Airport workers in six states have filed OSHA complaints against Swissport, a company that provides cleaning services for several major airlines.
Swissport workers in Boston, Dallas, Denver, Newark, New York and Washington D.C. filed complaints claiming that the company ignored their concerns over a lack of safe working conditions.
The employees “described being transported in vans with questionable brakes and exposed seat springs that poke them,” according to WBUR Radio in Boston. “They also said they are given very little time to clean human feces and blood in airplane bathrooms.”
One employee, Rosa Sanchez Ortiz, told WBUR that there is typically a lack of PPE for workers to use as they clean human feces and blood in airport bathrooms. Sanchez Ortiz said the lack of latex gloves also exposes workers’ skin to harsh cleaning chemicals. She said these concerns have been ignored by supervisors for months.
Swissport employees at Boston’s Logan airport reached out to the Service Employees International Union for help. The union has sought to meet with Swissport over the workers’ concerns, but the company hasn’t responded.
Company is on 2023 Dirty Dozen List
WBUR said that the company did issue a statement, saying, “Contrary to these claims, Swissport fully complies with all applicable labor regulations,” and argued that “the health and safety of all our employees is the highest priority for Swissport.”
Swissport made the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Dirty Dozen List for 2023 for exposing its employees to hazardous conditions on the job, including exposure to human feces.
