Happy Independence Day to my readers in the USA.
United CEO Oscar Munoz sent the following note to UA workers this morning. Thanks to a FA friend for sharing it with me:
Dear United Family,
This Fourth of July, our colleagues across the United States will pause to reflect upon the meaning of the American story and their places within it.
We will recognize those who’ve given service to our nation and remember those who gave their lives in its defense.
We will offer thanks for the rights those sacrifices granted to us and vow not to take them for granted ourselves.
I want to thank all our colleagues in the United States for representing these ideals and our company in the way we treat our customers, one another and everyone we serve as we operate around the world.
I especially want to thank all those who are working hard today, as well as throughout this holiday weekend, to keep us flying right, safely and reliably.
Happy Independence Day,
Oscar
I don’t think many would argue with Munoz’s sentiment.
But I will add the following commentary: the great ideal of the American system, sometimes realized, sometimes unrealized, is this:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
That’s from the Declaration of Independence, signed this day 241 years ago. How does that apply to an airline?
Simple: treat every passenger with dignity and respect. Let’s hope United will always remember that American ideal.
Could Munoz have offered more of an anodyne statement?
And I would differ with his sentiments, we have both Memorial Day and Veterans Day (I lament the loss of Armistice Day myself, feeling it’s important to celebrate the end of war not only those who served or fell in war). The 4th of July is not a military holiday.
While force was used to declare independence, the holiday isn’t about the soldiers but about the declaration itself of independence and the underlying principles – as you note – that largely preceded the skirmishes.
We shouldn’t conflate Independence Day with those other holidays that already honor “those who’ve given service to our nation and remember those who gave their lives in its defense.”
Reminds me my mother’s definition of love: valuing people for their intrinsic value, not what they possess or give to you. Otherwise, you are just a use and discard individual. Passing thru life without meaning, purpose or building a stronger community. Happy Independence Day to you as well!
Nice of Oscar to recognize those who are on the job today while most are at play. Guess he’s back on track to being a good communicator. Time will tell if his words equate to meaningful action as United recovers from its, to put it nicely, PR “challenges”.