Sunwing pilot fired over fried chicken and watermelon order sent to Black supervisor

An arbitrator has upheld the dismissal of a former Sunwing pilot who sent an order of fried chicken and watermelon to his Black supervisor. Photo by Joseph Gibbons /joe gibbons

Article content

A Sunwing Airlines pilot fired for sending an email to a Black supervisor that “played on racist and discriminatory tropes directed at Black people” has failed to win his job back.

Article content

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) grieved Darren Acri’s February 2025 termination from Sunwing, which has been acquired by WestJet.

Article content

Article content

“Can I get a large bucket of fried chicken, with slices of watermelon and a six pack of non-alcoholic Bud light beer for me and my friends?” was Acri’s emailed food order during an April 8, 2024, layover in Fredericton, N.B.

Article content

Article content

Michael Simmons, who was Sunwing’s director of line operations at the time, was copied on Acri’s email, sent just after 1 a.m.

Article content

Article content

“Sunwing argues that this email was directed at a wide group of Sunwing employees and managers including Mr. Simmons who is the grievor’s direct supervisor and a Black man,” Jesse Nyman, a labour arbitrator, wrote in his recent decision.

Article content

“Sunwing argues that racist and discriminatory behaviour is serious misconduct.”

Article content

Acri was removed from service with pay pending an investigation.

Article content

The pilot wrote to the airline’s human resources department in May 2024, saying he “was unaware of the ‘stigma’ associated with the meal request,” and that it wasn’t his intention to insult or harass Simmons.

Article content

The pilot apologized for what he termed a misunderstanding.

Article content

“My interests that night were to access the local amenities and restaurants as detailed in our collective agreement. Nothing more, nothing less. The local grocery for beer and watermelon and Mary Brown’s for a bucket of chicken.”

Article content

After Sunwing received an investigation report on the matter in January 2025, Acri was “placed on a suspension pending discharge,” said the arbitrator’s May 21 decision.

Article content

Article content

“The investigation revealed that there was no dispute as to the events of the night or the email and the sole factual issue in dispute was whether (flight crew member) Acri had made this food request because this is what he truly wanted to eat,” Nyman said.

Article content

Article content

The arbitrator concluded “that on a balance of probabilities it was not a legitimate food order.”

Article content

The food order in question came five hours after the pilot “first reached out seeking approval for transportation to a restaurant,” Nyman said.

Article content

After transportation was denied, Acri took two hours to choose his food delivery preference, said the arbitrator.

Article content

“It is difficult to accept that after complaining about a lack of transportation to restaurants for two-and-a-half hours, the grievor decided five hours later that all he really wanted was to pop into Mary Browns and a grocery store.”

Article content

According to the arbitrator, “the only reasonable conclusion on the evidence before me is that on a balance of probabilities the grievor was not making a legitimate food order when he sent his email.”

Article content

The “only other explanation offered,” Nyman said, “is that the grievor intentionally sent an email that played on racist tropes and I find that is what the grievor did.”