Deckhand Fired for "Acting Too Gay"

A former deckhand for the Alcatraz ferry operated by Hornblower Cruises in San Francisco alleges that he was fired last year for “acting too gay.” Local groups organized a rally Monday on behalf of Vincent Atos, who was also a union organizer.

According to SF Weekly, Atos was thrown overboard because he was gay, a union organizer, or both.

“What it was alleged Vincent did was make inappropriate sexual comments in the workplace of a gay nature,” David Waggoner, a lawyer and co-president of the Harvey Milk LGBT Club, told SF Weekly. “But many of his co-workers routinely made comments of a sexual nature that were heterosexual. One of his managers even viewed porn in the workplace. So this highly sexualized workplace was the norm.... He was fired essentially because he was a gay union organizer.”

An attorney for Hornblower did not respond to requests for comment from SF Weekly.

Atos, who worked for Hornblower from September 2006 to last November, has filed a complaint with the city’s Human Rights Commission.