United Airlines has come under public scrutiny for a variety of incidents that revealed inconsistency in policies and aircrew training – from forcing a pet into an overhead compartment where it died to physically dragging a doctor off a plane. Now United Airlines is placed on the 2019 Dirty Dozen List, which names 12 mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation, for systemic outbreaks of inappropriate aircrew reactions to sexual harassment on their airplanes. Sexual harassment includes but is not limited to, unwanted sexual advances or attention including physical actions, speech, and viewing pornography in-flight. While cases of these actions have occurred on virtually every airline, United Airlines aircrews have consistently exhibited apparently ineffective proactive training for staff to address sexually harassing actions, speech, or pornography-use. Will you commit to publicly agreeing to have a renewed annual in-person training for all of your aircrew staff on how to respond to this full spectrum of sexual harassment and assault that occur on airplanes?

There is an industry-wide failure among airlines to proactively train staff to address sexually harassing actions, speech, and pornography-use. Will United Airlines stand up and become a leader against the #MeToo experiences people have on your airplanes? United Airlines isn't doing enough to protect flight crews and passengers alike from sexual harassment. Sara Nelson, a United Airlines flight attendant and president of the union, told CNN, “In my 22 years as a flight attendant, I have never taken part in a conversation — in training or otherwise — about how to handle sexual harassment or sexual assault.” CNN continued: “While policies exist, Nelson says that if they’re not elevated in airlines’ training, flight attendants are at a loss for what to do when confronting inappropriate — and sometimes criminal — behavior.” Airlines are also chronically ill-prepared to address the growing problem of pornography on airplanes and the ensuing culture of sexual harassment that this fosters. While most airlines have a policy on paper against in-flight pornography use, they are not adequately training their in-flight crews or support staff to ensure they A) are consciously aware the policy exists or B) know how to enforce it. Please improve your training so flight crews are empowered to actually intervene! No one should be subjected to endure a toxic and sexually hostile environment on an airplane.

United Airlines is chronically ill-prepared to address the growing problem of pornography on airplanes and the ensuing culture of sexual harassment that this fosters. When this lack of clarity and training exists, United aircrews have resorted to giving alleged “hush” money or even openly joking about a case of sexual harassment. This leaves passengers vulnerable and isolated to endure a toxic sexual environment without recourse. Will you create new trainings for your staff members, so that every year they have a refreshed training to deal with these problems? Please make sure you consult with multiple expert NGO anti-exploitation organizations as you develop these trainings.

According to a study by the Association of Flight Attendants, more than two-thirds of U.S. flight attendants (across major airlines) have experienced sexual harassment while doing their job. “More than one-in-three flight attendants say they have experienced verbal sexual harassment from passengers, and nearly one-in-five have experienced physical sexual harassment from passengers, in the last year alone. Despite the prevalence of abuse and the emergence of the #MeToo movement, 68 percent of flight attendants say they saw no efforts by airlines to address workplace sexual harassment over the last year.” Will you create annual trainings for flight crews to know how to deal with this issue? Also, include annual trainings for how to respond to masturbation and porn use on United planes as well.