A
United Airlines flight attendant claims in a lawsuit she was harassed and
called a snitch after pointing out safety violations by her colleagues.
Her
claims come at a time when Boeing is facing the wrath of
investigators for allegedly making life difficult for whistleblowers.
Ingrid
Raganova, 52, is based at Newark Liberty International Airport. She
said she has been harassed for turning in colleagues who have broken safety
protocols or violated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules.
“In
addition, none of these reported events were properly investigated by the
defendants (United Airlines), as the parties involved never received any calls
or inquiries from management or human resources,” states the suit.
United
has declined comment.
Raganova
has worked for United for more than 27 years. Retaliatory comments from her
colleagues placed her “unjustifiably close to potential termination,” alleges
the lawsuit. Among her safety violations that she alleged were a coworker who
texted during takeoff, another who watched movies on his cell phone, and still
another who shot a cabin door without first receiving authorization to do so.
All
of these, she said, put the lives of passengers and crew members in danger.
She
also alleges that United punished her for reporting the violations instead of
dealing with the wrongdoers. Raganova also claims she was demoted by United,
resulting in a loss of wages for 18 months, and that she was the victim of an email
sent to nearly 25,000 United employees that included her picture and labeled
her a snitch.
Ironically,
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby just
gave a vote of confidence to Boeing two months ago and believes they have
turned a corner.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
