Tuskegee Airman Lends Support To African-American Captains Suing United Air Lines For Race Discrimination And Retaliation, according to SMITH PATTEN

SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The prominent Bay Area employment law firm SMITH PATTEN served on United Air Lines ("UAL") and Continental Airlines ("CAL") a lawsuit to correct the airlines' long-running policies of denying well-qualified minority captains and operations supervisors promotions into management positions.

The first amended complaint, filed on July 20, 2012 details a pattern of race discrimination and retaliation at United Air Lines and Continental Airlines.  The suit also names the parent company, United Continental Holdings, Inc. as an integrated enterprise after the merger of the two airline giants. 

"This lawsuit is the latest in a decades-long series of legal and congressional actions aimed at correcting the underrepresentation of minorities in the airline industry, specifically at United Air Lines," stated Spencer Smith, of SMITH PATTEN.  "From the Tuskegee Airmen, to Marlon Green's Supreme Court fight against Continental in the early 60's to the 1976 lawsuit against United by the EEOC, to the 1987 Congressional hearings on discrimination in the airline industry, UAL has demonstrated that it will only take action to correct endemic discrimination when it is forced to do so in federal court."

Original Tuskegee Airman Bob Ashby, who has been closely following the issues in the lawsuit, stated, "I admire these Captains and am pleased to see them continuing the struggle we as Tuskegee Airmen started to keep opportunities open in the airline industry."

The lawsuit is captioned Johnson et al.  v. United Continental Holdings, Inc., et al.  U.S. District Court N. Dist. Cal. Case No. C 12-02730.  To learn more, visit www.unitedwestandfordiversity.com or www.smithpatten.com or by calling SMITH PATTEN at 415-402-0084.

SOURCE SMITH PATTEN