AA Executives Wear New Uniform to Show Employees They’re Safe

AA Executives Wear New Uniform to Show Employees They’re Safe

AA executives are putting on the uniform that debuted in September, in an attempt to show the uniforms are safe, after thousands of complaints by employees that the uniforms cause hives, rashes, and headaches.

The Chicago Tribune reports that at least a half dozen executives are wearing the uniforms in an attempt to show employees they are safe.  American Airlines did no elaborate on which specific executives were wearing the uniform, but they did say that the vice president of flight services, Hector Adler, ordered one of the uniforms and would begin wearing it soon.

The employee’s union has not taken kindly to the uniforms, filing a formal grievance:

Meanwhile, the union that represents American Airlines’ flight attendants, the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants, filed a formal grievance with the airline, saying the uniforms threaten the health of the flight attendants. In the grievance letter, the union demanded that the airline reimburse flight attendants for the cost of medical bills and give them time off to recover from any illnesses caused by the clothing.

“Personal health is so integral and critical to our flight attendant workforce, who must be able to work in a healthy manner and environment,” union national President Robert Ross said in the grievance. “To do so, our members need proper and safe uniforms.”

It’s interesting to note that the Chicago Tribune highlighted that Alaska Airlines used the same company for their uniforms in 2012, and those uniforms garnered similar complaints.

I get the sentiment executives are trying to send with this move, but at the same time it seems a bit odd that the executives are more focused on trying to prove the employees wrong than take their word for it.  I don’t think a couple thousand complaints is worth sneezing at, but apparently American Airlines executives aren’t keen to find the concerns necessarily relevant.  I guess we’ll find out when the chemical testing the airline has agreed to is complete and maybe a couple executives realize the employees didn’t make this up?