In the course of investigating union-interference claims that the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) raised in a lawsuit against NetJets, “We discovered that—without the knowledge or approval of NetJets—a team member undertook efforts on his own to blog and Tweet about the pilots’ union activities and positions,” a NetJets spokeswoman told AIN. “This situation, which involved a single manager acting alone, is the only episode of inappropriate conduct we have discovered in this ongoing investigation.”

NJASAP said legal papers sent by NetJets indicate that “a vice president published vicious anti-union content on social media throughout a four-year period.” The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, accuses NetJets of “using social media to conduct a massive unlawful campaign to harass and intimidate pilots.” NJASAP, which represents the approximately 3,000 NetJets pilots, is in protracted contract negotiations with NetJets, as are the unions for the company’s maintenance technicians and flight attendants.

The NetJets spokeswoman confirmed that the employee involved in the anti-union activity, known as “Twinkie the Kid” on Twitter, is no longer with the company. Two other high-ranking NetJets employees—COO Bill Noe and NJI president Adam Johnson—also left the company this week. “Their departures are purely coincidental and have nothing to do with the [anti-]union activity,” the spokeswoman said.