2008 Shareholder Meeting & Picketing

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Shareholder meetings are often a glitzy event - an annual glorification of the company brand, the Board of Directors and the senior management.  This year the UAL Shareholder meeting was set to begin early in the morning, in out-of-the-way Woodland Hills, California, in a small meeting room at the rather large Warner Center Marriott.  The hotel itself had numerous entrances and exits as it sat in the middle of a business complex that occupied an entire square block.  Hotel security, United’s corporate security and private security were all on the scene.  Clearly, this was no annual celebration and glorification of the United brand.  The people currently in charge of United Airlines viewed the meeting rather more like a pesky SEC requirement with some sort of imagined security risk.  This was the first, and one of the only clues, that these people knew they were doing something wrong. 

Workers Gather In Woodland Hills

Barely after sunrise Thursday morning, Flight Attendants gathered at LAX to board a coach bound for Woodland Hills.  Others drove from their homes in the Los Angeles area or flew in the night before in order to be positioned in Woodland Hills at the start of day, ready to hold Glenn Tilton accountable for his greed and contempt for employees and our great airline.  We met other Union Members - Pilots, Mechanics, workers from Ramp and Customer Services, Technicians and Controllers – all of us uniformed and committed to our collective resolve to drive out those who have taken from our families, neglected our airline and lined their own pockets.  We were joined by Union Members from our parent Union - CWA, the Writer’s Guild, the Screen Actors Guild and Unite Here, representing hotel workers recently organized and eager to use their new voice.  Nearly 400 Union Members formed six picket lines in areas around the many entrances to the Warner Center – positioning ourselves to greet the offenders.  Some of the picket signs read, “No Way To Run An Airline,” “Hedging??? What’s Up Oil Man?” and the most quoted, “Glenn’s Gotta Go.”  

UAL BOD Tries to Sneak Into the Building

A few minutes after 8 a.m. one of the picketers spotted two large passenger vans with blackout windows headed to the side service entrance. Two groups of picketers ran to the entrance and jeered at the vans as they drove down the slope to the loading docks.  A spontaneous chant of “Glenn’s Gotta Go – Glenn’s Gotta Go” erupted and echoed into the service entrance as Board Members and Senior management covered their faces while quickly piling out of the vans and scurrying into the building.  The chant turned to “Shame on You – Shame on You!” as picket signs moved up and down to create a visual exclamation mark. 

Employees March In Together

At 10 minutes to nine in the morning nearly 100 employees lined up in single file to enter the meeting after our shareholder credentials were checked.  The media is describing the meeting as 'raucous,’ and that’s no understatement.  From the start Tilton attempted to quiet questions and limit the time of the meeting.  From all directions shouts rang out demanding he listen to the questions and concerns of the shareholders present.  One man threatened a complaint to the SEC for violations of the rights of shareholders.  The only time the room became totally silent was as Tilton introduced each Member of the UAL BOD.  Then, as he rushed the names of the two Union Members on the Board, the room erupted into extended cheers and clapping for our colleagues.   

Bonuses Approved and BOD Re-Elected

Throughout the meeting picket lines were maintained at various locations outside while Flight Attendants and other workers inside shouted questions at Tilton and the UAL Board of Directors, whose backs were turned to the employees and other shareholders.  Tilton and General Counsel Paul Lovejoy were booed and hissed when the directors were re-elected and when it was announced that the executives won approval of their new $130 million dollar bonus plan.   

Say on Pay Makes Gains, But Boardroom Buddies Reject It

When introduced by MEC President Greg Davidowitch, the Say on Pay Proposal received enormous cheers and standing ovation, but later Lovejoy and Tilton smugly reported the resolution failed with 21% approval.  Even though the big corporate shareholders voted with Tilton from their own boardrooms, our Say on Pay proposal gained support from many shareholders who are not also employees and furthered our fight against executive greed. The failed proposal didn’t silence the room and as Tilton tried to claim a “renewed commitment to all of our stockholders” we shouted “prove it – give up your pay and bonuses – prove it!”  Not surprisingly, Tilton declared he deserved his pay and challenged others to stand in his place.  Instantly, several volunteers stepped up. 

Tilton's Fear Tactics Rejected

None of Tilton’s fear tactics worked.  When he reported ominously on the price of fuel, an employee shareholder shot down the nonsense by pointing out his failed predictions of $50 a barrel for fuel when the price was $65 and his failure to plan effectively with fuel hedging.  She said, clearly, fuel is not the problem but your management is.  Others pointed to money lost on Ted and the further expense of reconfiguring those aircraft.  A Flight Attendant stated that once again management was taking concessions from the employees, hurting our customers and putting strains on safety by cutting staffing now while promising management cuts later.

Mostly the subject turned right back to Tilton’s pay and every time he tried to cut off the remark by saying, “we’ve already talked about that.”  Taking away Tilton’s pay won’t solve all the problems he’s created at our airline, but clearly money is the only motivation for the current executives.  So, we will continue to attack their pay and demand new leadership that can prove they’re as committed to the success of United Airlines as we are. 

Passenger of the Year Dismissed - Glenn’s Gotta Go

The worst part of the meeting was when Los Angeles Customer of the year, James Anderson, stepped up to the microphone and respectfully addressed Tilton as a shareholder and a loyal customer who spent $100,000 at United just last year. Employees clapped and cheered for Mr. Anderson. He explained to Tilton that he felt caught in the middle of all of this and expressed concern about the discord at the meeting and the state of employee morale at the airline. He questioned whether he should continue to buy tickets on United Airlines. Tilton shrugged his shoulders and told him it was his prerogative if he wanted to take his business elsewhere but that it was going on at every airline in the industry - so where would he go? There was a shocked silence from the room and Mr. Anderson seemed bewildered at having been so easily dismissed.  He paused before quietly stating, "What I’m trying to say is that I’m concerned about this. You talked about aircraft enhancements in your presentation – and they’re great – but they don’t put smiles on the faces of your employees.” 

After the meeting, several Flight Attendants gathered around Mr. Anderson and thanked him for his loyalty and encouraged him to continue to fly with us. He said he would. Throughout the morning Mr. Anderson had passed $10 Starbuck’s cards to every employee with the message clearly written for his many crews, “Thank you for another safe flight and thank you for keeping the skies friendly.” If you have the pleasure of flying with him, tell him how much we enjoy his company and his appreciation of the people who truly make up United Airlines. 

Glenn’s Gotta Go.

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