Pilots and supervisors accuse United of racial discrimination
sun media services
The L.A. Times reported last week that 24 African American pilots and supervisors at United Air Lines filed a lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the airline of a pattern of discrimination that has kept them from being promoted.
The suit, filed in U.S District Court in San Francisco, contends that all 24 employees have worked for United or Continental Airlines, which recently merged with United, for more than 14 years and have been illegally passed over for promotions because of their race.
"We have endured a habitual, longstanding pattern of discriminatory behavior at the hands of United Air Lines," Terry Haynie, a United pilot said in a statement.
In a statement, the airline's parent company, United Continental Holdings Corp., denied the charges and said it will fight the suit.
"United does not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind," the statement said. "We believe this lawsuit is without merit and will vigorously defend ourselves."
The suit alleges that the airline operates dual tracks for the promotion of employees -- one for minorities and one for non-minorities. The suit says non-minorities are disproportionately assigned more opportunities for advancement with greater pay and benefits.
Even those minorities promoted to managers are subject to discriminatory practices that minimize further advancement, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit asks that the airline stop such alleged practices and requests punitive damages and attorney fees, which are not disclosed in the lawsuit.
+ Top Story
The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news.
The woman’s voice was frantic and breathless, and she was choking back tears. “Help me. I’m Amanda Berry,” she told a 911 dispatcher. “I’ve been kidnapped and I’ve been missing for 10 years and I’m, I’m here, I’m free now.”
PepsiCo is once again learning the risks of celebrity partnerships after an ad for Mountain Dew was criticized for portraying racial stereotypes and making light of violence toward women. The soda and snack food company said it immediately pulled the 60-second spot after learning that people found it offensive.
Kiera Wilmot, 16, is by all known accounts an excellent student with impeccable behavior. She is also — now — a marked woman who will be tried as an adult for discharging a weapon on school grounds in what was allegedly a bungled science experiment," reports WSTB.com.
America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, reflecting a deeply polarized presidential election in which blacks strongly supported Barack Obama while many whites stayed home.
Three college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were arrested and accused Wednesday of trying to protect him by going into his dorm room and getting rid of a backpack filled with hollowed-out fireworks three days after the deadly attack.
Chris Kelly, half of the 1990s kid rap duo behind one of the decade's most memorable songs, "Jump," has died at an Atlanta hospital of an apparent drug overdose, authorities said. He was 34. Kelly, known as "Mac Daddy," and Chris Smith, known as "Daddy Mac," made up the rap group Kris Kross...
According to the data found in a new report, “The Buying Power of Black America,” now may be the most opportune time ever for businesses to develop a strategy for increasing their share of the Black American market.