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July 24-July 30, 2020
ALSO COVERING ELMHURST, JACKSON HEIGHTS, LONG ISLAND CITY, MASPETH, MIDDLE VILLAGE, REGO PARK, SUNNYSIDE
AIRPORT WORKERS RALLY AT JFK AIRPORT TO
DEMAND PASSAGE OF HEALTHY TERMINALS ACT
BY BILL PARRY
Dozens of airport service
workers rallied with Councilman
Donovan Richards
and Assemblywoman Alicia
Hyndman outside JFK International
Airport Thursday
demanding the passage of
the Healthy Terminals Act,
a bill that would provide tens
of thousands of workers with
quality, affordable health insurance.
Honoring the death of Leland
Jordan, a baggage handler
who died in April after
contracting COVID-19, lawmakers
dedicated the legislation
in his name and called for
swift passage.
“My dad was a giving man
who loved helping his fellow
workers,” Jordan’s daughter
Dazilia Anthony said. “I know
he would have wanted us to
continue fighting so that all
airport workers have peace of
mind that they can go to the
doctor when they get sick.”
Anthony also spoke of the
heartache of losing her father
while still having to deal with
the hospital bills that his unaffordable
health insurance
did not cover.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic,
essential airport workers
have risked their lives
simply by coming into work
to make a living,” Hyndman
Essential airport workers rally outside JFK calling for passage of the Healthy Terminals Act.
said. “So today, we’re honoring
Leland Jordan, a baggage
handler who was dedicated
to passing the HTA and making
the airport a better place
to work. New York cannot
wait any longer to pass this
bill. Thousands lack the most
important protection to keep
themselves and passengers
safe, health care. I urge my
colleagues to vote to pass this
bill so thousands of people and
their families can take proper
care of themselves.”
The HTA would require employers
at New York airports
to compensate workers with a
$4.54 benefits supplement that
can be used to acquire health
insurance. Many essential
workers are immigrants and
people of color who are disproportionately
affected by
COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease
Control note that the lack of
access to health insurance is
Courtesy 32BJ SEIU
one of the factors behind the
disproportionate impact of the
coronavirus on minority communities.
When compared to
whites, Hispanics are almost
three times more likely to
be uninsured, and African
Americans are almost twice
as likely.
“Essential airport workers
have been putting their lives
on the line every day, securing
terminals, sanitizing bathrooms,
and ensuring that passengers
are safe,” 32BJ SEIU
Vice President Rob Hill said.
“Workers must not be left behind
as travelers once again
move through the airports
during the pandemic. The
workers who check tickets,
handle baggage, push wheelchairs
and clean and sanitize
planes are at risk because at
the airport the world comes to
them.”
Vladimir Clairjeune was
a baggage handler at JFK for
more than 11 years before he
was laid off in April.
“Millions of passengers rely
on frontline airport workers every
year for service and safety,”
he said. “Without us, the airport
couldn’t keep their doors
open. We need the dignity and
respect we deserve — healthcare
— so we can survive.”
Clairjeune’s coworker,
Freddy Briosco, chooses between
rent and medication
for his hypertension every
month.
“I am not alone. Thousands
of people who work here have
to make the same choice, and
it’s no way to live,” Briosco
said. “I beg New York to pass
the Healthy Terminals Act
now so I can live with dignity.”
The legislation would enable
25,000 essential airport
workers to access health insurance.
Vol. 8 No. 30 32 total pages
2021
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