Our Story Series Episode II

Our next story features a gentleman who gave twenty eight years of his life in dedicated service as a ramp agent at United Airlines. It is our pleasure to introduce our plaintiff, Paul. In his own words, this is his story.

My name is Paul and I am part of a group of plaintiffs that are holding United Airlines to account for the harms they caused thousands of employees with their COVID vaccine mandate.

This is my story;

The story I’m about to tell is about accountability. These are some of the reasons I will never stop fighting until United Airlines is brought to justice for what they did to me and my fellow employees. My story is just the beginning of how United harmed many of its own people. For context, I’m going to start with my childhood.

I grew up a poor kid in a rundown house. Most nights dinner was potatoes, rice or pasta. On a good day there may be some ground beef mixed in. For school lunch, if I got one, it would be saltine crackers with a little peanut butter between them.

While growing up I was physically and mentally abused by my mother, and endured unspeakable abuse by a close relative. When my dad wasn’t out with one of his girlfriends, he would usually just be sleeping on the couch.

I left home at 19 years old and lived in my car. Fortunately I had a job waiting tables so I had some income. I spent $25 per month on a gym membership. I would sleep in my car in a 24hr supermarket parking lot. Then I would drive to the gym where I would work out then use the locker room to shower and shave for the day. I would then go to the restaurant where I worked whether I was scheduled to or not. Someone would always be willing to give up a shift. Eventually, I was able to rent a room in a house.

I was doing whatever I could to escape from the only way of life I knew. Then, in 1994, when I was 22 years old, I heard about an open house (job opportunity) for what was back then Continental Airlines. There were over four hundred people lined up around the building to interview for only a few jobs. I ended up being one of nineteen people hired. After being hired, I started my career as a Ramp Service Employee in Newark, New Jersey. Ramp personnel directly affect the day to day operation of an airline. Whether an airplane leaves and arrives on time is directly influenced by how well ramp personnel work as a team to launch and receive airplanes. As a ramp service employee, I was responsible for handling an aircraft while on the ground including loading and unloading of cargo and luggage all while adhering to strict weight and balance guidelines to ensure safe flight operations. Eight months later I had the opportunity to transfer to Cleveland, Ohio. I took that opportunity and spent fifteen years in Cleveland. When I started hearing rumors of Cleveland being downsized due to the upcoming merger with United, I took advantage of another opportunity and transferred to Dallas, Texas (DFW). I was in Texas for eight years before transferring back to Newark, New Jersey.

During my twenty eight years I had endured, pay-cuts, bankruptcy, 9/11, and the merger between Continental and United Airlines. Even through all that I diligently worked 60-70, sometimes 80 hours a week and prevailed through the adversity to keep a job I loved and needed.

Over time, the company made numerous new rules which affected the company culture. Since I had weathered these numerous events over my time there, I never saw the pandemic as a reason to lose my job. In fact I never got sick and never missed a day of work through the whole pandemic scare.

On August 6, 2021 United put out an email mandating the Covid vaccine. United leadership allowed three weeks to apply for religious accommodation. Out of those three weeks, I was on vacation for two of them. Upon returning to work, I inquired about how to apply for a religious exemption and accommodation. The process was not being openly discussed nor was it easy to find. I asked my supervisor how to complete the process. He told me don’t even bother because he said he attended a meeting and was told no one would be approved.

Therefore, due to being on vacation, poor transparency about the process, and negative advice from my supervisor, I missed what I now consider United’s arbitrary deadline to request an exemption based on my religious beliefs, and my right to religious accommodation. I don’t feel my application for religious accommodation on September 11, 2021 should be used to question my motives, or deny my strongly held religious beliefs and rights to religious accommodations.

I applied for religious accommodations on 9/11/2021, request was denied, I applied again on 9/16/2021, request denied. I appealed the denial stating the claims above and was still denied. I appealed a second time after another group filed a lawsuit for religious discrimination and the judge, Judge Pittman, issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) protecting anyone who filed before September 27, 2021. My second appeal was denied. I made a final attempt to apply for accommodations on November 2, 2021 and was denied for a third time.

In addition to my religious beliefs I am a big advocate for health, fitness and nutrition. I don’t take any prescription drugs, I don’t even take over the counter medicine. I have never taken a flu shot. I am a very healthy person and after doing my research on the experimental covid vaccine, I was very skeptical to say the least and decided it was not for me. How a company CEO, or anyone in the company, can mandate it then try to coerce and force me to take it or lose my job is unfathomable to me.

During those months in 2021, I was forced to wear a KN-95 mask as were all the unvaccinated employees. This was clearly discrimination and a way to single us out as unvaccinated. I was cornered in the mens room at work by the managing director, who said “he was concerned for me because ‘they’ (United) are serious about this.”

I was terminated on December 4, 2021. I was due to turn 50 about a month later on January 5, 2022 at which point I would have been eligible for retirement and a $360,000.00 lump sum payment. Prior to being terminated, I asked my Managing Director if I could use a month of sick time (of which I had over eight hundred hours of sick leave available) and then take my early retirement in lieu of being terminated. He said that would not be an option for me even after twenty eight years of dedicated service.

United’s actions were completely discriminatory towards my strongly held religious beliefs and have caused me great harm. As you can see from my story I built my entire life around this career. Working my way up to having a great life and providing a good life to my ten children.

I don’t mention any of this for pity. I just want anyone who takes the time to read this to understand that the job taken from me by United Airlines wasn’t just a job or a career, it was my salvation, my life. It lifted me out of the life of my childhood. It lifted me up and was the lifeline I needed to provide for my family.

As a father of ten children and a sole provider I lost my entire income, I lost medical benefits for eight of my children as well as my wife and I. I lost my eight hundred hours of sick time , my ability to travel and see my kids and grandkids in Texas, I lost the lump sum payment for early retirement. I had to cash out my 401k and have racked up a massive credit card debt in excess of $50,000 just to try and make ends meet since being terminated . Now I am in danger of losing my home. Most of all I lost my dignity and my joy of life as my family struggles to survive and endure the financial and emotional challenges.

Please don’t feel sorry for me, You may pray for me and my family, and if you can please donate to our cause. Also remember, everyone you meet has a story, don’t be quick to judge.

God Bless,

Paul