The four women who filed complaints of sexual harassment against Freightliner’s
Cleveland plant at the end of June say it went way beyond innuendo or an occasional cuss
word. One of the four women
claims when she came back to work after breast surgery, male workers made jokes about the
size of her breasts and how long it had been since she could see her toes.
Another alleges a male worker
would lick his finger, stick it in her ear and ask if she wanted “a wet Willie.”
In the claims they presented to
the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the women said male workers routinely
“humped” each other, pantomiming homosexual acts; spoke to them and in front of
them in foul language including g— d—-, m——- f——-, s.o.b.;
talked about having oral sex with women; and sometimes patted their breasts and backsides.
One woman claims a worker kissed
her on the mouth, and her supervisor, who was standing nearby at the time, said, “I
didn’t see nothing.” She also claims male workers asked her if she “had
incest” with her son, who works at the plant.
The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission sued Freightliner in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, asking for
“appropriate relief” for Sandra Arrowood, Sherry Parks, Linda Moose, April
Schultze and “other similarly situated” women who worked at the plant. With more
than 3,600 employees, the Cleveland plant is Rowan County’s largest employer.
In an initial statement about the
suit, Freightliner spokeswoman Debi Nicholson said the company categorically denied the
allegations. Since then, Nicholson has declined to comment further.
After the Post talked with
Nicholson, Freightliner’s general counsel, Paul Hurd, called a Post reporter twice
but would not speak on the record about the lawsuit.
At the time the complaint was
filed, the women named in the suit were not available for comment. Since then, three of
them, along with their lawyer, Todd Cline, of the Donaldson and Black firm in Greensboro,
have talked to a Post reporter about their allegations. The fourth woman, April Schultz, a
single mother with two children, returned to live with her parents in Illinois.
Except for claiming they’ve
been harassed as Freightliner employees, the three women have little in common. They work
different jobs for differing pay. They range in age from early 30s to late 50s. They
represent different races, live in differing family arrangements and go to different
churches.
Sherry Parks, 33, went to work at
Freightliner on July 1, 1996. She claimed the harassment began after she had worked for a
year as an attendant at a tool crib, dispensing supplies.
She said when her supervisor made
cracks about her breasts, she told him, “I am a child of God. You can’t talk to
me like that.”
The supervisor responded,
“I’m not a damn Christian.”And indicating the Bible she kept in the crib,
he told her, “Get out of the g— d——- Bible,”Parks said.
Then on Oct. 1, 1997, she claims,
a worker asked, “What the hell you have on, smelling so good?” Parks claims she
responded, “Soap and water, why?” and the worker said, “That’s not
soap and water, that’s come-and-f—- me water.”
That night, Parks said, she
decided she couldn’t stand any more and called Arrowood, who said similar things had
happened to her and gave her Cline’s name. Arrowood had already talked to the lawyer.
Parks said she has been so upset
she went on medical leave, consulted a psychologist and took Serzone, Zanax and anxiety
prescriptions without getting relief.
To tell her story, Parks wrote an
essay she gave to the Postin which she said, “People, let me say this, just because
you are granted with $11.47 per hour, a week doesn’t mean you can’t feel
worthless.”
Parks said she has a number of
family members working for Freightliner. In her essay, she wrote, “I miss talking to
them a lot now. Since this happened, I’ve lost them all because they did not want me
to report any of this I was going through. But I went against their will and followed GODS
will.”
Parks’ husband, Kevin, also
works at Freightliner. She said he has been supportive. They have four children, ages 21,
17, 7 and 3.
According to Parks, her
psychologist told her not to go back to work at Freightliner’s Cleveland plant. She
thought maybe she could transfer to Freightliner’s Florida or Mount Holly plants, but
she said the company told her: Work at Cleveland or not at all. She said Freightliner
terminated her when she would not return to the Cleveland plant. She has been out of work
for two years and unable to find another job because of the Freightliner issue on her
record, she said.
Parks said she has given up
prescription drugs and sessions with a psychologist and turned to God and her Bible for
help. “The word of God is healing me. That’s my medicine,” she wrote.
Federal officials say they tried
to negotiate with the company about addressing the women’s complaints. The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission detailed many of the allegations, Freightliner’s
responses and the federal agency’s “determination” in a large finding of
fact.
For example, when Parks complained
about the “come and f—- me water” episode, federal officials questioned
Freightliner about the incident. The company investigated. According to a determination
issued by Marsha Drane, director of the Charlotte District office of the U.S. Equal
Opportunity Commission, “Evidence reveals that the harasser was suspended for one day
and issued a final warning.”
The following week, the
determination says, Freightliner “required all group leaders, supervisors, managers
and exempt employees to attend a training presentation on the meaning and intent of EEOC
policies.”
But according to the
determination, after the meeting Parks reported another sexually repugnant remark was
directed at her, which demonstrated that the Freightliner response didn’t change the
objectionable behavior.
After efforts at conciliation
failed, at the end of June the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the class
action suit. Freightliner has until Sept. 3 to answer the complaint. If the case goes to
court it probably won’t be until spring in the year 2000, but the four women who
complained say the lawsuit affects their lives every day.
Linda Moose, 55, has worked at
Freightliner since March 26, 1990. She was the 50th person hired. She’s worked in the
electrical department building truck dashes and now her job involves mixing paint. She is
the only woman working with 17 men in this position. Although Parks and Arrowood told
their stories hesitantly, frequently asking a reporter to omit explicit details, Moose
said, “I’ll tell it like it is. I’m tired of it.”
Moose is a single mother. Her
daughter also works at Freightliner and has felt pressure at work since Moose came forward
with the harassment complaints, Moose said. She said registering complaints at work
doesn’t help because “they don’t do nothing about it.”
She says a co-worker once, without
warning, kissed her on the mouth as a supervisor watched and did nothing. In Equal
Employment documents, Moose also complained that a co-worker slapped her on the posterior
and pulled down the straps on her overalls.
Sandy Arrowood, 47, also has kept
her job at Freightliner. Since filing her complaint, she has moved from first to second
shift and works in the main plant rather than in a tool crib. She said she was determined
not to be run off because men didn’t want her there. Other women have also been
harassed, she said, but have not come forward because “women do not know their rights
and they are afraid.”
Arrowood has been at the plant 51
She has three children, ages 24,
20 and 19. One of Arrowood’s sons worked at Freightliner for a while then moved on.
She said he had problems with co-workers after she filed her complaints.
Arrowood is a Lutheran. Like
Parks, she says she has been offended both by sexually explicit remarks and profanity, as
well as by physical contact. She said g—d—-, s.o.b.,
m——-f——- and hell are a regular part of language around her.
When she was outside the tool crib
entering data into a computer terminal, she said a worker would come behind her, lick his
finger and put it in her ear, asking if she wanted a “wet Willie.”
Other incidents Arrowood reported
include a supervisor saying to her, “I would not p—- up your a— if your
guts were on fire.” Another time she alleges the supervisor asked if she had incest
with her 22-year-old son, also a Freightliner employee.
Arrowood said this has been an
emotionally difficult time for her. An appendix to her interview with an Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission representative in the Charlotte office notes five different
medications she has taken “as result of sexual harassment anxiety.”
She claimed the incidents took
place from November 1995 until October 1997. According to the Equal Employment Commission
determination, supervisors saw some activities but took no action.
After Arrowood complained to the
department manager and the human resources manager, the company told supervisors and group
leaders to monitor and control “horseplay” and take appropriate disciplinary
action if the behavior continued.
According to the determination,
Freightliner posted a policy about harassment and put a letter from the plant manager to
each employee in their paychecks in January 1998.
Freightliner posted the following
notice in the plant:
Announcement
1-12-98
Today, January 12, Tuesday the
13th and Wednesday the 14th, four Freightliner employees from the Corporate Personnel
Operations Group in Portland will be on-site conducting interviews with randomly selected
female employees. The interviews have been scheduled to take place during the course of
their shift.
This sampling is to confirm our
compliance with equal employment opportunity laws.
If you are selected to be
interviewed, we encourage you to participate and candidly share any information you have
with the interviewers.
All women are invited to
participate.
If you were not selected but want
to be interviewed, please contact Russ Miller at extension 5252 or any member of the Human
Resources department.
Personnel from the corporate
office interviewed many female employees on site.
The determination by the Equal
Employment Commission says “sarcastic remarks, profanity and sexual innuendo have
continued” showing the Freightliner actions have not been effective.
New federal guidelines on
harassment liability published in 1999 say employers may be legally responsible for the
sexual misconduct of supervisors even if they knew nothing about the behavior.
Parks’ and Arrowood’s
complaints also allege they are being paid less than a man doing the same job and that the
on-going profanity is offensive to their religious beliefs. The EEOC determination
supported the charges of sexual harassment but said, “The evidence is insufficient to
support finding of religious discrimination or a violation of the Equal Pay Act.”
Moose’s claim alleges she has
been threatened for reporting harassment by supervisors and group leaders. The Equal
Employment determination supported charges of sexual harassment but said, “The
evidence is insufficient to support a finding of retaliation.”
April Schultze, who has since
moved to Illinois, said she was sexually harassed by her group leader and transferred
after complaining about it. She said she was assigned to a more difficult job.
Freightliner claimed the change was for business reasons. The Equal Employment Commission
determination said “harassment occurred, creating a hostile work environment.”
In her July 12 statement about the
charges against Freightliner, spokeswoman Debi Nicholson said, “Freightliner
Corporation has very specific policies that protect the rights of employees in the work
place. These policies, which strictly prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind,
have been effectively communicated to employees at all locations. Employees are also aware
of the company’s internal process to promptly investigate and take appropriate
remedial action to resolve any complaints.”
Freightliner employs about 8,000
workers in North Carolina at its plants in Cleveland, Mount Holly, Gastonia and High
Point.
Nicholson said this is the first
time the company has been charged with a harassment lawsuit in more than 20 years of doing
business in North Carolina.
According to Equal Employment
literature, between 1992 and 1998, 577,223 charges of discrimination were filed with the
federal agency. Of the 101,470 cases resolved by the commission in 1998, it found in favor
of the employee in only 12,558 — or 12.4 percent — of the cases. In the majority
of the remaining claims, the federal agency dismissed the charges as unmerited. |
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