ROGER SIMON: ‘Friendly Skies’? Interview With an Unvaccinated Pilot Suing United Airlines.
It began in April 2021 when United began to push the vaccines as a strong recommendation to its personnel. (Note: The word “vaccine” will be used here as a convenience, although I am well aware there is much dispute that they are such.) By May of that year, the company reached an agreement with its pilot union not to mandate the vaccines.
Then, in June of that year, however, United offered their pilots—who made $280 an hour—three vacation days, the equivalent of 10 hours’ pay, to take the shots.
The same month, the company said it would require new hires to provide proof of COVID vaccination.
Then, in August, the company became the first major U.S. airline to mandate vaccination, with employees risking termination by October 2021 if they failed to do so.
[Tom] Floyd contends this may have run afoul of federal aviation regulations that require a “pilot in command” to have a statement from their personal physician that they aren’t taking any drugs that would interfere with pilot operation.
They aren’t even allowed to take NyQuil within a certain number of hours before takeoff.
The problem here is that the RNA vaccines are experimental drugs that were given an Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.
United did give its personnel the option to apply for a religious exemption, which would put them on unpaid leave if granted, although Floyd told me that a great many were turned down. In the case of religious exemptions, he says the company questioned their convictions and went as far as requesting letters from their churches to prove the authenticity of their faith.
According to Pierce’s early draft of the complaint, United CEO Scott Kirby allegedly “sarcastically described employees such as Plaintiffs as ‘all of a sudden deciding ‘I’m really religious’.’”
Floyd, a devout Christian, was denied his exemption and put on “leave without pay.” The action was was tantamount to being fired.
Exit quote: “Floyd pointed out that United’s behavior opens the door for the potential of all kinds of dangerous corporate control over its workers, one example being requiring female employees to get abortions or be terminated. He feels he and the others didn’t have a choice but to file their suit against United and its senior management. It was a moral imperative.”