- Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was hanging out in a United Airlines airport lounge about a year ago when he noticed something amiss with the bar. The tip jar on the counter, where he would typically drop a few bucks, was gone.
- Brown, who likes to stop in these lounges during his weekly travels between Washington and his home in Cleveland, asked the bartenders what happened to the jar. Their answer put Brown in a sour mood before his flight.
- âThey explained it was corporate policyâŚ. They said, âManagement told us that it compromises the experience of the traveler,â whatever thatâs supposed to mean,â recounted Brown, who couldnât remember at which airport he first noticed the change. âTheir tips dramatically dropped…. They told me this will cost them in an evening of work $50 or $100.â
- The bartenders couldnât have known how much trouble they just started.
- The senior senator from Ohio has his eye on some of the most pressing economic issues of the day â the rollback of banking regulations, the reshaping of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade deal, the possible idling of five General Motors plants, including the one in Lordstown, Ohio. Yet, in spite of his packed Senate schedule, restoring tip jars to United lounges has become something of a personal crusade.