Our Grievance Committee would like to provide background on social media, protected classes, and discipline.
Federal protected classes include race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or transgender status), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.
Alaska’s People Policy says:
Personal Conduct
22. Threatening, intimidating, or discourteous behavior, including abusive, profane, or obscene language, acts, or gestures, to guests or employees at any time will not be tolerated.
23. Any form of harassment or discrimination based on a Protected Characteristic is prohibited.
Flight Attendants have also faced discipline under the Social Media section of the People Policy.
Alaska Airlines management has disciplined for posts made in Flight Attendant-run social media groups such as Galley Tea, Patriots with Wings, and others, as well as Flight Attendants’ personal pages, even with very little to show that the poster was a Flight Attendant employed by the company. In fact, an arbitrator upheld discipline, although there was very little evidence on the Flight Attendant’s personal page to identify them as a company employee.
We know the world feels unsettled right now, and even within our group, people have strong and different opinions. Still, management continues to issue discipline when company policies are broken, no matter what is happening in the news. Depending on the nature and severity of an incident, outcomes may range from a warning to suspension, or even termination. It’s important to be aware that violations of company policy, whether on social media or in other contexts, can result in a wide range of disciplinary actions.
Most Flight Attendants who were disciplined for social media posts were reported by co-workers. Usually, the person reporting did not want anyone fired—they just wanted the post taken down or prevented from happening again. Instead of going straight to management, you can contact AFA Professional Standards for help. You can find their contact information on the EAP/Professional Standards Committee page of the AFA Alaska + Hawaiian website. The Committee can help facilitate resolution between Flight Attendants without management involvement. Sometimes, taking some breathing room and understanding can help the situation.
We may not always agree, but everyone wants a respectful and positive workplace. Both AFA and Alaska have rules about treating others with respect at work and online. Please think carefully before posting or commenting on social media and be considerate in your interactions with other Flight Attendants and passengers. If you avoid posting or commenting on things that could break company policy, you can avoid problems.
If you have questions, please contact your Local Grievance Committee or LEC Officers.
Christopher Colella says
Hello—-thank you for addressing this.
Can we be disciplined or terminated for commenting on a political post which is not directly related toward a fellow employee?
Thank You
Paula Isla-McGill (SEA LEC President) says
Hi Christopher,
Thank you for the question. It would depend on the comment. A comment that is deemed to have violated the People Policy can be disciplined, and yes, we have had people terminated for their comments. It is not so much whether it’s political. Discussing politics is not necessarily problematic, however when the tone and content of comments is disrespectful or deemed harassing or discriminatory, that is where people have been in jeopardy of discipline.
It is important to be mindful that management has also considered the impact of someone’s conduct over the intent and have held people accountable for the negative impact their comments or behavior have caused regardless if their words or actions had any discriminatory or offensive intent. In addition to rules 22 and 23 that were cited in the recent communication, another commonly cited rule in discipline is rule 27:
This company holds you responsible not only for what you say, but how it can be perceived. People should be mindful about how easily comments can be misinterpreted, especially in an online setting.