Remembering and Honoring Those Lost and Impacted by 9/11

Yesterday marked 23 years since the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center Complex (WTCC), the Pentagon, and over Pennsylvania shook the entire nation. The terrorist attack took the lives of CWA, NABET-CWA, and AFA-CWA members. We honor the CWA airline and telecom workers, nurses, 911 operators, traffic enforcement agents and supervisors, public sector members, broadcast engineers and news crews, journalists and media workers, volunteers, and all of those who played a crucial role in responding to this tragic event and rebuilding our country.

Since 2016, Flight Attendants with AFA-CWA have served in an annual Honor Guard to make sure their fallen comrades are not forgotten. Members of the Honor Guard attend services at the Pentagon, the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., in uniform, where they deliver flowers in remembrance​ and read aloud the names of fallen Flight Attendants, Pilots, and Passenger Service Agents.

 
AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson (front) at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York with AFA-CWA Honor Guard members Kimberly Fritsch and Maria Alpogianis.

Click here to read a statement from AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson, International Vice President Keturah Johnson, and International Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris.

The toll of the attacks extended beyond just one day. There are currently almost 135,000 responders and survivors enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP). The top five certified health conditions related to WTC exposure are cancer, chronic rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), asthma, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The World Trade Center Health Program, created by Congress in 2010, is designed to provide medical coverage for those responders and survivors living with the aftereffects of the events of 9/11. The program was reauthorized in 2015, with authorization expiring in 2090. However, increased costs have created an anticipated budget shortfall, which would begin to impact service as early as 2028. Bipartisan legislation in both the Senate and House has been proposed that would secure funding for the program through 2090.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced earlier this week that all responders from the Pentagon and Shanksville, including former active duty soldiers and sailors, will now be able to enroll in the WTCHP. Before Congress authorized the expansion, some Pentagon and Shanksville responders were prevented from joining the program. This addition was due, in large part, to the work of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, where CWA Health and Safety Director Micki Siegel de Hernandez is a member of the Board of Directors.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.