UAL

Workers Rights - Labor Action Labor Action
Human Rights Human Rights
Political Influence Political Influence
Climate Action Climate Action
Business Ethics Business Ethics


UAL

77 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago IL USA
60601
312-997-8000
http://www.united.com

Type:

Public NASDAQ (GS): UAUA


UAL Corporation, with its main subsidiary United Airlines, is one of the world’s largest passenger and cargo airlines. It “provides regional feeder service in the US via United Express, which is operated by independent contractors. Overall, United serves more than 200 destinations in about 30 countries worldwide from hubs in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Its mainline fleet includes about 460 jets; United Express partners operate about 280 aircraft.”[1]

Criticism

Worker Rights

  • Glenn F. Tilton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is listed in Forbes as having total pay of $10,314,769 in 2008.[2]
  • Sex Discrimination Lawsuit, February 12, 2004. A $36.5 million settlement has been reached against United Airlines in the discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of 13 former flight attendants. The suit was filed in regards to the company’s weight policy which was in place from 1980 to 1994 and required female attendants to weigh between 14 and 27 pounds less then male colleagues of the same height and age.[3]

Political Influence

  • In the 2006 U.S. election, United Airlines gave $123,250 to Federal candidates through its political action committee, 58% to Democrats and 42% to Republicans.[4]
  • In 2007, it spent $2,437,327 for lobbying.[5]

Environment

  • Settlements and Verdicts – United Airlines, March 21, 2007. “Bay Area regulators filed charges against United Airlines and fined the airline $400,000 for disregarding pollution control requirements and failing to ensure properly functioning air filtering equipment at its airport maintenance facility. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District said that it has taken a proactive approach to control pollution and has levied high fines on finding that there have been several air quality violations at United’s San Francisco International Airport maintenance facility extending from September 2003 to the middle of 2005. One of the most serious being United’s failure to ensure the proper operation of an air exhaust system designed to clean the air during the chrome-plating of airplane parts. The exhaust system operated improperly for eight months, but United failed to fix the system for several more months after air district inspectors discovered the problem and pointed it out.”[6]

Business Ethics

  • Airline Cargo Price Fixing: British Airways, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, United Airlines and American Airlines, March 29, 2007. “15 class action lawsuits have been filed in district courts around the U.S. against United Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, and others for overcharging cargo fees. Various corporations have filed these lawsuits complaining that the airlines conspired to impose and raise fuel and security surcharges on cargo shipped to and from the U.S. since 2000. For over six years, these airlines have charged thousands of dollars in additional and increased shipping surcharges. It is alleged that the airlines created a global scheme to fix fuel and security surcharges and used the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks as an excuse for coordinating price increases. Complaints arose when businesses began to notice a trend of similar surcharge rates across all carriers verses competitive rates used to secure business in the past.”[7]

Praise

Brands and Subsidiaries

  • United
  • United Express[8]


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