PEP, September 2008: Unions fight for 9/11 responders

New law covers more workers, delays filing deadline

By JANE LaTOUR

Most New Yorkers remember where they were on Sept. 11, 2001, but too many have forgotten about the brave first responders who were on the scene as the towers tumbled — the thousands of rescuers who clawed barehanded through the debris pile seeking survivors and the city and construction workers who cleansed the rubble from the city’s gaping wound.

These heroes spent days, weeks or months at the disaster site, breathing toxic smoke and grit-laden air, and since then, many of them have been fighting off respiratory disease. Some have succumbed.

Starting as the dust cleared and never forgetting the living heroes of 9/11, a dedicated labor safety and health coalition has fought for medical screening, treatment and benefits. The coalition has benefited from the leadership of the New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and DC 37 Safety and Health Director Lee Clarke.

Working closely with New York State representatives in the House and Senate, the coalition brought afflicted union members to Washington to seek vital funding. Although the precipitous departure of Dr. John Howard, the federal health coordinator who crossed swords with the Bush administration, left a gap in the overall effort, the tireless coalition has kept the focus on the health issues of the 9/11 responders and won some important victories.

Bush cans W.T.C. medical chief

President Bush celebrated July 4 by dumping one of the few competent and humane leaders in his administration, Dr. John Howard. A renowned scientist, Howard championed the heroes of 9/11 and led a coordinated effort to address the health problems caused by the toxic effects of the World Trade Center attack.
Howard’s 2006 appointment to lead the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health met with great acclaim from the medical, safety and labor community involved with 9/11 health issues. In two years as WTC “health czar,” he pressed for screening, monitoring and treatment for the rescue and recovery workers, including many DC 37 members, whose exposure left them sick and, in some cases, dying.
Protests against Bush’s outrageous action came immediately from the labor movement, the Chamber of Commerce and the American Industrial Hygiene Association, which called Dr. Howard “the most respected leader in NIOSH’s history.” In New York, the move was condemned by the mayor, the governor, both senators, the state’s congressional delegation and the labor coalition fighting for workers’ health.
DC 37 Safety and Health Director Lee Clarke spoke out for Dr. Howard July 8 at a City Hall news conference with Congress members Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler. “We are appalled by the decision to fire Dr. Howard. We demand that you explain and we urge you to reappoint him immediately,” Maloney publicly admonished Bush.

One of these is the new state Disability Benefit Eligibility Law. This tremendous improvement was recommended by a 9/11 task force that includes DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. On Sept. 11, Gov. David Paterson will hold a special ceremony to celebrate the enactment of the law, which he signed Aug. 8.

The legislation extends the registration deadline for filing for presumptive accidental retirement benefits to Sept. 11, 2010. It also expands the disability benefit eligibility to cover additional rescue and recovery workers, including many DC 37 members who were left out by earlier legislation.

Newly covered are nonuniformed first responders who were not required to undergo a pre-employment physical examination; first responders who worked during the first 48 hours after the attack; vested members of a public pension system who stopped working before filing a claim; workers who became disabled more than two years after the disaster but before the Workers’ Compensation Law was extended to cover them; 911 dispatchers; Emergency Vehicle Radio Repair Mechanics; and state and county Correction Officers and Deputy Sheriffs.

“It is imperative that we provide those workers who face health consequences from their work in the Ground Zero rescue, recovery and cleanup with the very best care and the opportunity to apply for disability benefits,” said Paterson.

The unions have also been fighting for federal funding to upgrade the city’s emergency radio system. In late June, Congresswoman Nita Lowey announced that $7.8 million from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security is being provided to New York City to upgrade the system. “We can never again let failed communicationsdevices put our first responders in danger as on Sept. 11,” she said.