A black flight attendant for Delta Airlines claims that she was fired for uploading a cartoon picture of former President Donald Trump wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood.
According to a fresh complaint that was submitted to a district court in Georgia on Monday. Leondra Taylor, the in issue flight attendant, was let go in April 2021.
Following the first presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden before that November’s election, she initially shared the picture in September 2020.
The cartoon shows moderator Chris Wallace thanking President Trump, “Thank you, Mr. President, for wearing your mask,” as it did when it initially appeared in the Montreal Gazette. The former host of The Apprentice is shown wearing a KKK hood.
In that memorable debate, Trump famously advised the Proud Boys, an alt-right organisation, to “stand back and stand by.”
According to CNN, Taylor posted the image on her personal Facebook page.
According to the complaint, Taylor was fired after experiencing “discrimination against [her] because of her colour.”
Who alerted Delta management to the meme is unknown, and no other information on the disciplinary procedure that resulted in Taylor’s termination has been made public.
A white coworker who likewise shared political content on their social media page but was not disciplined is mentioned in the case.
Flight attendants are not unionised at any other major US airline than Delta.
Taylor said that in addition to the claims of racial prejudice, she was also singled out as a result of an earlier event in which she supported another flight attendant who had been dismissed due to her usage of social media.
Taylor claims in the complaint that Delta started looking at her social media activity after she aided a former coworker.
The former flight attendant claims that while her political speech was not “hateful or discriminatory,” it was still political.
The picture “simultaneously conveyed a message about Trump’s rejection of the necessity for COVID protection measures, and that racial discrimination against African Americans was a systematic problem beginning at the top, with the then president,” according to the complaint, which was cited in the CNN piece.
Taylor claims that in January 2021, coworkers at Delta contacted her and informed her that her Facebook postings were “inappropriate.”
Taylor was informed that she would be banned in February because her “political tweets were racially motivated,” according to CNN.
Taylor is seeking punitive damages, lost pay, and compensation for her mental and emotional anguish. According to the lawsuit, Delta’s treatment of Taylor was “willful, spiteful, purposeful, and premeditated.”
Delta claims that Taylor broke the company’s social media standards in reaction to the lawsuit.
“When Delta workers combine the Delta brand with behaviour or material that does not represent our values of professionalism, inclusivity, and respect, such behaviour may result in suspension or termination,” the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement to Business Insider.
“While personnel matters are considered private between Delta and its workers, the facts cited by our former employee are not a true or comprehensive explanation of the company’s termination decision,” the statement said.
In response to the lawsuit, the cartoon’s creator, Terry Mosher, tweeted: “According to CNN, one of my cartoons is at the core of an America lawsuit!”
Mosher goes by the name Aislin at work.
For Delta workers, the summer has been trying.
Delta pilots missed 19,985 days in May, up from 13,786 days in May 2019, according to the FAA.
Pilot sick days increased by 50% from June 2019 to June. According to the FAA, Delta also reported in May that their flight attendants missed 43,908 days due to illness, an increase of 23%.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA will be put to a vote among workers, and earlier in August, The Guardian reported that flight attendants at the firm were trying to collect signatures to force a ballot question.
It’s taking the first step to improve our job, not just for me but also for my colleagues flight attendants and those who come after, said Shemeka, an Atlanta-based flight attendant, to the newspaper.
The only way to do this, she said, is to bring our collective strength to the negotiation table.
“I would want to have a place at the table when it comes to negotiating my work group, my remuneration, and my work-home balance.”