American Airlines pilot Captain Joe Catan confronted airline president Robert Isom last week at an employee town hall, telling him the troublesome new uniform American rolled out to employees last year is impacting his ability to work.
"I do not have a safe environment in the cockpit," Catan said in audio obtained by the Chicago Business Journal from a monthly town hall meeting in New York.
American distributed nearly 2 million uniform pieces last September to some 80,000 workers, including flight attendants, gate agents, baggage handlers and pilots from garment manufacturer Twin Hill. Almost immediately, flight attendants began experiencing health problems ranging from rashes and itching to respiratory issues.
Twin Hill says its testing has shown chemicals found in the clothing are below levels that would affect the wearer.
Catan-and thousands of crew members-would dispute that.
[READMORE]READ MORE: American's Pilots Hate Their New Uniforms, Too [/READMORE]
Catan said he arrives for work in good health but then suffers respiratory issues, headaches and rashes when he puts on the uniform and gets to the cockpit, noting that "reactions increase with wear."
"I'm the canary in the coal mine," he said, according to the CBJ. "I don't have a safe environment. What are we going to do about it?"
Isom said several options are on the table, including new material and uniform combinations, with more coming.
American has declined to recall the Twin Hill uniforms but did give flight attendants options for polyester or cotton fabrics. Or, they could wear their former uniforms if it matched the scheme of the new uniforms.
Catan had another solution.
"Get everyone out of those (Twin Hill) uniforms immediately," he told Isom.
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