PEP, September 2011: Union workers: frontline heroes of 9/11

Public Employee Press

Union workers: frontline heroes of 9/11
Ten years ago public employees came through for New York City with unlimited heroism, sacrifice and dedication. Four DC 37 members died as the World Trade Center fell on 9/11, and eight more heroes have passed since then of diseases caused by the toxic air of Ground Zero. DC 37 fought hard for the compensation law that took effect July 1.

By JANE LaTOUR and BILL SCHLEICHER

When the city's worst tragedy struck on September 11, 2001, District Council 37 members were on the front lines of the rescue, recovery and rebuilding.

Four members were killed when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

Paramedic Carlos Lillo of Local 2507 and Paramedic Lieutenant Ricardo Quinn of Local 3621 perished trying to save the lives of others.
Falling debris killed Fire Dept. Chaplain Father Mychal Judge of Local 299 shortly after he administered last rites to dying victims.
OTB Betting Clerk Chet Louie of Local 2021 died trying to make ends meet, working his second job at a WTC brokerage firm.

The 2,606 victims came from all walks of life, but the immediate massive response came from the men and women of the city's unionized working class. DC 37 members, assigned and volunteering, were among the hundreds who clawed bare-handed through the smoldering rubble, seeking injured victims but finding only corpses. Hundreds of DC 37 workers in dozens of jobs labored around-the-clock for months to clear the disaster site.

In New York City's toughest time, our union members proved the value of the public service infrastructure that all New Yorkers depend on.

The dying didn't stop on 9/11. The first responders, union workers and volunteers who sifted through the wreckage, inhaled the toxic mix of smoke and asbestos-laden dust that is still claiming victims 10 years later. Eight DC 37 rescue and recovery workers have died of lung diseases and cancer since then.

Emergency Medical Technician Tim Keller was one of the first to go. Among the earliest rescuers to reach Ground Zero, the Local 2507 member saw the towers fall and tore into the smoking ruins in the futile search for survivors. As he worked to save lives, his own began to run out.

Only days later, Keller started coughing up chunks of the sooty gunk he had breathed at the disaster site. As his respiratory problems worsened, the gravely weakened hero kept working for three years to feed his family. He was forced to retire in 2004 and passed away June 23, 2005, at 41, survived by two sons and his former wife.

The members who have died since 9/11of diseases related to their service at Ground Zero include Keller, EMTs Felix Hernandez, Paula Rodriguez and Freddy Rosario and Paramedics Deborah Reeve and Scott Houston, all of Local 2507, EMS Lt. Brian Ellicott of Local 3621, and Radio Repair Mechanic Glenford Pennington of Local 1087.

As we mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack, we can never forget the victims and the many who are still sick.

Medical care and monitoring and compensation for the victims of toxic 9/11 exposure are provided for in the long-awaited James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act, which took effect July 1 as a series of 9/11 health clinics officially opened for business under the new law.

DC 37 played a central role in winning the legislation, which President Obama signed Jan. 2. Executive Director Lillian Roberts, Safety and Health Director Lee Clarke and her staff, the New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, and New York State's Congressional delegation led the fight with other unions and advocacy groups. The long, hard-fought campaign to pass the Zadroga bill included years of testimony and numerous trips to Washington by DC 37 members and other 9/11 responders.

Regulations on applications for compensation from the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund and other aspects of implementing the new law to deliver long overdue help to those in need were issued June 21 at the end of August.

A report issued July 26 that would bar cancer patients from the compensation fund set off shock waves among 9/11 victims. Dr. John Howard, head of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, announced that since that the connection between 9/11 exposure and cancer has not been proved to the satisfaction of scientists, cancer victims would not be covered.

As sponsors of the Zadroga bill, Congress members Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Peter King responded: "We are disappointed that Dr. Howard has not yet found sufficient evidence to support covering cancers. This is disappointing for survivors who tragically have been diagnosed with cancer and are suffering day-to-day and awaiting help."

The NIOSH report was not the last word. A second review of the cancer evidence will be conducted by mid-2012.