Flight attendants at Delta Air Lines will soon be banned from wearing their own clothing at work following a toxic uniform scandal that resulted in nearly 50 percent of the Atlanta-based airline’s crew swapping out the official uniform for off the rack alternatives.
From Monday, May 2, flight attendants will no longer be allowed to wear what has been termed the ‘black and white’ uniform under any circumstances. Some flight attendants, however, still fear the root cause of the health complaints hasn’t been properly established.
Delta unveiled a new Zac Posen-designed uniform to much fanfare back in 2018 but within weeks of the rollout, some frontline staffers started to complain of serious adverse reactions to the garments.
Health complaints that have been associated with the uniform include rashes, welts, hives, dizzyness, confusion, breathing difficulties and even hair loss.
Campaigners believe the health complaints may be linked to certain chemicals used in the manufacturing process of the uniform, including special treatments that make the uniform stain-resistant and less prone to wrinkling.
Independent laboratory testing of sample uniform pieces has failed to properly back up those claims but as the problems became more and more widespread, Delta gave staffers the option to ditch the uniform and instead wear their own clothing to work.
The exemption was only meant to last for six weeks.
But for nearly five years, a growing group of Delta employees have worn off the rack alternatives to the official uniform – black trousers or a skirt, teamed with a white shirt or blouse and a black jumper or cardigan.
Now, Delta is finally ending the exemption after it introduced an alternative uniform choice made with Oeko-Tex 100 certified material. Flight attendants must wear one of the official uniform choices from Monday or go on unpaid leave.
Some flight attendants fear the new uniform does little to address their concerns and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) claims the mandate could result in mass disruption because “hundreds” of the crew will be forced to take unpaid leave.
The union, which doesn’t formally represent Delta flight attendants, is framing the toxic uniform scandal as another reason why crew members at the airline should unionize.
In recent years, toxic uniform scandals have disrupted operations at American Airlines, Alaska and Southwest Airlines. In March 2020, American Airlines introduced a modified uniform using Oeko-Tex standard 100 fabric which saw a dramatic drop in the number of uniform-related health complaints.
Perhaps laundering of the uniforms several times will work otherwise it seems like a huge excuse to wear one’s own clothing.
You can’t wash out formaldehyde, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and the host of other forever chemicals. Nice try, though. Also, the author forgot to mention the more serious side effects like the many cancers, “mystery illnesses” that have compromised their lives and livelihoods, and the deaths and/or suicides due to it. This comment, and many like them, have taught me to not comment on things I read or hear because one just doesn’t know the true suffering of people. Many lives have been turned upside down FOREVER as a result of this issue, yet you will never hear about it in mainstream media thanks to big dollars behind PR teams and attorneys.
Just an addendum to the article if you want to add, there are also untreated options too for the uniform in addition to the OEKO-TEX uniform option for the FAs to choose.