Employees find noose hanging at work
Noose was hanging in area accessible only to white managers, hmmm
NEW YORK (CNN - link) — James Jackson, a 26-year-old black employee of 180 Connect, was preparing for another day of installing cable, telephone and Internet service to residential customers of Cablevision in Nassau County, New York on December 7.
When he walked to the fenced-off area to pick up equipment for the day’s jobs he looked up and was shocked to see a vicious, racist symbol in his workplace. A noose was hanging in the fenced-off equipment area, visible to the dozens of installers, the majority of whom are black, but accessible only to his boss and an equipment manager, both of whom are white.
Jackson, a former messenger who had worked at 180 Connect for a year and a half, immediately confronted the equipment manager, Dave Willie.
“I asked Dave,” Jackson told CNN, ” ‘What is that hanging up there?’ and he said, ‘That is a noose’ and I said, ‘I know it’s a noose, but why is it up there?’ And he walked away.”
Jackson and his co-workers say they were distraught.
“I just wanted to leave. I wanted to get out of there,” 180 Connect employee Ralph Satterwhite told CNN. “I was disgusted.”
The installers say they never complained to Human Resources. Instead, they consulted with a labor attorney, documented the incident, and decided to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Installer Shomari Houston, according to the complaint, says he asked his white boss, Gary Murdock, why a hangman’s noose was in his workplace. He says the response was: To hang two black employees.
“He said, ‘Yo, I like that, it’s cool, I am gonna hang Russell up there. Think we can get James up there?’ ” Houston recalls Murdock saying. “I looked at him like, ‘You serious.’ “
Jackson says he continued to ask that the noose be taken down, and openly recorded the following conversation with Willie.
Jackson: “Who’s that for, the rope?”
Willie: “For anybody who goes past that door that I don’t want them in there.”
Jackson: “Hang ‘em?”
Willie: “Yeah.”
Company says it has no tolerance for racism
After a week of complaints, the noose finally came down. The next day, December 14, the installers went public with their gripe, announcing their plans to file the EEOC discrimination claim.180 Connect says it has zero tolerance for racism.
“It’s inappropriate to put up any sign of violence in the workplace,” said 180 Connect attorney Joel Cohen. “The company is aware that a noose could have racial connotations and could be a very negative symbol to African-American people.
“The company does not tolerate racism in the workplace and if anybody in the company engaged in wrongdoing, that will be dealt with and will be dealt with in a responsible way.”
180 Connect has suspended Willie with pay, pending results of an investigation.
In a statement, Willie told CNN, “I am deeply saddened that a few of my co-workers have chosen to publicly air allegations of racism which they know to be false.”
Willie’s attorney, Richard Gertler, says his client’s comment had no racial intent.
“He was saying it tongue in cheek. It’s taken out of context,” said Gertler.
Timeout here, note for you white folks who happen to be peeping this.
I’m a pretty open guy and I enjoy a good laugh I have a very good and some would say a wicked sense of humor, but when it comes to this shit, this shit ain’t funny, not even a little bit.
Why some of you fucken rednecks wish to continue doing this crazy racist shit, particularly in the workplace is just beyond comprehension.
This unfortunately leads to a more pressing problem.
This is why so many white folks who are in charge of hiring won’t even interview black folks because they will say to themselves “those Negros are just too sensitive, don’t bother hiring them.” This is in addition to all of the other bullshit stereotypes plaguing black folks, particularly black men.
Instead of treating people with respect, I bet there are a lot of rednecks who like the fact that their workplaces are full of white people so they can run their racist jokes without repercussions. BACK TO THE ARTICLE…
Sphere: Related ContentWillie, Gertler stresses, is no racist. “My client’s first marriage for 17 years was to an African-American woman. So I don’t think he’s racist.”
Gary Murdock continues to oversee the warehouse at 180 Connect. Murdock did not return CNN’s phone calls.
180 Connect has retained former National Labor Relations Law Judge Edwin Bennett to conduct an investigation. The installers, however, are refusing to appear before the judge without their attorney, which the company is not permitting, arguing it is not a legal proceeding.
Although the installers don’t work directly for Cablevision, they also named the cable operator in their suit, saying company employees saw the noose and took no action.
Cablevision told CNN, “We are deeply troubled by the allegations about 180 Connect’s workplace. We expect 180 Connect to conduct a thorough and credible investigation, to cooperate with any external investigation, and to take any appropriate actions.”
180 Connect has more than 4,000 employees around the country. Among the cable television companies it provides installation services for is Time Warner Cable, a division of CNN’s parent company, Time Warner. 180 Connect’s operations are almost all in the United States, but the company has its corporate headquarters in Canada and trades on the Toronto stock exchange.
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January 10th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Warning: Idiot Commenting While White.
Everywhere you go, get a bunch of people together, and, chances are, you are going to hear some nasty ass humor that is over the top and would be shocking if the wrong person over heard it. The wrong person varies depending. Some humor is funny BECAUSE it is over the top and on subjects that are taboo. From retard jokes to killing babies. Stuff gets said. People use shock as a casual tool to get a laugh. Happens all the time.
That being said, there’s a shifting line that gets drawn. When this kind of humor goes too far, somebody has to stand up and say “Stop, that’s going too far, asshole.”. Whats too far and when? Who knows. When I’m in the room, its retard jokes. Its nobody’s fault I have a retarded brother, and I just usually let it go. To a point. At that point its my job to say “You know what? Thats enough. It’s not funny any more.” My knuckles are scarred from a time or two when that didn’t work back in the day before I had honed my acute diplomatic skill set.
In a place where there’s a group of people working together for a while something deeper happens. A kind of oneupmanship sends this whole thing out of proportion. Among friends - and no matter what, long term blue collar co-work is a kind of friendship, regardless of what it says in the company handbook - the interplay will produce the most outlandish shit that one human being can say to the other. And thats the point. There’s warmth and affection in that bigotry and hate. That’s not my opinion, that just the way things are and always have been and always will be. People fuck with each other for fun.When someone new comes into the mix things usually simmer down, but not always. I personally have seen this where some riff thats been played around the shop forever all the sudden gets everybody in trouble. Chicks in the shop certainly have this effect. (Ok, lighten up. That means you.)
I’m not saying anything you don’t already know, just laying the groundwork for my point which is this.
Every man - black, white or whoever - that worked for this company, saw the noose, and didn’t go up to Willie and say, man to man, “Look Willie, that shit is over the top. It’s not funny. Take it down.” is a fucking pussy. Giving the dude a look like are you serious doesn’t count. Willie and his dumbass cohort will probably lose their chickenshit 15.00/hr jobs. Good. But the rest of them have announced to the world that they are not men at all. Fuck them. Every one of them. “Look at me. I’m a victim.”. You know what? Kiss my ass.
What I’m saying - and why I’m so pissed about it - is that litigation has its place. When it’s abused over stupid shit like this it loses credibility, and companies get gun shy over hiring high risk demographics. Maybe it’s easier to get a job if you’re white and male because of some racist issues, but it’s more and more likely because most white men would get laughed out of court for bringing a harassment suit of any type, thus being low risk.
Regarding hiring, I know what you say to be true. I haven’t ever worked for a big company, but I’ve sat in meetings in small businesses where this kind of shit was actually said. Couched, mind you, for the sake of the minutes, but you are right. Companies are scared to hire black people, especially black women because one idiot making some idiot remark resulting in one lawsuit could put the small companies I’ve worked for out of business. Call it racism or call it scared shitless. Doesn’t change the outcome.
Where legitimate grievances theoretically challenge the system to nudge it when needed, the reality is that the abuse has become part of the system, and, I believe, has only made things worse.
Am I making this shit up? OK, if I am, then I might as well add this. The problem is more complex than the simple idea (that seems to get ‘exposed’ over and over again like some kind of goddamn revelation) that white people are racist. I don’t care who you are. Everybody’s guilty of some racist stupidity from time to time. Some get more press than others but it happens everyday in situations large and small.
Don’t stop me now. You want to know what my favorite racist Phrase is? White Guilt. To me, that phrase defines black-white relations in this country. Nobody wins. Whites that feel guilt are assuming superiority over ‘the poor black people’, and blacks that accuse assume that anybody that is white experiences some inherited privilege with direct lineage to 19th century slave owners. Both viewpoints are saturated with racism.
Ok, right or wrong, here’s the news. This country was, like the pyramids, built on the backs of slaves. This is a reality, and a shared national disgrace. If you (inclusive) are an American, and did not personally serve as a slave, then you are just as guilty as I am, I don’t care what color you are, or what country your ancestors came from.
The national disgrace we share responsibility for today is not that race relations in our country are so poor, it’s that we have to use the term ‘race relations’ so often at all. If you (inclusive) are an American and are not embarrassed about this, then you are not paying attention. I’m too much of a realist to think things will get better, but if there’s any time we need to pull together as a nation, it’s now.
Else the rag heads are gonna take over.
January 10th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
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