Cuomo signs Healthy Terminals Act into law
TIMESLEDGER | Q 16 NS.COM | JAN. 15-JAN. 21, 2021
lines of the pandemic
since day one and
whose communities
have been devastated
by the virus.
The legislation is a
major victory for essential
airport workers
who secure terminals,
sanitize planes, keep
passengers safe and the
economic engines that
are LaGuardia and JFK
airports running.
“I want to thank our
essential workers and
32BJ for fighting for
better healthcare,” bill
sponsor Assemblywoman
Alicia Hyndman
said. “The Healthy Terminals
Act for workers
means that they may
not have to make tough
decisions between going
to the doctor and
paying the rent or the
state. It means millions
in Medicare savings.
It means that travelers
can have a safe trip. I’m
proud of New York for
standing with workers
in this crucial legislation.”
Airport workers
often make too much
to qualify for Medicaid
and the Affordable
Care Act subsidies, and
too little to afford employer
provided health
plans, including many
with unaffordable
premiums, co-pays and
deductibles.
Many airport workers
have been forced
to live without health
insurance, including
Horace Foster, a
baggage claims attendant
at JFK, who currently
owes more than
$120,000 in medical
bills following a hospital
stay that threw him
into spiraling debt.
“A medical bill like
that is the type of thing
that ruins your life,”
Foster said. “I hope it
never happens to anyone
else who works at
the airport. With the
Healthy Terminals Act,
it shouldn’t ever happen
to anyone else.”
The Healthy Terminals
Act comes as the
airline industry is set
to receive $16 billion
in the latest COVID-19
federal relief package.
The measure will
require employers at
New York airports to
compensate nearly
12,000 workers, including
subcontracted
passenger service
workers, a $4.54 benefits
supplement that
they will be able to use
to acquire the quality
health insurance they
need.
“I thank Governor
Cuomo for raising
standards for airport
workers in these difficult
times, and I thank
bill sponsors Senator
Biaggi and Assemblywoman
Hyndman for
fighting tirelessly for
this bill,” SEIU 32BJ
President Kyle Bragg
said. “Essential, frontline
airport workers
will breathe a deep
sigh of relief knowing
that real healthcare is
an option soon. Adding
a healthcare benefit
supplement to airport
jobs creates thousands
of good, sustainable
jobs that uplift everyone.
Airport workers
have risked their lives
for the public during
this unstoppable pandemic,
and nothing is
more important than
protecting them.”
Airport workers
could use this supplement
for health insurance;
employees
working under collectively
bargained contracts
could negotiate
to use the supplement
to provide affordable,
quality health insurance
directly.
“Signing this bill
into law changes our
lives and gives us protection
we need to do
our jobs,” said Foster,
who is currently laid
off. “My health conditions
have been too expensive
to treat but now
that can all change. I’m
looking forward to getting
my life back, and
getting back to work
with masks, gloves,
and finally, health insurance.”
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at
bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
BY BILL PARRY
Thousands of airport
workers at LaGuardia
and JFK are celebrating
after Governor Andrew
Cuomo signed the
Healthy Terminals Act
into law.
The first state-level
legislation of its kind
in the nation provides
a benefit supplement
that can provide meaningful
and sustainable
healthcare benefits
for cabin and terminal
cleaners, wheelchair
attendants, baggage
claim workers, security
officers and passenger
service representatives
to be implemented in
phases, with those who
have worked through
the COVID-19 pandemic
this year receiving
the supplement first, in
July.
“I still have hospital
bills coming in from
when I had COVID-19,”
said JFK security officer
Suninatra Raminsoon,
who fell ill at
work in March. “It’s
hard for working people
working at the airport
to pay for medical
bills when we don’t get
affordable or reliable
healthcare from our
jobs, especially when
we have reduced hours
or furloughs. But now
we have a chance at
healthcare that we can
rely on.”
The passage of the
Healthy Terminals Act
greatly improves conditions
for the predominantly
Black and immigrant
subcontracted
airline workers who
have been on the front-
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