United Airlines unveils laughable “Safe to Say It” campaign

Marty Watters, Investigative Reporter

Just three days after United Airlines lead counsel Brett Hart was confronted about threats that he allegedly delivered to whistleblowing employees at United's former World Headquarters (WHQ), Hart had the unmitigated gall to announce the laughable "Safe to Say It at United" campaign.

United Airlines manager to employees: “it would be difficult to prove” United was removing asbestos

Hart reportedly delivered the threats to an attorney representing the employees who were blowing the whistle on criminal asbestos removal at United's former WHQ.

It is clearly not "Safe to Say it at United" because speaking up could result in a threat and that does not make anyone feel safe.

Communications Re: Threats

        ------------------------------------------

From: Marty Watters
To: Brett Hart
Cc: Oscar Munoz, Richard Leamy, Michelle Booth
Sent: February 9, 2018 at 4:46 PM
Subject: Fwd: United Airlines threatened whistleblowers!

Mr. Brett Hart

Would you care to comment on allegations that [attorney redacted] has made?

Marty Watters
Investigative Reporter
Illinoispaytoplay.com

------ Original Message ------

From: Marty Watters
To: [Attorney redacted]
Cc: [Attorney redacted], [Attorney redacted], [Attorney redacted]
Sent: February 3, 2018 at 6:17 PM
Subject: United Airlines threatened whistleblowers!

Tom

Would you care to comment on the fact that United Airlines had you deliver a threat to your clients?

Marty Watters
Investigative Reporter
Illinoispaytoplay.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: [United Airlines whistleblower redacted]
Date: Nov 1, 2017 8:06 AM
Subject: Follow-up Conversation
To: [Attorney redacted]

Tom

From my conversation with [redacted] I understand that Brett Hart instructed Richard Leamy to warn us to stay away and not talk to Marty Waters.

We have some questions:

Did Richard explain what United intends to do to us is we did not listen to Brett's warning?

Has United sent any threats to Marty?

[redacted]

Communications Re: Hart memo

        --------------------------------------------

From: Marty Watters
To: Brett Hart
Cc: Oscar Munoz, Scott Kirby, ualboard@united.com
Sent: February 16, 2018 at 3:57 PM
Subject: Fwd: A message from Brett Hart: It’s safe to say it at United

Brett

No it's not safe to say it at United. As you know!

Call me.

Marty Watters
[redacted]

------ Original Message ------

From: Marty Watters
To: hr.communication@united.com
Sent: February 15, 2018 at 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: A message from Brett Hart: It’s safe to say it at United

Please tell Brett Hart to call me, there are few things that United employees would like say to him.

United Airlines asbestos scandal
https://illinoispaytoplay.com/?s=united+airlines

Marty Watters
[redacted]

A message from Brett Hart: It’s safe to say it at United

By Brett Hart
Posted February 12, 2018

Dear United team,

As a company, we've always aimed to have a culture in which employees can share their ideas, questions and concerns with us. And we're now renewing our commitment to reinforcing that culture. As Oscar and I mentioned at our Earnings "Live" event at the end of January, we're introducing a "Safe to Say It" campaign to reaffirm with all of you that you are empowered to speak up. We want you to always feel comfortable voicing your thoughts, especially if you think something isn't right.

Tools like Runway, Org Pulse and United Voices are examples of ways that we've already made it easier, on a tactical level, to share different types of feedback. These tools have allowed us to more reliably gather and act on employee feedback, so you know that, as a company, we're listening. We'll continue to look for new ways to streamline those processes, but now we want to go beyond that and focus on making sure that all employees truly feel that they can share their thoughts without fear.

We've started by asking all leaders to make sure that their employees know it's safe to speak their minds. Each leader holds in his or her hands the power to build employees' trust. And we want all of our employees to trust that their feedback and ideas are valued.

Our promises to you

As leaders, we will take ownership

We promise to work hard to continue building a culture where thoughts and ideas are exchanged freely. And if you find that we're not doing that, we want you to hold us accountable.

Our doors are open

This phrase is used a lot, and sometimes superficially, but it needs to ring true here at United. We as leaders promise you that we will give you the time, space and permission to speak up.

There are no repercussions

If any employee has questions or concerns about a project, a policy, or anything else going on at United, they should feel empowered to say so. And as long as it's done in a way that's respectful and appropriate, that will never bring on negative repercussions.

What's next?

The Ethics and Compliance Office and various other teams across the company will contribute to the "Safe to Say It" campaign, highlighting the importance that speaking up holds in their areas. And you'll hear more in the coming months about all the ways that you can speak up and why it's important to do so.

Questions?

If you have questions or comments about the "Safe to Say It" campaign, please email the HR Communication team at hr.communication@united.com.

Best regards,
Brett

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Mr. Hart, after the multiple threats I myself have also received from United, I don't feel "Safe to Say It" to United - and I'm not even an employee!

United employees will be better served by the Brett Hart-inspired "Say it Anyways" campaign.

Details to come...