Dept. of Labor & Industries issues citations to Alaska Airlines and subcontractors

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has issued health and safety citations against Alaska Airlines and two of its subcontractors.

 The citations range from not providing proper evacuation procedures to failing to protect workers from exposure to corrosive cleaning chemicals, jet fuel, blood-borne pathogens and body fluids.

 The 16 new violations follow citations against another Alaska contractor earlier this spring.

 A group of 50 workers, including cabin cleaners, wheelchair attendants and jet fuelers claim they weren’t properly trained or given the right safety equipment to do their jobs.

Some say they’ve been exposed to human waste and toxic chemicals.

Most of the citations as well as the $68,000 in fines were issued to the subcontractors.

 Labor and Industries issued the citations after several months of investigation.

 The airline has responded to the citations with the following statement:


"We immediately responded to this state inquiry and have revised our policies accordingly. Each of the subcontractors cited responded promptly and have already addressed the majority of concerns raised by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries.”