LaGuardia workers on strike due to Ebola concerns

QUEENS, N.Y. -- Airplane cabin cleaners have set up pickets outside a LaGuardia Airport terminal over health and safety issues.

About 200 Air Serv workers who support domestic flights at Terminal D began a 24-hour strike on Wednesday night.

They say their concerns include possible exposure to Ebola.

The workers, who are seeking to unionize, say they're sometimes exposed to blood, feces, vomit and even chemicals while on the job, but are not equipped with appropriate protective gear.

They say the number of cabin cleaners per job has been reduced by up to half. They also say the time to clean entire planes has been cut from 45 minutes to as little as 5 minutes.

It wasn't immediately known whether Air Serv was using replacement workers. It didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Officials are holding an infectious disease training session Thursday for airport workers, an event planned before the strike in response to longtime safety complaints by workers and problems identified by local OSHA officials in a report released this week.

The workers are expected to head back to their jobs Thursday night.

In a statement, the Port Authority said: "The Port Authority has agreed to review the concerns raised today by AirServ's cleaning personnel at LaGuardia Airport and is pleased they will be returning to their jobs."