WHEREAS:

On October 10, 2017, the Anchorage Assembly did unanimously enact a hotel mold ordinance to protect local tourism and workers and raise the public health standards for all Alaskans and visitors; and

WHEREAS:

The Alaska Department of Labor “Building Condition Survey of Water Staining at Interior Finishes Leases 1607 and 1632, 1111 West 8th Avenue, Juneau, Alaska” final report was issued January 4, 2012; and

WHEREAS:

The 44-page report includes interior observations, investigations, discussions and conclusions, general recommendations, figures, an appendix, and the final reports of two laboratory samples; and

WHEREAS:

Nonviable swab analysis indicates fungi found: penicillium sp.-spores and conidiophores in both test samples; and

WHEREAS:

Nonviable swab analysis indicates fungi found: stachybotrys chartarum-spores and conidiophores, suggesting active growth in both test samples; and

WHEREAS:

The average number of employees in the above stated location daily is approximately 300; and

WHEREAS:

There are 35 cancer cases known in that population over the past couple of decades; and

WHEREAS:

Ten of those 35 employees have lost their battles with cancer; and

WHEREAS:

Working in a facility with mold could cause fungal infection which could be life-threatening in a patient receiving chemotherapy; and

WHEREAS:

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not regulate mold or mold spores in indoor air; and

WHEREAS:

Currently there are women with severe mold infections in their lungs and unable to work; and

WHEREAS:

An entire work group had to be relocated from the most prominently affected area since the release of the report; and

WHEREAS:

Every employee has the right to work in a non-lethal indoor environment; and

WHEREAS:

The Coalition of Labor Union Women and the Juneau Central Labor Council fully acknowledge the need for safe and non-lethal work environments, including indoor workspaces free of molds, for all employees; and

WHEREAS:

The Alaska AFL-CIO 2016 biennial convention did support a resolution to press OSHA for regulations to protect workers from black mold.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will request the U.S. Secretary of Labor to study further the air quality of indoor workspaces with a focus on black mold and human habitation, and the need for healthy standards and remedies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will press the U.S. Congress for federal policy at the Environmental Protection Agency to study and regulate black mold and mold spores in the air of indoor workplaces during human habitation as a health and safety matter.

SUBMITTED BY:

Dawn Bundick, President and Delegate
Courtney Wendel, Secretary and Delegate
Nadine Lefebvre, Delegate
ASEA/AFSCME Local 52
Alaska