Dear IBT Members:
Many Teamster members have applied for medical or religious exemptions from United Airlines (UA) vaccine mandate. If you are one of them, you may have already been contacted by UA about its offer of accommodations. Others may be contacted by the company in upcoming days.
Workers who have been approved for a religious accommodation are being required to take involuntary unpaid leave effective October 2, 2021. Workers approved for a medical exemption must first use sick leave and then transition to unpaid EIS. Workers on leave due to their application for a religious accommodation will not receive medical coverage during their leave and they will stop accruing seniority after ninety days of leave.
The Airline Division strongly objects to UA’s policy, and will be filing an EEOC charge on behalf of all affected IBT-represented United Airlines workers on the ground of religious or disability discrimination. The IBT will also seek to challenge the company’s stated rule that those on a religious leave of absence will not be able to retire from their personal leave status.
Individual IBT members may still file EEOC complaints on their own behalf, if they so choose. Instructions about filing an EEOC charge can be found at the following link: https://www.eeoc.gov./how-file-charge-employment-discrimination
The Airline Division expects to file its EEOC charge early next week. We will post a copy of the charge and a link where you can track its progress at teamsterair.org. Please reach out to your business agents with any questions.
In Solidarity,
David Bourne
Director, IBT Airline Division