Report: Workers at Phoenix Airport File Safety Complaints Over Heat

Friday, September 8, 2023 | 0

Eleven employees of a service provider for the Phoenix airport filed complaints with the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health alleging they were not provided sufficient access to water or adequate medical care during a record-setting heat wave, the Washington Post reports.

One worker claims her health started to deteriorate over a three-night period when she was cleaning inside airplanes with temperatures nearing 100 degrees. She said she refused her employer’s offer to leave work in an ambulance, took herself to the hospital instead and was then reprimanded for missing work as she recovered at home. The article doesn’t provide additional information about the situation.

Another worker said his shirt was wet with sweat and he almost started vomiting while working one day in July.

The Washington Post said a total of 11 employees of Prospect Airport Services in an Aug. 24 letter to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health complained about a lack of access to drinking water and a failure to provide adequate medical care. The workers asked the agency to conduct on-site inspections during daytime and nighttime shifts.

ADOSH opened an inquiry into the employer in July based on an anonymous tip, according to the report. The case is still open.

Prospect Airport Services employees handle baggage, help move passengers in wheelchairs and clean planes for Delta, United and American at Phoenix Sky Harbor.

The company said in a statement that its employees at the airport have access to refrigerated water in an air-conditioned break room and that they can stop at any time during their shifts to get water. The company also said it does not discipline workers for taking time off in accordance with the law.

The Washington Post also reports that Service Employees International Union has been trying to organize Prospect’s employees at Sky Harbor.