(WWJ) - Six former employees filed a federal lawsuit against a Michigan electrical contracting company on Thursday, alleging "explosive" racist treatment of workers of color from company employees and management.
The ex-employees claim United Electrical Contractors invited a racist environment where the company's minorities were routinely called racial slurs, like the N-word and "wetback." Offensive phrases such as "hurry up before I pull out my whip" and "go back to your plantation" were also used by company foremen, the former employees said.
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"In today's civil rights litigation, it's rare to hear of the near-daily use of the worst racial epithets and other harassment, being hurled equally by supervision and hourly workout force," the plaintiffs' attorney, Richard Mack of Miller Cohen, said on Thursday during a press conference in Detroit.
"Coupled with the stark discrimination they experienced, the story of these plaintiffs reads like a Jim-Crow-era novel. Yet for them, it's not a story they can end by closing the book."
The six ex-employees told similar tales in their own statements, where they claim they were denied the same treatment, training opportunities and compensation that was given to their white coworkers -- they also said most of them were illegally fired from their jobs.
One former employee, Gabriel Tavera, said white employees received preferential treatment and he was subjected to many racially-charged comments.
Tavera is Mexican-American.
"White employees constantly harassed me personally on the basis of my national origin, calling me 'Brown Boy,' asking me if I was Mexican or a N-word, telling me to go back to Mexico," Tavera said.
Tavera claims his was also called "beaner," "spic," and "wetback," and his foreman only laughed when brought the issue up to management.
Two black ex-employees, Eric Burch and Marius Richardson, said in their statements that they were regularly called the N-word.
Burch claims his former foreman even asked if he was "Arab, Muslim, or a towelhead" and removed him from his job site when Burch made a complaint -- Burch was later fired.
Richardson said his white coworkers routinely hurled racism slurs at him and he was denied the opportunity for performance reviews and raises, which he said the white employees hired the same time as him had received.
One white employee, Jordan Shank, claimed he was discriminated against due to a work-related injury.
"Shorty after I returned to work, I was demoted on the basis of my known disability from my position as a foreman," Shank said.
Shank also saw his white coworkers receiving preferential treatment.
"Only white employees were sent to prevailing wage jobs, which paid more than other jobs," Shank said.
When he tried to report the racism he had witnessed, he was forced by his foreman to dig trenches by hand, while others used machine equipment.
Shank's employment at the company was later terminated by his project manager.
Mack vowed to fight for justice and said that not only did the former employees lose their source of income, but they all now face the emotional effects of their racist experiences at UCE.
UCE employs an estimated 125 people and provides electrical work for municipal and high profile private development projects across Michigan.
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