United Airlines Mechanics Vote to Become Teamsters

Hoffa Hails 2-to-1 Margin of Victory in Major Teamsters Victory

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Airlines mechanics
overwhelmingly chose the Teamsters Union as their collective bargaining
representative by a vote of 4,113 - 2,631, the National Mediation Board
announced Monday.

The 9,300 active and furloughed mechanics who comprise the bargaining unit
will become Teamsters as soon as the NMB vote is certified. The board is
expected to certify the vote by close of business Tuesday.

The Teamsters victory culminates a two-year effort by United (NASDAQ: UAUA)
mechanics and related personnel to gain strong representation. A key issue was
the failure of their former bargaining representative, the Aircraft Mechanics
Fraternal Association, to hold United to its contractual obligation to limit
outsourcing.

"We're thrilled that United mechanics voted to join our union by such a large
margin," said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. "United mechanics will
now have the Teamsters strength behind them in their fight against outsourcing
to foreign repair stations."

"United has cut more maintenance positions than any other U.S. airline," Hoffa
said, noting that United outsourced 45 percent of its aircraft maintenance
expenses in 2006, three times the amount it outsourced in 1998.

Hoffa also said the Teamsters would support the mechanics in their efforts to
curb excessive executive compensation and restore their own retirement
security.

"We'll stand shoulder to shoulder with United mechanics as they try to rein in
management greed and hold them accountable for foisting their pension
obligations on U.S. taxpayers," Hoffa said.

"After two years of hard work, we now have the opportunity to work with the
strength of a true union behind us to secure our futures," said Rich
Petrovsky, chairman of the Committee for Change, which spearheaded the
organizing campaign.

The United victory is the latest in a series of organizing triumphs for the
Teamsters. In the past three months, the Teamsters organized nearly 10,000
workers at UPS Freight since Jan. 16.

The election began on Feb. 26 and ended at 2 pm EDT. Mechanics could vote by
telephone or Internet, enabling the National Mediation Board to tally the
total quickly.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4
million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto
Rico. There are 40,000 Teamsters airline employees, including more than 9,000
mechanics and related at 11 airlines.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Leslie Miller of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, +1-202-624-8734,
lmiller@teamster.org