United Airlines 2012 Annual Report Download - page 12

Table of Contents
The Company is taking various actions to reduce its carbon emissions through fleet renewal, aircraft retrofits, and actions that are establishing the foundation
for the commercialization of aviation biofuels.
 Some U.S. and foreign airports have established airport restrictions to limit noise, including restrictions on aircraft types to be
used and limits on the number and scheduling of hourly or daily operations. In some instances, these restrictions have caused curtailments in services or
increased operating costs, and could limit our ability to expand our operations at the affected airports.
The airline industry is also subject to other environmental laws and regulations that require the Company to remediate soil or groundwater to meet certain
objectives and which may require significant expenditures. Under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act,
commonly known as “Superfund,” and similar environmental cleanup laws, generators of waste materials and owners or operators of facilities can be subject
to liability for investigation and remediation costs at locations that have been identified as requiring response actions. The Company also conducts voluntary
environmental assessment and remediation actions. Environmental cleanup obligations can arise from, among other circumstances, the operation of aircraft
fueling facilities and primarily involve airport sites. Future costs associated with these activities are currently not expected to have a material adverse effect on
the Company’s business.
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As of December 31, 2012, UAL, including its subsidiaries, had approximately 88,000 employees. As of December 31, 2012, United had approximately
47,000 employees and Continental had approximately 41,000 employees. Approximately 80% of the combined Company’s employees were represented by
various U.S. labor organizations as of December 31, 2012.
Collective bargaining agreements between the Company and its represented employee groups are negotiated under the RLA, which governs labor relations in the
air transportation industry. Such agreements typically do not contain an expiration date and instead specify an amendable date, upon which the contract is
considered “open for amendment.” The process for integrating the represented employee groups of United and Continental is governed by a combination of the
RLA, the McCaskill-Bond Amendment, and where applicable, the existing provisions of United’s and Continental’s collective bargaining agreements and
union policies. Under the RLA, the National Mediation Board (“NMB”) has exclusive authority to resolve union representation disputes arising out of airline
mergers. Under the McCaskill-Bond Amendment, “fair and equitable” integration of seniority lists is required, including arbitration where the interested
parties cannot reach a consensual agreement, consistent with the process set forth in the Allegheny-Mohawk Labor Protective Provisions or internal union
merger policies, if applicable. Pending operational integration, the Company will apply the terms of the existing collective bargaining agreements unless other
terms have been negotiated.
During 2012, various labor agreements were reached between union representatives and the Company. On December 15, 2012, the pilots for both United and
Continental ratified a joint collective bargaining agreement with the Company. In February 2013, the Company reached tentative agreements on new joint
collective bargaining agreements with the International Association of Machinists (“IAM”) for the fleet service, passenger service and storekeeper workgroups
at the United, Continental, Continental Micronesia and Mileage Plus subsidiaries. The tentative agreements with the IAM cover more than 28,000 employees
and are subject to ratification by the IAM members. We are also currently in the process of negotiating joint collective bargaining agreements with all of our
other major represented groups. Several other collective bargaining agreements were reached with unions at each of our subsidiaries during 2012, including
with the United flight attendants in February 2012, the Continental Micronesia aircraft technicians in May 2012, the Continental pilot ground instructors in
June 2012 and the Continental Micronesia flight attendants in August 2012.
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