NOT OK

Ohio General Motors Plant Tolerated ‘Racial Hate and Bullying’: Lawsuit

Black supervisors were allegedly subjected to racist taunts for over a year, and eventually found nooses hanging.

Eight workers have filed a lawsuit against General Motors alleging that managers at the Toledo, Ohio, Powertrain plant did little to nothing to stop an “underlying atmosphere of violent racial hate and bullying,” according to the lawsuit. Two of the workers, both supervisors, said they were forced to treat their workplace like a “battlefield” in order to compensate for the lack of support they received from upper management after repeatedly reporting insubordination, racist remarks, and threats of violence. Fourteen months after starting as a supervisor, Marcus Boyd says he found a noose hanging in the area where he worked. As the only black employee in that space on his shift, he believed it was meant to intimidate him. In total, five nooses were found and all reported to GM to little avail, according to the lawsuit. GM has rejected the allegations, stating that “we treat any reported incident with sensitivity and urgency, and are committed to providing an environment that is safe, open and inclusive.” Lawyers for the men suing GM say there continue to be racist remarks at the plant to this day, which they plan to include in the lawsuit.

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