TOXIC TERMINATION: How American Airlines Terminated My Employment for Raising Issue With Their Toxic Uniform
American Airlines terminated my employment after I raised issue with the toxic uniforms the company rolled out in September of 2016, and advocated on behalf of the thousands of American Airlines flight attendants who have experienced adverse — often severe — reactions to the Twin Hill supplied uniform.
I was initially suspended for "violating company policy," and then terminated for attendance points after American Airlines’ two-week investigation into their allegations proved false. They denied me due process which would have allowed me to defend my attendance, using the documentation I have from my doctor, who believes I become ill after working and being in proximity to the Twin Hill uniform. My manager documents numerous times that the uniform causes me multiple reactions in turn affecting my health. (Her notes are linked to this blog)
As if that wasn’t humiliating enough, I was then denied unemployment insurance, even though I was wrongfully terminated. It took 4 months to get a hearing with the Massachusetts Unemployment Commission, who then immediately approved my claim. They knew I was fired without proper procedures being followed.
The following are my communications with American Airlines management, specifically CEO Doug Parker, asking that he reinstate my employment with back-pay, interest and reasonable compensation for the indignities inflicted upon me. To date, the only correspondence I have received back is an email from the Vice-President of Flight Service, Jill Surdek, which she accidentally sent to me instead of a colleague. Ms. Surdek’s trash-talking email follows below:
From: "Deanna Jones"
Date: December 6, 2019 at 08:05:17 EST
To: "Lori Bassani, APFA President"
Cc: "Douglas Parker" , "Laurie Lofgren" , "Jill Surdek " , "Wendy Stockton" , "Debbie Carvatta" , "Elena Salinas" , "Stacey Rochelle" , "Liz Geiss, APFA Vice-President" , "Catt Napper, APFA Regional Rep.4" Joann Matley-Sheehan, APFA Regional Rep. 5"
Subject: Mediation/Arbitration for Deanna Jones
Dear Ms. Bassani,
As you know, the APFA System Board of Adjustment declined to take my wrongful termination case to arbitration. Vice-President Liz Geiss’ letter stated that she and the seven APFA Regional Reps (Margaret Barnes, Chris O’Kelley, Beth Kilcran-Flannery, Catt Napper, Joann Matley-Sheehan, Glenda Talley and Beth Carpenter) declined to take my my case forward stating that the "grievance should be withdrawn and not taken forward to arbitration due to the facts and circumstances". There was no mention of how the seven regional reps voted, nor did Ms. Geiss’ office provide a resolution showing who supported throwing me under the bus and who didn’t. At this point I can only assume they all did.
Ironically, Ms. Geiss did inform me that the union is still willing to take my case forward provided I submit a $5,000 deposit to the vice-president’s office and sign a promissory note agreeing to cough up tens of thousands more in "arbitration costs" so that those who were unwilling to defend my employment rights from wrongful termination at the onset can now go to bat for me using a blank check that I’m responsible for covering. Honestly, what was the point in me paying dues every month if the administration can simply cherry-pick who gets representation and who doesn’t? Why is it that someone with a stack of complaints from passengers and fellow crew-members gets reinstated and I, someone who was utilizing Family Leave as approved by a physician, gets canned?
And what about the $553.50 bill for dues accrued after I was terminated? Why is the union demanding money from me after I was terminated when they literally did nothing for me other than have me sit in front of Cindi Simone and Laurie Lofgren so they could make an attempt at justifying their job by making an example out of someone while denying them due process?
While I could go into the issues already mentioned in previous emails — the fact that the union (1) provided no defense at my initial hearing, (2) allowed the company to suspend me for one thing and then fire me for another while denying me due process, (3) allowed the company to withhold the "follow-up findings" from their two-week investigation into the allegations that proved false — my reason for writing you is to ask why the union declined to take my case to arbitration. Why would APFA decline to challenge the termination of a flight attendant who was fired under the very "Attendance-Performance Policy" that the union itself tells the media is "discriminatory" and "draconian"?
As I wrote in a recent letter to Mr. Parker, I am frustrated that I wasted two days of my life and missed two days of work only to sit through a mediation hearing that was judged by Cindi Simone and Laurie Lofgren — two American Airlines managers who were clearly biased against me. In an email Laurie Lofgren told me point-blank that reinstatement wasn’t an option, and Cindi Simone says that BOS flight attendants have a higher tendency to call in sick because the state provides Massachusetts employees with "Earned Sick Time." Why were these two judging my mediation hearing? More importantly, why didn’t APFA raise objections on the grounds that they were blatantly bias?
Regardless of the botched mediation hearing, my fascination now is how the union decides which members deserve arbitration representation and which members don’t; how does APFA decide which case is worthy and which isn’t?
Looking at the APFA website I noticed that APFA spent $22,615 representing a flight attendant who was fired by American for sick time abuse when it was shown that the member wasn’t actually sick but rather incarcerated in a Peruvian jail. As American Airlines noted in their Arbitration "Position":
"The company also pointed out that his arrest was for alleged criminal sexual misconduct.’ The company asserted that it was at least likely that the grievant was not in Peru for medical treatment at all but rather for the purpose of making the movies for the website. The company further assailed the grievant’s credibility on this basis and, as will be discussed more below, what the company called gross inconsistencies in his testimony.
And here the union is defending the accused and fighting for earned benefits:
"The System Board of Adjustment directed that "Having made the above determination that there was no just cause for the termination, the remedy is clear. The grievant is therefore to be reinstated to his position as a flight attendant as soon as practicable. His reinstatement is with back pay and all contractually accrued benefits from July 13, 2011 to the date of his reinstatement herein."
"Finally, Xxxxxxx is entitled to prejudgment and post judgment interest on the award with interest paid to him on the back pay (of $113,368.10, from July 13, 2011 until March 18, 2014), the profit sharing payment (of approximately $1,500 from 2011 until August 6, 2014), and the unpaid equity stake (amounts unknown) until the present."
I need you to explain to me, Ms. Bassani, why a person who was supposedly calling in sick from prison deserves "union representation" and a person who suffered chronic health issues (as noted by a doctor in a FMLA application two years in a row) because of reactions to the Twin Hill uniform deserves no APFA representation and has to pay tens of thousands to get the union to do the very job that they were already paid to do. What is the difference between my wrongful termination and the one I’m referring to? More importantly, why would American agree to take back an employee whom they assert violated both Rule 16 ("Misrepresentation of facts or falsification of records") and Rule 34 ("Dishonesty of any kind in relations with the company") and then tell me in an email that "After further review and consideration of the circumstances leading to your separation, we will not offer to reinstate your employment."
To say that I’ve been poorly represented during this wrongful termination is an understatement. Having paid $41 a month in union dues from day one only to find out that the representation I was promised in exchange for that monthly $41 could be denied simply because the union leadership wants to play politics is disturbing to say the least?
In solidarity,
Deanna Jones
From: "Deanna Jones"
Date: December 6, 2019 at 08:05:26 EST
To: "Doug Parker"
Cc: "Laurie Lofgren" , "Jill Surdek" , "Wendy Stockton" , "Debbie Carvatta" , "Elena Salinas" , "Stacey Rochelle" , Lori Bassani, APFA President" , "Liz Geiss, APFA Vice-President" , " Catt Napper, APFA Regional Rep 4" , "Joann Matley-Sheehan, APFA Regional Rep. 5" , "Amy, Milenkovic, BOS Base President"
Subject: Do the Right Thing, Finally
Mr. Parker,
Once again I write you to express my disappointment in your management team. Having been offered the opportunity of a mediation hearing to reconsider my wrongful termination, it turns out that one of the judges, Laurie Lofgren, was the very person who told me point-blank in an email that "After further review and consideration of the circumstances leading to your separation, we will not offer to reinstate your employment." How could Ms. Lofgren be fair and impartial at a mediation hearing when her decision was already made before even entering the room?
The other judge, Cindi Simone, submitted a Declaration to the Court targeting Boston based flight attendants because of the state’s "Earned Sick Time" law. In reading this excerpt from Ms. Simone’s Declaration, it’s clear that Ms. Simone should NOT have been judging the reinstatement of a Boston based flight attendant whom the company accused of violating the Attendance-Performance Policy, especially when that person has a documented chronic health condition after wearing the Twin Hill uniform distributed by American Airlines. Ms. Simone is clearly bias toward flight attendants based in Boston, particularly those who have had to use their Earned Sick Time:
"… I have seen evidence of flight attendant sick leave abuse. For instance, the fact that sick leave use tends to spike on weekends and holidays, and the days before and after weekends and holidays, strongly suggests that some flight attendants are using sick leave for purposes other than recovery from illnesses and injuries.
"… As shown by American’s attempts to comply, the Massachusetts is the states law disrupts the balance struck in the CBA and causes disturbances to American’s flight operations.
"Flight attendants thus spend the vast majority of their work time in federally-regulated airspace and relatively little of their overall duty time on the ground in any particular state. This means that the state of a flight attendant’s base is not where the flight attendant principally works. A flight attendant may be based in BOS but spend less than five percent of his/her time actually working in Massachusetts."
As you can see, Ms. Simone’s hostility toward Boston based flight attendants should have disqualified her as a judge. How could any Boston based flight attendant get a fair mediation hearing with two judges showing such blatant bias toward the accused? Why didn’t the company provide judges who could have been fair and neutral? Why did the company waste my time and cost me two days work so I could face two people who had no interest in hearing the facts?
As I stated in a previous email to you, Mr. Parker, it’s clear that the uniform problem is a REAL problem, otherwise the company wouldn’t be replacing the Twin Hill uniform for ALL of American’s 126,000 employees after just rolling it out. I never had migraines, let alone "chronic migraines" as diagnosed by a neurologist as noted by my physician on the attached FMLA form. This all started when I opened my Twin Hill uniform box and began working in close proximity (September 2016) with others wearing the Twin Hill uniform. As APFA noted on May 17, 2019, "5,017 of our fellow Flight Attendants have reported reactions, and they continue to suffer." I’m one of those 5,017, Mr. Parker.
And as far as my attendance was concerned, I wasn’t suspended pending an "attendance" investigation, I was suspended pending a "travel-pass abuse" investigation. Fifteen months later, the company has yet to inform me of the two-week investigation’s findings. How is it that YOUR managers can accuse one of YOUR employees of violating company policy, suspend them for a paid two weeks on the shareholders’ dime, and then not tell that employee what the results were? All I know is what my flight service manager, Stacey Rochelle, told me: the investigative findings "didn’t matter" because the company was now going to fire me for something other than what I was called into the office for. Ms. Rochelle’s notes couldn’t be more clear about her accusations against me and the uniform concerns that I raised issue with:
(07/11/2018) Held investigation meeting with Deanna regarding possible company violations surrounding the companys rules of conduct and workplace policies, between the dates of June 16-June19. APFA Base president Amy Milenkovic and VP Matt Judice were present for meeting and FSM Michael Buscemi. (Stacey Rochelle)
Just so you are aware, the dates in question were during the famous PSA IT meltdown which caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights operated by PSA on the East Coast. Also, my home airport has 2 gates which fly to either Atlanta (Delta) or Charlotte (American) and so it is impossible to double list and that’s what I was accused of.
In case you don’t remember, here’s the notation that proves my manager was angry over my direct communication with Jill Surdek.
(01/30/2018) I called Deanna today regarding the email that she sent to Jill Surdek regarding her concerns about not being able to reimburse her for more alternate uniform options including a sweater and winter coat, since she can not wear the company issued sweaters or coat due to a wool allergy. … I told Deanna that I would prefer that she reach out to myself or Elena Salinas our base manager when and if she finds herself wanting to express her concerns rather that email Jill Surdek right away. …. (Stacey Rochelle)
(04/24/2017) … I met with Deanna who was placed in my group effective immediately, due to FSM Tony Bruno transferring to DFW. I wanted to welcome Deanna into my group, and try to gain an understanding of some of the issues with the uniform that she has had over the past year. … (Stacey Rochelle)
While I don’t expect the company to do the right thing at this point, the question that remains unanswered is how this HR incompetence passed through so many managerial hands without anyone asking the same question I am: Why was I fired for something other than what I was called into the office for? What were the findings of the two-week investigation that suspended me? Just look at the managerial list, Mr. Parker, it’s extensive: Jill Surdek, Cindi Simone, Laurie Lofgren, Wendy Stockton, Debbie Carvatta, Elena Salinas and Stacey Rochelle. Most amazing is that NONE of these managers seemed interested in the investigative findings that suspended me for two weeks, and NONE of them asked about the doctors notes on file for my FMLA. All they cared about was setting an example in an effort to justify their managerial employment. Unfortunately, they all seemed to forget what a manager does — manage.
Deanna Jones
From: “Surdek, Jill”
Date: January 11, 2019 at 09:15:48 EST
To: “Deanna Jones”
Subject: RE: Appeal to Reinstate EmploymentWe will take this from here. Interesting backstory. She announced her intention to run for BOS APFA President even though no longer an employee. The APFA invalidated her candidacy yesterday which I assume drove her note.
FYI – Still really quiet with no feedback yet on any social media sites. I think Jetnet will be interesting. I got a few more emails from FAs yesterday about reserves (not due to crew news) and I realize that most LUS FAs are ultimately mad at union about rotating reserve seniority. Most LAA FAs are mad at company for removing AVBL days.
Jill
I also received a two-sentence email from one of Ms. Surdek’s subordinates, Laurie Lofgren, telling me the company wouldn’t be reinstating me. Once Ms. Surdek realized that she sent her very inappropriate email to the wrong person — ME — she decided to send in someone else to clean up the mess. Not only did Ms. Lofgren neglect to include a subject line in her termination email, she actually spelled my name wrong. How can these individuals be allowed to handle Human Resources for the "world’s largest airline?”
From: Lofgren, Laurie
To: Deanna Jones
Cc: Debbie Carvatta
Sent: Thursday, February 7, 2019, 1:22:51 PM EST
Subject:Dear Deana,
Your note to Mr. Parker was forwarded to me. Thank you for your patience as we reviewed your concerns. After further review and consideration of the circumstances leading to your separation, we will not offer to reinstate your employment.
Sincerely,
Laurie Lofgren
MD Flight Service
The entire correspondence demonstrates utter incompetence on part of the American Airlines’ management team, which is why I suggested to Mr. Parker that he start holding his Flight Service leaders accountable before targeting and terminating those of US suffering needlessly and no doubt due to the company’s toxic uniform.
Respectfully,
Deanna Jones
Former American Airlines Flight Attendant
From: Deanna Jones
Date: February 13, 2019 at 08:37:41 EST
To: “Doug Parker” , “Jill Surdek”, “Laurie Lofgren, “Debbie Carvatta” , “Wendy Stockton” , “Elena Salinas”, “Stacey Rochelle”, “APFA – Joann Matley-Sheehan”, “APFA – Amy Milenkovic”, “APFA – Matthew Judice”, “APFA – Liz Geiss”
Subject: Appeal to Reinstate Employment
I write you again, Mr. Parker, to express my disappointment with your executive management staff — specifically your Vice President of Flight Service, Jill Surdek, and Managing Director of Flight Service, Laurie Lofgren.
Molly and Me
May I say that I find it terribly concerning that I got absolutely no suggested resolution from your office regarding my well-documented letter of concern, and that the only responses I got were Ms. Surdek’s trash-talking email, which she sent to me by accident on January 11th, and then the two-line response I got from Ms. Lofgren where she didn’t bother to even spell my name correctly and omitted the subject line. I almost deleted the email considering I had never corresponded with her and the email seemed like spam. Tell me, how can someone hold a vice-president’s position or managing director’s position at the “world’s largest airline” when they can’t even exercise basic email etiquette or incorporate standard HR protocol? Their lack of professionalism is a direct reflection on you.
The responses I got from Ms. Surdek and Ms. Lofgren scream volumes as to why American Airlines is at the bottom of the industry’s customer service ratings. The idea that a vice president of the airline would badmouth me, then send it to me by accident without a follow-up email apologizing for her lack of unprofessionalism, is mind-boggling. To think that Ms. Surdek’s cleanup strategy was to have her flight service subordinate send an email with so little thought, tells me that my effort to resolve this issue internally isn’t going to happen.
And so I ask you again, Mr. Parker, how can one of YOUR employees be fired for something other than what they were accused of (“travel pass abuse”)? How can one of YOUR employees lose THEIR job without being given an opportunity to defend themselves against the bait-and-switch allegations Boston Flight Service used against me to terminate my employment (“attendance points”)? As I previously stated, I didn’t have enough qualifying points for termination, and the allegations of travel pass abuse were found to be false after a two-week investigation. This company’s failure to reinstate me and offer me fair restitution for the humiliation and indignity of being wrongfully terminated isn’t supported by the company’s assertion that I was a “Team Member.” If anything, the company’s failure suggests that I was a “Disposable Member,” which I’ll have you know I am not.
As the CEO of American Airlines YOU are accountable for your subordinates. If you want to earn the respect of YOUR frontline employees, YOU need to do YOUR job, and that job is making sure that YOUR subordinates do THEIR job. The fact that I have to tell you this means that you need some new managers, or at the very least, some frontline training like the “Value of Respect” training you subject your employees to.
Deanna Jones
From: Lofgren, Laurie
To: Deanna Jones
Cc: Debbie Carvatta
Sent: Thursday, February 7, 2019, 1:22:51 PM EST
Subject:
Dear Deana,
Your note to Mr. Parker was forwarded to me. Thank you for your patience as we reviewed your concerns. After further review and consideration of the circumstances leading to your separation, we will not offer to reinstate your employment.
Sincerely,
Laurie Lofgren
MD Flight Service
From: “Deanna Jones”
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2019 8:36 AM
To: “Surdek, Jill”
Cc: “Parker, Doug”, “Stockton, Wendy”, “Salinas, Elena”, “Rochelle, Stacey”, “APFA- Lori Bassani”, “APFA – Liz Geiss”, “APFA – Joann Matley-Sheehan”, “APFA – Amy Milenkovic”, “APFA – Matthew Judice”
Subject: Appeal to Reinstate Employment
Ms. Surdek,
I am a little confused by your direct response to the email I sent Doug Parker last week, to which you were cc’d on. The reason I copied in certain APFA leaders, certain company leaders, including yourself, is because I wanted to make sure all parties directly related to my termination and reinstatement denial, were able to read my full factual story. I am fairly certain your reply was not intended for me since it is extremely informal and the comments are speaking “about me” instead of “to me.” I am intrigued by your interest in my request to run for APFA Boston President, I didn’t realize the company followed the initial “Willingness to Serve” declarations so closely.
I would like to assure you that my letter to Mr. Parker had nothing to do with APFA finding me ineligible to participate in that election. My intention was to inform CEO Doug Parker of the discriminatory treatment your Flight Service Management team inflicted upon me after simply asking for a sweater reimbursement. You should know, since that request was sent directly to you a year ago.
Whoever your reply was intended for, I’m uncertain about. What I do know is that your reference to “Crew News” appears to focus on APFA President Lori Bassani’s presence in the front row of Mr. Parker’s January 10th DFW Town Hall Meeting. As the photos show, Ms. Bassani is in attendance with her assistant, Stefany Jones, as well as APFA Secretary Lisbeth Hillman, APFA Negotiator Timothy Legeros and APFA Vice-President Liz Geiss. May I say, the idea that APFA and Flight Service strategizing on how to create an adversarial illusion is disturbing to say the least. While most will never believe it, your comments in the email you sent me clearly confirm it.
I’m extremely interested in what “we will take it from here means.”
Sincerely,
Deanna Jones
From: “Surdek, Jill”
Date: January 11, 2019 at 09:15:48 EST
To: “Deanna Jones”
Subject: RE: Appeal to Reinstate Employment
We will take this from here. Interesting backstory. She announced her intention to run for BOS APFA President even though no longer an employee. The APFA invalidated her candidacy yesterday which I assume drove her note.
FYI – Still really quiet with no feedback yet on any social media sites. I think Jetnet will be interesting. I got a few more emails from FAs yesterday about reserves (not due to crew news) and I realize that most LUS FAs are ultimately mad at union about rotating reserve seniority. Most LAA FAs are mad at company for removing AVBL days.
Jill
From: “Deanna Jones”
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2019 7:37 AM
To: “Parker, Doug”
Cc: “Surdek, Jill”, “Stockton, Wendy”, “Salinas, Elena”, “Rochelle,Stacey”, “APFA – Lori Bassani”, “APFA – Liz Geiss”, ” APFA – Joann Matley-Sheehan”, “APFA – Amy Milenkovic”, “APFA – Matthew Judice”
Subject: Appeal to Reinstate Employment
Mr. Parker,
I’m writing you today to express my disappointment with your Flight Service Department and their inability to following basic corporate directives as managerial employees.
In July of 2018, I was called into Boston Operations by my flight service manager, Stacey Rochelle, following a June 20th absence where I was unable to commute to work. I had already provided all necessary required documents to qualify for the Commuter Policy, which is contractual for up to 3 times per year to all commuting Flight Attendants.
In the meeting, I presented all documents to Ms. Rochelle, and was asked to write a statement regarding the commuting issue. I was then told that I could have taken a bus and at this point Ms. Rochelle handed me a Greyhound Bus schedule stating that had I truly wanted to make my Standby Assignment, I easily could have, even though the Commuter Policy makes no reference of flight attendants using buses. In truth, I missed my trip because of the PSA scheduling system meltdown that led to thousands of stranded passengers and approximately 2750 cancelled flights that took over 5 days to resolve. As USA Today headlined on 6/19/2018: American: Meltdown at PSA affiliate cost $35 million, cancelled 3,000 flights.” (Attached is a link to that article)
Rather than abiding by the terms of American’s Commuter Policy, Flight Service decided to accuse me of “violating company policy by abusing travel passes” — booking two flights in order to better my odds for commuting. Commuting from a small regional airport with only 5 flights per day, all into Charlotte-Douglas, double booking serves no purpose, nor is it even possible. Still yet, I was placed on a two-week paid suspension while the “internal investigation” took place.”
After the two-week suspension, I was scheduled back into Operations by Ms. Rochelle on August 2, 2018 to discuss the “findings” of the double-booking investigation. There was no discussion, and I was immediately terminated for attendance and told that the investigation and subsequent investigative findings “didn’t matter.” While I don’t know a whole lot about due process at the “new” American, Mr. Parker, at the Legacy American there was a program called “Peak Performance Through Commitment,” and that process specifically outlined rules for handling HR issues between the company and team members. Never would an employee be called into the office for one thing and then fired for another without giving them due process and a reasonable amount of time to prepare, unless the allegations were absolutely horrific. The kangaroo court that Ms. Rochelle subjected me to gave me no opportunity to present a defense because the meeting was about false allegations of travel pass abuse, not attendance points. I would like to interject one FACT here: I did not have enough attendance occurrences for termination, so I was wrongfully terminated no matter how you look at it.
At this point I was advised by APFA Boston Base President Amy Milenkovic that the company can do what it wants and that I’ll have to grieve the termination at later date — yes, while I’m unemployed.
I should point out here, Mr. Parker, that your HR Department denied me unemployment benefits, so I was expected to go through the AA/APFA Grievance Process without a single check to pay rent or utilities. The emotional and financial hardship caused by being wrongfully terminated is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. It took 4 months to be granted an appeal for those unemployment benefits, but I won my case because the State of Massachusetts declared I did nothing wrong and certainly didn’t deserve to lose my job, a job that I worked very hard for. To survive those 4 months, I had to liquidate my 401K savings and borrow money from family. Can you imagine how demeaning that was? Thank goodness I have been able to secure full time employment since then.
In the grievance that followed, I met with Joann Matley-Sheehan, the APFA representative for Boston, Wendy Stockton, the Eastern Director of In-Flight Services and Boston Base Manager Elaina Salinas. The meeting was a formality to fulfill the AA/APFA Joint Resolution requirements of the AA/APFA Contract. Long story short, the question of why I was called in for travel pass abuse and fired for attendance was never raised. Instead the discussion was about whether or not there were enough “points” to terminate me or not. I had 8 points which falls below the 9 point limit, and of those 8 points 6 were covered by doctors notes related to the Twin Hill uniform reactions. As Ms. Rochelle’s Performance Notes will attest, the Twin Hill uniform played an important role in my employment with American, and that claim is supported by the 4,926 flight attendants who’ve filed uniform reaction claims with APFA since the uniform’s inception. (Attached are Ms. Rochelle’s notes)
Now if I may talk a little about the absenteeism that Stacey Rochelle terminated me for, let me firmly state for the record that all but two points were associated with the Twill Hill uniform that American is now prematurely replacing because of thousands of complaints and three pending lawsuits alleging that American and Twin Hill were well aware of the toxicity problem and chose to roll out the uniforms anyway. I was plagued with multiple illnesses ranging from mild to severe contact dermatitis, unmanageable fatigue, migraines and the onset of other symptoms from Hyperthyroidism. The seriousness of these illnesses progressed into September 2016 when I was taken to the Emergency Room. I was unable to work for many weeks after that and visited several doctors and specialists for tests and evaluations. During the course of those months (October 2016 – February 2017) I filed multiple Injury on Duty (IOD) reports because of skin reactions occurring while wearing the Twin Hill uniform. Other reactions were assumed to be linked to the Twin Hill uniform as well since thousands of fellow colleagues were suffering similar illnesses while wearing or being in the proximity of the Twin Hill uniform. Attached is an article about the “toxicity” issue from 12/19/18: “American Airlines hit with amended lawsuit over uniforms” — Chicago Business Journal.
Prior to becoming a named plaintiff in one of the three pending lawsuits regarding the Twin Hill uniform, I took the liberty of contacting your Vice-President of Flight Service, Jill Surdek, informing her of my health issues associated with the uniform and the 6 Injury-on-Duty claims I filed with the company in an effort to maintain proper attendance. I told Ms. Surdek about the “numerous doctor and emergency room visits, thousands in medical fees and 8 weeks of missed work” to which she never replied. Instead I received a phone call from Stacy Rochelle, whereby I was reprimanded for going outside the flight service chain of command and told that I should refrain from doing so in the future. All I asked Ms. Surdek for was her consideration in “an approval for reimbursement for a new set of tops and bottoms, additionally adding on reimbursements for 2 sweaters and a coat” for myself and those affected by the Twin Hill uniform so that we’d have something to wear in the dead of winter in New England. I’m not sure if you’ve visited the Boston base in January, but it’s quite cold without a winter uniform jacket. (I have attached the notes from my Flight Service Manager, Stacey Rochelle, documenting that call.)
In closure, Mr. Parker, I would like you to reinstate my employment with American, reimburse me with back pay plus interest, and reasonably compensate me for stress, humiliation and the indignity of being wrongfully terminated. I shouldn’t have lost my job because of the toxicity of the Twin Hill uniform, and I should not have been terminated without being given due process. I want the results of the investigation that accused me of misusing my employee travel passes, and I want my A7 passes returned and extended so I can use them as they were intended for a week’s vacation with my mother in Paris. As the CEO of this airline, you have the authority to straighten out this mess with one simple phone call to HR.
I await your reply.
Respectfully,
Deanna Jones
BOS 818864
518-888-XXXX
Toxic Termination 