United ignoring retirees’ concerns

That was quite an article The Associated Press put together on Jeff Smisek, the new CEO of United/Continental Airlines. The writer made several glowing comments about this man. In the Q&A portion, Smisek mentions how many emails he personally answers, especially to co-workers.

As a retiree, let me tell you how many emails he ignores. During the past year since the company announced its downgrading of United retirees’ boarding priority in favor of younger active employees, he has ignored literally thousands of retirees’ emails and letters. As employees, we went through crisis after crisis including cuts in salary to keep the airline afloat. We all suffered tremendously from the great experiment of an employee-owned airline in which stock was forced into our 401(k) where we could not dispose of it unless we quit or retired. This stock was valued at anywhere from $50 to $100 per share and prevented many of us from being able to shelter 50 percent or more of our savings in our 401(k)s. With the bankruptcy, this stock was eventually sold for about $1.25 per share.

The company would not allow State Street Bank, the manager of this stock, to sell it while it was still worth something. Adding insult to injury, our pensions were turned over to Pension Board Guaranty Commission where retirees lost anywhere from 20 percent to 200 percent of their pensions.

Now, along comes this bright shining star of a CEO, Mr. Smisek, who just insists on giving us one more smackdown by reducing our boarding priority to the point we will not be able to travel at all. After giving many, many loyal years to a company and putting off travel until retirement, to have this happen is a travesty in the treatment of the elderly and unacceptable.

Nancy Hershberger

Arlington Heights