Black workers sue General Mills over alleged racial discrimination at a Georgia plant
Source: NPR
June 7, 2024 5:00 AM ET
Cereal giant General Mills is facing a federal lawsuit filed by several of its Black employees who claim that one of the company’s plants in Georgia has “embraced a racially hostile work environment” controlled by “white supremacists.”
In a 60-page federal lawsuitfiled earlier this month, the plaintiffs allege that the managers at the Covington, Ga., plant favor white employees for promotions over its Black employees — as they allege that more disciplinary actions were issued toward Black employees. In addition, the plaintiffs allege that the plant is run by a group of “male white supremacists operating in management and HR,” as they claim the teams formed a group called the “Good Ole Boys,” according to the lawsuit.
“The ‘Good Ole Boys’ believe that history and symbols that have been co-opted or misappropriated by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist hate groups are useful to keep Black people ‘in their place’ and discourage Black people from speaking or taking action against the disparate treatment of Black employees at the Covington facility,” the lawsuit reads.
The plaintiffs say that since the plant opened in 1988, several systems have been in place that have benefited the white employees more than the Black employees — as they argue the incidents listed in the lawsuit span the course of over two decades. In one incident, the employees allege a mural was displayed in the factory from 2005 to 2021 as a memorial for Confederate leaders, featuring mascots from General Mills brands — such as the Cocoa Puffs cuckoo bird portraying Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, and Chef Wendell from the Cinnamon Toast Crunch brand as Robert E. Lee, according to the lawsuit.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2024/06/07/nx-s1-4995429/black-workers-sue-general-mills-racial-discrimination
Link to SUIT (PDF viewer) - https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24736766-general-mills-lawsuit?responsive=1&title=1
Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24736766/general-mills-lawsuit.pdf
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