June 10, 2008–SACRAMENTO, CA–Three longtime members of United Healthcare Workers-West saved the life of a 53-year-old passenger on their Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to Burbank early Tuesday.

The trio was among a group of 35 workers headed to Southern California to attend a contract bargaining session with their employer, Catholic Healthcare West. Erin O'Neil, 39, a respiratory therapist at Mercy San Juan Hospital in Sacramento and David Lei, a registered nurse at Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital in San Andreas, said they initially heard noise coming from the back of the airplane, but when someone shouted “Code Blue,” they leapt to their feet. In a hospital, “Code Blue” means someone's heart has stopped.

They ran to the back of the plane where they found a man unconscious in his seat.