CWA 1180 - Solidarity Works

United Airlines threatens to eliminate pension plans for its workers

May 2005

WHAT YOU CAN DO
TO HELP

Send a letter to Congress and the Senate by May 4, asking them to save pension benefits for United Airlines employees by putting pressure on the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation.

Send a letter to CEO Glenn Tilton demanding that United executives return the money earned on the backs of employees.

United Airlines has been squeezing its workers' pay and benefits for years, all with the excuse that the company is going bankrupt. Flight attendants in CWA's Association of Flight Attendants have been particularly hard hit.

Now their pensions are under attack. During bankruptcy proceedings, United management brokered a last minute deal with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. In return for a payment of approximately $1.5 billion, the PBGC has agreed to allow United to terminate its workers' pension plans.

This disastrous development comes on the heels of a recent United Airlines financial filing revealing that United's executives received hefty bonuses in 2004— based, of course, on the performance of front-line workers who got the flights out on time. Management also awarded secret raises to four top-level United executives.

United workers urgently need your support to save their pensions—and redirect United's extra cash from lavish bonuses to pay and pensions for its workers.

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