OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.–Tinker Federal Credit Union has placed an employee on administrative leave after one of its employees posted “offensive comments” on her personal Facebook page. The comments made were related to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police, which has set off protests across the U.S. and the world and launched new discussions around racism.
The employee’s profile on that Facebook page included noting her employer is Tinker FCU. Screenshots of the employee’s Facebook postings were captured by an unknown individual and her employment at the credit union was flagged by one of the people who saw the post. The post was reportedly shared more than 500 times.
“TFCU Management wants to directly address the elephant in our social media living room. It is no secret that a TFCU employee posted some offensive comments on her personal social media account. The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending an independent outside investigation,” the credit union said in a statement on its Facebook page. “To those who have been patient with us, we say thank you. To those who feel we have been too slow to act, we truly understand your anger, your pain, and your desire for quick action. We ask that you please understand that we must also follow due process and exercise proper diligence. We extend a special thank you to each of you who have talked with us on the phone. Your honesty, insight, and advice are invaluable. We need to hear your stories, and we look forward to an ongoing dialogue.
“We truly believe that diversity, equality and inclusion among our employees and members is our greatest strength,” Tinker FCU continued in its statement. “We are committed to treating every employee and member equally. Your credit union, like our nation, is a work in progress, and we pledge to continue working hard to live up to these ideals.”
Comments Posted
More than 100 comments were made in the thread announcing the employee had been placed on leave. While Tinker FCU noted that some comments in the thread had to be removed because they were not in accordance with the CU’s social media policies, other comments included:
- “The posts she made were clear examples of microaggressive racism in which the intention is implied but never stated. It is childish broken logic that people have gotten away with for far too long but no more. Given her position in the credit union community and the long history of systemic racism in the banking industry she has no place holding the position she does with such hateful ‘opinions’ of those whose haven't shared the same priveleges (sic) she has. Even if we did want to say it wasn't race, she clearly has a lot of hate in her heart and an ill opinion of underprivileged Americans and should probably find work that isn't community facing if that is how she feels. Especially not at a company that supposedly cares so much about it's (sic) members and community.”
- “Social media is never private. If her page was set to private, then someone she knows probably took those screenshots. She's entitled to express her opinions, as long as they don't affect her ability to perform her job without bias.
- “Everyone has an opinion whether they think the other is right or wrong. Everyone is right in their own way. People can't agree to disagree anymore. Damn shame.”
- How are you going to place someone on basically a paid vacation that clearly is using racial hate speech and is representing you?
Tinker Statement on Injustice
Tinker FCU announced the employee had been placed on leave one day after it used its Facebook page to announce “the events of recent weeks have reminded us that injustice in America still exists. Bad behavior, discrimination, and racism have no place in today’s world. Yet, we still see story after story of these very behaviors that remind us that we, as a country and people, still have a very long way to go.
“The leadership of TFCU: the board of directors, the supervisory committee, and management, want to let you know that we find these injustices against one another heartbreaking. As a business, we exist to serve and help all members, no matter who they are or the color of their skin,” the Facebook statement continued. “How can you trust that TFCU lives our values regarding Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion? One only needs to look throughout the credit union at our staff to answer that question. Amongst our nearly 800 employees you will see numbers of individuals representing many races, colors, creeds, life styles, genders and beliefs.”
The statement was signed by Board Chair Sheila Jones and President/CEO Michael Kloiber.