HOUSTON — Rev. Peter Johnson and civil rights activist Sara Kane joined hundreds of African American workers and local residents Monday in a rally against a company they say is doing nothing to prevent racial harassment of minority workers.
The protest was held in front of the Mickey Leland Federal Office Building on 1919 Smith Street around 11:30 a.m.
Protesters urged for a federal investigation of Turner Industries in Houston, claiming there are nooses and rebel flags hung up at the factory. They feel this is a violation of their civil rights.
Turner, a 1.6 billion dollar company that services the oil industry, has had issues in the past related to civil rights in other cities.
Original Press : https://www.khou.com/home/Hundreds-rally-against-local-oil-company-accused-of-racial-discrimination-114949164.html
Paris factory employees file federal racial discrimination, harassment complaint
PARIS, TX ― Another Turner Industries employee has come forward claiming he too is a victim of racial discrimination and harassment. Some African American employees of the Paris plant say they have complained to their supervisors about unfair treatment and threats. Now they are taking their complaints to the federal government. Rita Kotey has more.
Continue readingEric M. – Dallas, Texas
“Racism is a process of evil and ignorance. I began my fight against institutional racism in 2005 when I started working for Allied Aviation in Dallas, Texas. Coming from professional football where color took a backseat to teamwork, I was devastated to see that in this modern age managers and co-workers could not see past the color of skin. I, along with numerous other African-American and Hispanic co-workers, were subjected to constant racial threats, symbols and epithets which left permanent scars that can be forgiven, but not forgotten. The environment was so bad we had no choice but to fight back for our own health and sanity. To me, if you do not stand for SOMETHING, you’ll truly fall for anything.
We could not fight this fight alone, however. We called upon James Vagnini and his firm in New York to lead this fight. Without Valli Kane & Vagnini’s determination and know-how, we would not have made it through. After VKV’s relentless fight, we convinced the Federal Government to join in our fight against Allied and we were ultimately vindicated when the company not only compensated us for the harm they caused, but they were forced to commit to companywide changes and measures that would protect their minority employees well into the future.
In the darkest times at Allied, we learned that knowledge is power and the attorneys at VKV had plenty of it. I am extremely thankful for the attorneys and their tireless effort to see us through this time.”
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