In today's Los Angeles Times, was a re-print of a news wire report that the new President of Continental Airlines, Jeffery Smisek, will refuse to accept his salary or annual bonus until the company makes a full-year profit. This follows along with the same sort of sacrifices made by his predecessor, Lawrence Kellner, as well as executives at Delta and American. No such news has come out from United Airlines" World Headquarters in Chicago.

On Thursday, January 7, 2010, members of the United Flight Attendants union will be conducting "informational picketing” at all of their bases. Customers traveling on that day should not be affected; however, they will not be able to miss what is going on. It may be difficult for many out there to understand why United Airlines employees are airing their grievances with upper management in such a public manner. This is especially true given current economic conditions where many of us are grateful to be employed. We have to realize though that the front-line employees at United have been making sacrifices long before any of us were impacted by recent events.

These are all dedicated professionals who have devoted their lives to this airline, and back in 2004, when there was a real chance for United to actually go under, all of the employees gave up BILLIONS in wages, health, travel and retirement benefits to not let the unthinkable happen. The mantra coming from United's CEO, Glenn Tilton, back then was "shared sacrifices, shared rewards.” When United finally realized a profit after emerging from bankruptcy, Mr. Tilton and other United executives were paid hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and bonuses, yet none of the concessions made by the front-line have ever been restored.

In 2008, United lost billions of dollars due to fuel prices and bad hedging strategies, and the big drop-off in premium business travel, especially international. Still, Mr. Tilton, Mr. Tague and other executives were paid millions. Their peers at Continental, Delta and American, as a show of solidarity with their front-line, deferred or refused to accept their bonuses. At the annual meeting of UAL shareholders last June, I brought up my concerns to Mr. Tilton about the very public displays of employee grievances and how they only stood to prevent United from becoming a premium international carrier over and above any other U.S. carrier. Mr. Tilton"s response and view was that the employees were only exercising their right to “voice a difference of opinion.”

To finally get to my point, January 7, 2010 marks the day that the contract for United Flight Attendants becomes amendable, and they are rightfully going to hold firm and send a message to Mr. Tilton and Mr. Tague that it will be management that will be making the sacrifices this time. As a shareholder, I would like to see them both lose their jobs, but the Board does not share the same view; however, I will do all I can to show my support for all front-line employees at United. Not just the flight attendants, but the pilots, ramp, customer service and many others, they have all given up a lot to keep this airline going. After all, it is by their efforts that I am able to feel safe and comfortable when I travel. I urge all United customers to do all they can to support these dedicated individuals. If you are flying United that day, just take the time to really say “thank you” to all of the front-line employees you encounter. If you are not traveling that day and are in one of the cities where there will be picketing, take a drive out the airport. As you pass in front of the terminal building, honk your horn in show of support.