Company-employee disputes are not like they used to be - if the latest spat between British Airways and a union representing cabin crews are anything to go by.
The long-running face-off between BA and Unite has gone from being ugly to downright vitriolic as Twitter accounts are launched to spread their message through social media.
Unite has already created a video for YouTube outlining its position against the company, but the use of Twitter marks an new approach and is aimed at building support from the flying public.
The airline is battling cabin crew over changes to working conditions, pay and job cuts, but its ill-fated and hugely unpopular strike action planned for the Christmas period in 2009 is widely believed to have damaged its campaign.
A Twitter account [@amicuscabincrew] launched late last year charted events and procedures for members leading up to the first strike ballot and into 2009.
The second account, under the name @unitebaupdates is far more opinion-led and tracks mentions in the mainstream media as well as using services such as Twitpic to poke fun at BA.
Neither account has thousands of followers but posts are presumably being created to appear in live search results within Google and Bing and on Twitter Search for British Airways/BA.
This week the union balloted members over strike plans for March 2009 after promising not to disrupt the Easter Holiday period.