MEC Officer Letter

February 24, 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today we ratified an Agreement for a pension replacement plan that provides a foundation for our retirement security.  We should recognize this defined contribution replacement plan is significantly better than what United Airlines was originally willing to provide as a replacement to our terminated defined benefit pension plan.  It is also the last concession resulting from United's bankruptcy and ends our year-long fight in the courts, on Capitol Hill and at the bargaining table.

Seventy-nine percent of Flight Attendants who cast ballots voted for the pension replacement plan.  A breakdown of the vote is posted on our website.  We now have a Defined Contribution Plan, with an effective date of January 1, 2006, that includes company direct and matching contributions beginning at 5% and escalating to 6% of Flight Attendants earnings within two years.

We understand that accepting the termination of our Defined Benefit Pension Plan is difficult.  In no way does this vote condone the actions by management that ultimately led to the termination of our Defined Benefit Pension Plan.  This vote does not endorse the course of events that led to the termination.  Now is the time to move forward and turn our attention to the opportunities and challenges that will surely demand our attention in the future.

We have work to do and we will get that work done with your continued support.  Within the most arduous of circumstances, our Flight Attendant community has expressed a power that the policy makers in the United States, United management, the media and have been forced to recognize.  On a national level, we need more responsible leaders in Congress who will fight for public policy that represents the principles of equality upon which this country was founded.  Rightfully, our efforts are now focused on electing representatives in November who understand the importance of preserving workers' rights, healthcare, and retirement security while putting the brakes on the explosive disparity between worker and executive compensation.

The prospects of a new United Airlines are exciting and as we focus our energies on the future we look to a newly appointed and engaged United Airlines Board of Directors to exercise meaningful oversight for the future success of our Company.  United Airlines' ability to realize its full potential remains inextricably linked to the development and implementation of meaningful labor relationships.  The new United Airlines cannot continue with the failed strategies and policies of the past.  We look to the Board of Directors to establish, as its first priority, a commitment for a meaningful labor relationship between workers and management that is firmly rooted in respecting the contributions of Flight Attendants and all United employees.

Today is a new day.  We will meet new challenges head on and look to create opportunities to improve our daily work life and strengthen our profession.  Stand proud, stand strong and stand together.
 
In Solidarity,
 
 
Greg Davidowitch
President

Helen McArdle
Vice President

Shirley Barber
Secretary-Treasurer

Return to Agreement

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