American Airlines rolled out new uniforms for flight attendants — and now those flight attendants say the clothing is making them sick. They’ve filed a grievance with the carrier to get the old uniforms back.
The new clothing was introduced in September and flight attendants claim it’s causing several issues, including “eye swelling, rashes, skin blistering,” plus wheezing, headaches and vertigo, according to NBC News.
“Personal health is so integral and critical to our Flight Attendant workforce, who must be able to work in a healthy manner and environment. To do so, our members need proper and safe uniforms,” wrote Bob Ross, president, flight attendant’s union, in a letter to American’s general counsel.
Some 2,200 flight attendants claimed reactions to the uniforms, the letter said. The letter also asks American to switch out the uniforms, honor requests for sick leave and reimburse attendants for medical expenses. The letter also asks for a $2 million fund to research the problem.
American told NBC News it rolled out the uniforms to 70,000 employees and it did extensive testing on the old uniforms, the new ones and the packaging. The airline has opened a call center for employees to report issues and is working on more testing.
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