American Airlines backs ENDA, again
American Airlines announced this week that it formally submitted a letter to U.S. Congressional leaders stating its continued support for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to provide federal job protections for gays and lesbians.
American Airlines was the first airline to endorse ENDA, originally communicating its support to Congress in 2008 and 2009. In its current letter of endorsement, American Airlines states:
“On behalf of our 80,000 employees, American Airlines is proud to express our strong support for S. 811 and H.R. 1397, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would extend basic job protections to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. We are proud to have been the first major airline to implement same-sex domestic partner benefits, first to implement both sexual orientation and gender identity in our workplace non-discrimination policies, and first to have a recognized LGBT employee resource group — GLEAM. Our endorsement of ENDA is consistent with our longstanding ‘Statement of Equal Opportunity.’ The principles fostered by ENDA are consistent with our corporate principles in treating all employees with fairness and respect.”
The letter of support was signed by Lauri Curtis, American’s Vice President, Diversity, Leadership and Engagement; Michael Wascom, American’s Managing Director, International and Government Affairs; and Rick Wilbins, Managing Director, Brand and Diversity Markets.
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In 2002, American was the only airline to earn a perfect 100 rating in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, a rating the company has retained each year since.
The pro-gay airline is a member of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association and maintains a corporate-wide gay-specific microsite: www.aa.com/rainbow.
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