Two Alaska Airlines employees who work at the Juneau airport tested positive for COVID-19 in early August according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the workers union that represents the company’s ground employees.
But accounts differ on how many people may have been exposed to the virus.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines said only one employee tested positive and another was told to isolate and monitor for symptoms because they had close contact with that employee. The airline says both employees had limited contact with the public and can now return to work.
In addition, the airline refers to an unspecified number of other employees who were required to stay home because of possible exposure outside of the workplace. They say many of those employees are now being allowed to return to work.
But an Alaska Airlines employee in Juneau says as many as nine other people were also exposed and continued working for several days afterward. The person, who does not want to be publicly identified because they fear retaliation, says a ramp agent tested positive after attending a wedding on August 1. They say as many as seven additional ramp workers and two customer service agents were also at the wedding, and those employees were later put on emergency leave as they awaited their own test results.
The airline says they have protocols in place and have provided equipment and supplies for employees to protect themselves and sanitize their work areas. They ask that any employee stay home and call their health care provider if they develop symptoms.
A spokesperson for the employees union, Jonathon Battaglia, declined to answer questions, but wrote in a short statement: “Proper protocols are being followed to ensure that other employees who had contact with them are quarantined in accordance with CDC guidelines as precaution.”
