US crane company hit with lawsuit over accusations of racial discrimination
Back in August, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Fort Worth’s TNT Crane & Rigging over accusations of race discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. According to the federal agency, four Black employees, identified by the Atlanta Black Star as Edwin Crayton, Lorenzo Smith, Freddie Campbell and Jason Pradia, were subjected to slurs such as the N-word and hate symbols like nooses and lightning bolt stickers.
Smith, a crane operator, reported an incident in April 2018 when a field manager ordered him to retrieve an air conditioning unit from their Fort Worth facility. “N**ger, if you are going to b**ch about it, you can turn that truck around and take your a** home,” the manager is quoted as saying to Smith when additional assistance was requested. Meanwhile, Campbell, a truck driver, learned that his colleagues gave him the nickname “Black Daddy.” Rigger Pradia revealed that a white co-worker told him that “a lot of Black people are f**king lazy… You’re different, you’re not like other n**gers.”
In response to making complaints to management, the alleged victims said that members of TNT retaliated by flattening tires and making threats. A white employee identified as Nathan Cook attempted to report the harassment that he witnessed on the job, and was physically assaulted and given labels like a “wigger” and “snitch” as a result.
“The allegations in this case echo the disturbing accounts shared during the EEOC’s recent hearing on discrimination and harassment in the construction industry,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows in a press release. “At a time when job opportunities in construction are rapidly growing thanks to historic federal investments, workers face significant harassment and discrimination that can prevent them from getting and keeping jobs in construction. The EEOC will continue to robustly enforce the law to ensure equal opportunity in the construction industry, and every industry.”
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