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Tuesday November 21, 2000

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Union claims airline blankets and headsets carry germs

By The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. - Blankets, pillowcases and headphones handed out to airline passengers are not always washed after every use and may harbor dangerous germs, a union trying to organize laundry workers claimed yesterday.

The laundry company denied the accusation, and a medical expert questioned the likelihood of contracting a disease from unwashed linen or headsets.

Workers at Royal Airline Laundry plants around the country, serving more than 150 airlines, are told to repackage the items if they don't appear dirty, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees said.

"This laundry company has been trying to cut costs, and as a result they put passengers of airlines at risk," said Ira Stern, New Jersey director for the union. Stern said his union represents 200 of Royal's 500 workers and is seeking to organize others.

Royal, based in Inwood, N.Y., called the allegations "false and malicious," and threatened to sue the union for libel. "All of the items returned to the airlines are in a totally hygienic condition," the company said in a statement.

Stern conceded that the union had not identified any passengers who were sickened by unclean linen or headsets.

The union handed out copies of its study at 20 airports around the country. It said tests found linens and headsets contaminated with bacteria that included E. coli, which can cause meningitis and other ailments.

However, Dr. Russell Rayman, director of the Aerospace Medical Association, said infection is highly unlikely.

"I have not seen any reports in our literature regarding the laundering and cleaning of headsets and blankets, and any association with illness," Rayman said.