign up for Business Insider's transportation newsletter, Shifting Gears, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Skin lesions. Fatigue. Migraines. Hair loss.

These are a few of the symptoms that some Delta flight attendants say are being caused by the airline's stylish new uniforms.

The affected workers say the new uniforms feature more than just purple tops and gray slacks - they also come with toxic chemicals that are causing a number of health problems among the airline's cabin crew.

The health complaints make Delta the latest airline to have employees suffering from a range of symptoms that they say are linked to their uniforms. Flight attendants at Alaska Airlines made similar complaints in 2012, and American Airlines employees began complaining about similar health issues in 2016.

Flight attendants at both airlines said they faced resistance from their employers when they reported the issues, including company claims that the uniforms were safe. In some cases, medical-leave requests and requests to wear different uniforms were rejected, with some attendants saying their jobs were threatened.

Both airlines have since taken steps to address the ongoing issue.

Delta, which has the largest group of nonunionized flight attendants in the US, has handled uniform complaints inconsistently, some employees say, and in the view, unfairly. Concerns over the uniforms, and the airline's handling of health scares, has helped fuel an organizing drive among Delta employees working with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which represents flight attendants at 20 airlines.

The AFA said it would collect and test uniform pieces to try to definitively answer what, if anything, is causing the health problems.

But even while the issue takes center stage in the labor-relations campaign, and as Delta has begun universally instituting alternative uniform policies, flight attendants have faced 18 months of mystery illnesses without resources or impartial advocates, leading to a growing culture within the community of cabin crew members consisting of rumors, fears about health consequences and job security, and financial burden.

Symptoms so severe that some flight attendants couldn't work

Delta switched to its latest uniforms, designed by Zac Posen with Lands' End, in 2018. They were the first new uniforms since 2006. 

Shortly after that, some flight attendants started noticing strange symptoms - primarily women, but some male flight attendants too.

"It started with little spots," said one flight attendant who experienced severe skin issues allegedly caused by exposure to chemicals in the new uniforms. "I just didn't know what it was. The last thing you're going to think is your clothes."

As with the other flight attendants Business Insider spoke with, she spoke on condition of anonymity because she still works for the airline and was worried about retaliation.

The skin rash kept flaring up and getting worse, the flight attendant said, and she noticed it was worse after workdays. She went to urgent care a few times during layovers in different cities, wondering if it was allergies or if maybe she had run into bed bugs at a hotel.

Eventually, she made an appointment with a dermatologist in Atlanta, where she's based. Right away, he said that the hives looked like they were caused by a toxin exposure. He'd seen and treated flight attendants from Alaska and American, and he said that it was likely an issue with the new uniforms.

"I told him: 'No, I'm exposed to so many different people from different places and sleep in different hotels around the country. I bet I caught something.' And he told me no, it looked like it must be the uniform," she said.

Another flight attendant said she suspected the uniforms right away.

"I knew it was the uniform pretty quickly," she said, "just based on my relationship with my body and my health. I have to keep on top of everything."

Rather than hives or rashes, she got migraines, which she said she hadn't experienced before, and flu-like symptoms, including extreme fatigue.

"It just continued to worsen, to the point where I was having to call in sick," she said. "I was pretty scared to say anything because I didn't know how they'd handle it."

At first, she suspected that the main culprit was the uniform apron, which was unnaturally stiff and the subject of a variety of early complaints.

When she told her manager about her concerns, the supervisor said that the airline was working to "make the apron more comfortable," brushing aside the health concerns.

She stopped wearing the apron, but her health problems persisted.

Another employee said she began noticing symptoms within about a month of putting on the new uniform.

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Delta contributes over $55 million and 800,000 volunteer

hours to community in 2019

Judy Graham-Weaver

Dec 20, 2019 10:12am

https://news.delta.com/delta-contributes-over-55-million-and-800000-volunteer-hours-community-2019

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