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Bush Veto: Let Them Breathe Toxins
A medical screening program is helping CWA members and other workers exposed to hazards at the site of the World Trade Center collapse, but a badly needed increase in funding has been vetoed by President George W. Bush.
"The president has shown, yet again, his true colors where workers and their safety are concerned," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, whose office oversees safety and health programs. "Our members who have spent the past year working in a toxic environment deserve much better."
The federally funded screenings are specifically for firefighters, rescuers, volunteers and other workers who have spent time at Ground Zero through the recovery, restoration and clean-up. While CWA represents thousands of members who worked in or near the trade center, including the Port Authority, AT&T, Dow Jones and certain New York City employees, presently only CWA members who have worked in the disaster area since Sept. 11 are eligible. Those members are primarily Lucent and Verizon workers and camera operators represented by NABET.
Offered through the National World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program, the screenings are already showing a high rate of respiratory problems. "There are still so many unknowns about the long term health effects," said Micki Siegel de Hernandez, health and safety director for CWA District 1. "This program is designed to uncover current health problems, as well as protect against future health concerns through early detection.
The program's present $11.5 million budget will cover screenings for 8,500 people. Congress appropriated another $90 million dollars, but the funds were part of a $5.1 billion package for supplemental homeland security programs that President George W. Bush vetoed.
Angry workers include New York firefighters, who also lost critically needed communications equipment as a result of the veto. Recalling Bush's comments about the heroes of Sept. 11, IAFF President Harold Schaitberger said, "Don't lionize our fallen brothers in one breath and then stab us in the back."
"The president has shown, yet again, his true colors where workers and their safety are concerned," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, whose office oversees safety and health programs. "Our members who have spent the past year working in a toxic environment deserve much better."
The federally funded screenings are specifically for firefighters, rescuers, volunteers and other workers who have spent time at Ground Zero through the recovery, restoration and clean-up. While CWA represents thousands of members who worked in or near the trade center, including the Port Authority, AT&T, Dow Jones and certain New York City employees, presently only CWA members who have worked in the disaster area since Sept. 11 are eligible. Those members are primarily Lucent and Verizon workers and camera operators represented by NABET.
Offered through the National World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program, the screenings are already showing a high rate of respiratory problems. "There are still so many unknowns about the long term health effects," said Micki Siegel de Hernandez, health and safety director for CWA District 1. "This program is designed to uncover current health problems, as well as protect against future health concerns through early detection.
The program's present $11.5 million budget will cover screenings for 8,500 people. Congress appropriated another $90 million dollars, but the funds were part of a $5.1 billion package for supplemental homeland security programs that President George W. Bush vetoed.
Angry workers include New York firefighters, who also lost critically needed communications equipment as a result of the veto. Recalling Bush's comments about the heroes of Sept. 11, IAFF President Harold Schaitberger said, "Don't lionize our fallen brothers in one breath and then stab us in the back."