Recruitment Letter for Operators

(Pipe in date letter mailed as: Month, ##, 2019)

Dear (Pipe in First and Last Name):

I am sending you this letter because you work in the Alaskan aviation industry and I need your help. I am asking you to complete a survey for the Alaska Aviation Workers Safety Study. This is a research study on ways to reduce injuries and increase safety for workers in the Alaska aviation industry.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a federal agency that studies worker safety and health, is paying for this study. NIOSH hired the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) to conduct this study. The surveys are so we can learn about risks and injuries to people in these jobs: pilots; mechanics and maintenance personnel; ramp, baggage, cargo, and dock agents; and customer service agents. I got the name of your company and contact information from the Vital Information Subsystem (VIS). If you no longer work for (Pipe in company name), or if it is no longer in business, would you please call our toll-free number 907-xxx-xxxx.

The survey takes about 20 minutes. It asks about aircraft, jobs, training, on-the-job injuries or illness, and other factors. It also asks for your thoughts about what could increase aviation worker safety. We also want people who work in the jobs I listed above to complete a similar survey.

I am asking for your help in two ways:

First, by completing a survey that asks about your company, and

Second, the last question in the survey asks you to give the name and contact information for employees who work as pilots, mechanics and maintenance personnel, and ramp, baggage, cargo, dock, and customer service agents. I am asking the same thing of other Part 135 aviation companies drawn from the VIS. Once we have a list of employees in each job, we will randomly select people and ask them to complete a survey. This way we can get different thoughts and ideas about occupational safety. Other than two researchers at ISER, no one will know which companies and individuals completed the survey.

Here are some things to keep in mind.

1. Your answers will be confidential. The computer file with your answers will not have your name, phone number, mailing, email, IP address, or anything else that will make you or your company identifiable.

2. If you have employees, you will not know if any of them completed a survey

3. The survey is not a test. Please answer the questions based on what you think and believe.

I have included a letter from a prominent industry leader saying why they support this project.

Please enter your survey link below in a web browser (such as Google, Explorer, or Firefox) to get to the survey. Or, you can use your mobile device (cell phone or tablet) to complete the survey. Please turn your mobile device sideways so you can see all of the question.

(INSERT PERSONALIZED LINK HERE)

The link takes you to a Consent Form that explains the survey and your rights as a person in a research study. After reading the Consent Form, and if you agree to complete the survey by clicking the button that says, “Yes, I agree to be in this research study” it leads you to the survey. I have included a copy of the Consent Form with this letter.

If you have any questions, please contact me, Rosyland Frazier, at (907) 786-5432 or rrfrazier@alaska.edu, or Jessica Passini, at (907) 786-5412 or jnpassini@alaska.edu. Or you may call our toll-free number 907-xxx-xxxx and someone can answer questions and describe other ways you can complete the survey.

Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,

Rosyland Frazier

Principal Investigator

Institute of Social and Economic Research

University of Alaska Anchorage