United workers fight firing over security concern

Thirteen flight attendants who were fired by United Airlines for refusing to fly from San Francisco to Hong Kong because of a security concern have filed a federal complaint to get their jobs back.

Before United Flight 869 took off July 14, crewmembers noticed the words "BYE BYE" and two faces drawn in oily residue on the plane's tail, according to the 26-page complaint filed Tuesday with the Labor Department. One face was smiling but the other was "devilish," the complaint said.

The graffiti was written on part of the plane 30 feet above ground, which would have required equipment to reach, and airline officials were uncertain whether it was written in San Francisco or its previous location at Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea, according to the complaint.

The flight attendants refused to fly unless the more than 300 passengers were taken off the Boeing 747-400 and the plane was searched thoroughly for explosives, according to the complaint. The flight was canceled for lack of crew.

United fired the flight attendants for insubordination after supervisors ordered them to fly. Christen David, a United spokeswoman, said all of the airline's and FAA's safety procedures were followed in the incident and that the plane was deemed "entirely safe to fly."

"Our flight operations, safety and maintenance teams appropriately investigated and determined there was no credible security threat," David said. "We cannot comment further on the details of this pending litigation, but we intend to defend against it vigorously."

The complaint filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration contends that the workers are protected as whistle-blowers from retaliation for reporting air safety and security threats. The flight attendants are seeking reinstatement, back pay and compensatory damages.

One of the flight attendants, Grace Lam, said the fired workers "were not willing to bow to United's pressure to ignore an unresolved security threat even though the company made clear that we risked losing our jobs."

David Marshall, who filed the complaint as a partner at Katz, Marshall & Banks, said the flight attendants with a combined 299 years of experience were worried about security threats after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March and a Transportation Security Administration warning about consumer electronics the week before the flight.

"Our clients are entitled to legal protection for doing what was right," Marshall said.

In addition to Lam, the flight attendants are Illya Bin Abdollah, Reshma Abdul Khader, Doris Chu, Sangeeta Shama Khanna, Tak Man Lai, Alison Yim Mei Ma, Sailesh Mohan Malkani, Evans Francisco Jesus Mendonica, Pauline Quak, Josephine Wai Nga Tse, Wai Lok Tsoi and Winson Yip.