United Airlines is facing a lawsuit over allegations that it fills charter flights for sports teams with young, blond flight attendants. The legal complaint filed this week in California claims that the Chicago-based carrier prevents older crew members from working in the cabin on these services.
The background
According to reports shared initially by Bloomberg, the two flight attendants filing the suit have been working for United for approximately three decades each. One of the employees is a Jewish woman that has been with the airline for 34 years. Meanwhile, the other worker is a Black woman that has been with the carrier for 28 years.
The pair state that both repeatedly tried to get assigned jobs on these charter flights. However, their attempts have been unsuccessful.
Sharon Tesler and Kim Guillory shared that their supervisors told them that they were not on “preferred” lists that were based on the preferences on the sports teams. So, they were unable to get work on these flights. Subsequently, they found out that young, white, blond attendants went on to work on these services.
United has several contracts across the sports industry. It has agreements with approximately three dozen teams in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Those with shifts on flights transporting these teams earn more and receive premium accommodations. Additionally, they sometimes receive tickets to important events such as the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
The allegations
Nonetheless, the complaining parties believe that United has demeaned its hard-working and long-standing loyal staff members. Additionally, they feel that the airline is creating an egregious workplace culture in which discrimination, harassment, and retaliation flourishes.
According to a document shared by the Superior Court State of the State of California, the preliminary statement representing the complaining parties states the following:
“[United] has unlawfully determined that the economic value of hard-working flight attendants should rest entirely on their racial and physical attributes, and stereotypical notions of sexual allure — in violation of California law, and as if decades of laws and policies preventing discrimination based on age, race and ancestry, and gender simply do not exist.”
The case continues
The flight attendants shared that they initially lodged complaints with United, but they were ignored. Subsequently, they turned to legal action. The case is lodged as Guillory v. United Airlines, Inc, 20-civ-03889, in Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo.
Simple Flying reached out to United Airlines for comment on these reports. We will update the article with any further announcements.
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