S.F. Officials, United Reach Accord on Domestic Partners

City supervisors approved an agreement with United Airlines on Monday that will require the airline to offer health benefits to same-sex partners of their employees within two years.

The unanimous vote came in the form of a lease agreement for a $90-million expansion of United’s facilities at San Francisco International Airport.

The board had refused to approve the lease until the airline promised to comply with a new ordinance requiring companies doing business with the city to offer spousal benefits to their workers’ domestic partners.

“San Francisco has long been a leader in the fight for human civil rights and once again we are setting the standard,” said Supervisor Leslie Katz, who is gay.

The board’s Government Efficiency and Labor Committee sent the $13.4-million, 25-year lease back to the Airports Commission in January even though the new law does not take effect until June. The committee was hoping to get immediate promises from some of the larger companies with long-term agreements.

United complained that the issue had not been raised with airport officials during lease talks last year.

The compromise calls for the 25-year lease of a new flight kitchen and equipment repair facility to be converted into a two-year lease with a 23-year option. United must develop a benefits program in the first 20 months for the lease to be extended.

“I think it’s setting a precedent for other businesses, small and large, that they can come into compliance; that these are principles of fairness, that we don’t want to contract with employers who discriminate,” Katz said.

United issued a statement after the vote saying it is pleased with the final compromise.

The company stressed that its situation is more complex than it would seem because the airline is employee-owned. United also can’t dictate benefits without approval of at least 16 different unions representing employees around the globe and without adhering to labor laws in 30 different countries, it said.

“United is currently fully engaged in a comprehensive analysis of the ordinance, including the tax, finance, human resources, benefits, labor relations and legal ramifications of the implementation,” the statement said.

The founder of a group of homosexual employees at United said the cost to the airline would be negligible because most partners of gay employees have jobs and benefits of their own.