Black flight attendants sue United after being removed from Dodgers charter flights in favor of white colleagues

The lawsuit says United replaced its minority flight attendants with white women “who did not have to interview for the highly coveted positions,” per the team’s request.

A pair of Black female flight attendants are suing United Airlines, accusing the company of denying them promotions in favor of their younger, less-experienced white colleagues.

Dawn Todd and Darby Quezada filed the lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. According to CBS News, the lawsuit alleges that United engaged in discrimination by pulling minority female flight attendants off Los Angeles Dodgers charter plane flights based on a request, replacing them with “young White thin women who did not have to interview for the highly coveted positions.”

“United fosters an environment of inclusion and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” the airline told CBS in a statement. “We believe this lawsuit is without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously.”

Todd and Quezada claim they nailed their interviews for the positions and say the airline initially chose them to be part of the charter flight team yet rejected their assignments due to racial and other physical bias. Even though the two were among the best, the lawsuit claims, United selected less-experienced attendants without interviews because they matched “the look.”

Quezada, who is Black, Mexican and Jewish, alleges she was referred to as the “flight’s maid” because they wanted a “Mexican to clean the bathrooms.” She also said she received instructions to stop speaking Spanish with a Dodgers player because “we are in America,” and maintained that she’s been subjected to antisemitic remarks, such as “you know Jesus died for you even if you don’t believe.”

Todd, who has worked for United for more than 17 years, claims United retaliated against her for protesting about the demotion and denial of benefits and incentives for Black attendants on the Dodgers trip, as well as racism and ageism.

Furthermore, the complaint claims that white United Airlines personnel participated in blatant racism, antisemitism and discrimination toward minority counterparts on those charter flights, of which there are around 60 per baseball season.

Todd and Quezada are requesting a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages.

While the lawsuit does not list the Dodgers as a defendant, Sam S. Yebri, the attorney for both plaintiffs, believes the airline made alterations based on the team’s preferences for crew members. 

He claims there is either discrimination against his clients explicitly, citing their “perfect records, employment records,” or the system is flawed, with the Dodgers making preferred choices and United deferring to them.

“Major America corporations like United Airlines must understand that it is illegal to make staffing decisions based on an employee’s race and looks, even if it is meant to please major clients like the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Yebri said after filing the lawsuit, CBS reported. “United’s blatantly discriminatory staffing decisions allowed the cancer of racism and antisemitism to metastasize on the flights themselves.”

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