September 11th Reflection: The IAIABC and Workers' Compensation by Jennifer Wolf

IAIABC Executive Director Jennifer Wolf reflects on her first day at the IAIABC, September 11, 2001, and the days, weeks, months, and years following for the IAIABC and its members. Out of the tragedy of the events of 9/11, the IAIABC and workers' compensation community came together in support of one another, helping each other get through dark days and stressful times.

Transcript

We are on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of September 11th. September 11th was a tragedy that has no equal in U.S. history. A day for which everyone has a personal story. A day that saw death and destruction. But also a day that built bonds, created community, and shaped lives. 

For me, 9/11 began with anticipation and a little nervousness. I was at the beginning of my senior year at the University of Kansas but that day I was starting a new part-time job. I had driven to work in relative silence because my car radio wasn’t working. I went in and began the first day ritual – paperwork and co-worker introductions and orientation. Most importantly, how to answer the phone – because “International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions” was a really long introduction. 

I was fifteen minutes into the work day when another colleague came in – she was flustered and a little shocked that we were reviewing the employee handbook. “Don’t you know what happened…there has been a plane crash in New York” We turned on the radio and within moments a heard the report of the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center. 

We pulled it up on the computer and the image of Tower One in flames was unreal. It looked like the scene of an action movie. Hard to comprehend it was unfolding in real life. That day was quiet, except for a few calls from IAIABC members, asking what might happen to the IAIABC Convention which was being held in Portland Maine a few weeks later. We had no answers. 

And so began the first day of work at the organization in which I would build my professional career.

It is important to remember that 9/11 was not just about the people who lost their lives that day. 9/11 was also about the thousands of helpers – who showed up at the world trade center, pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was these helpers who rescued people in fallen towers, sifted through the ruble to find personal effects from the lives lost, who cleared away the devastation. These helpers became heroes. 

The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board was a place of helpers. 

The events of September 11 profoundly changed the work of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. The Chairman during that time, Bob Snashall, shared with the IAIABC recently the impact the event had on the agency. The Board was directed, through an Executive Order signed by Governor Pataki, that the top priority of all state agencies was to the provision and service and support to World Trade Center victims and their families. 

The Board recognized that there would be a tremendous need to process workers’ compensation claims from the World Trade Center, many of which would be deaths. They were used to received hundreds of deaths claims over a year and now would have thousands in just a few days. 

The New York Workers’ Compensation Board worked to suspend filing requirements, expedite death claims, and be available to victims and their families. The Board worked hard to encourage insurers and claim administrators to pay these claims.  

Paul Dionne, the current IAIABC President, invited Bob Snashall to speak at it’s conference a few weeks later. The one in Portland, Maine. Bob Snashall was overwhelmed by the support of the membership of the IAIABC. The community offered their assistance and those offers continued in the weeks and months ahead. 

Through tragedy, community bonds were forged. In his opinion, such IAIABC support provided Snashall and others at the Board the added strength and determination to meet the challenges that the Board was to face in the days, weeks, and months after September 11. These agency staff, who like most of us were grieving, were also asked to re-confront that day and those tragedies as they processed the claims form victims. It was a sustained mental trauma.

As we reflect on this anniversary, let us take a moment to also remember the heroes and the helpers who played important roles in the days, months, and years later. They are owed our thanks and gratitude for their service. 

It is during these times that community finds a way forward. The IAIABC Board members from that time shared a unique bond – formed by 9/11 and strengthened by the resilience to overcome. Not long after the Portland event, the Association pledged to host the 2004 Convention in New York City. A demonstration of support that the city would rebuild and move forward. 

The 2004 Convention, held in New York City, celebrated 90 years of our community coming together – supporting one another and strengthening workers’ compensation. The Convention was also a demonstration of resilience by a city and its citizens determined to thrive after devastation. 

As we get ready to remember, to grieve, to recognize the twentieth anniversary of September 11 let us hold a special memory for the helpers, the heroes of that day. 

I end with silence to give you a space of reflection and prayer.