Panera Doesn't Want 'Black, Fat or Ugly' People at the Register

corinnajune:

Guy Vines Sues Panera Bread for Racial Discrimination, Saying Co. Doesn’t Want “Black, Fat or Ugly People at Register”

Panera Bread is getting some negative public relations after a black former employee, Guy Vines, filed a lawsuit against the company alleging the company doesn’t want black employees in positions where they interact with the public. Sam Corde, the attorney for Guy Vines, says “African Americans were routinely assigned to jobs either in the back of the store washing dishes or doing food preparation so customers would not see them.” Panera Bread has another problem. The allegations in Guy Vines’ lawsuit is echoed by a white manager Scott Donatelli, who sued the suburban Pittsburgh store last year, claims he was fired for defending Guy Vines.

The company contends that it frowns upon discrimination and Guy Vines walked off the job last year after he was disciplined for violating company dress code, and health and safety polices, NBC Philadelphia reports.

The lawsuit alleges that the company’s top managers dictated that “people who are `Black, Fat, and/or ugly’ should never be permitted to work the cash registers.”

The lawsuit contends Vines, of Castle Shannon, would be moved to the back of the store whenever owner Sam Covelli was at the Mount Lebanon location where Vines worked from November 2009 until he quit in August 2011, or whenever local or district managers expected a visit from Covelli. Both lawsuits contend a district manager reprimanded Donatelli and told him Covelli would “(expletive) if he got a look at ‘that’” – meaning Vines working anywhere customers could see him.

Source: NBC Philadelphia

I don’t quite know what to make of this hot mess, but I’ll reserve judgment until the lawsuit is resolved. Makes you wonder about the establishments you patronize and how they really treat their employees.

You wonder how they treat their employees? Usually like absolute crap. I really should have recorded what went on at the place I worked at for seven years. Discrimination, harassment, intimidation, general mistreament. If I had recorded the things we were told at the MANDATORY hours long unpaid meetings we had to attend, you would be shocked. The managers threatened the employees with all kinds of illegal actions, then literally laughed in our faces and told us there was nothing we could do about it. All this was fine for the people who were just working for extra spending money (they could just quit), but for those of us who needed to work to survive, we were pretty much screwed. 

Honestly, it wasn’t so hostile the entire seven years (although there were always some problematic things going on), but in my last couple of years there was a particular general manager who took over, and he was basically an egomaniacal asshole. 

As for the article, it sounds like this owner is also an egomaniacal asshole. A racist, judgmental, body shaming egomaniacal asshole. Also notice that it’s implied that this man’s lawsuit is given more legitimacy because a white man is backing him up. I am too tired to rant about that right now, so I will just leave this with an ugh.

The Leadership Blog: "No Niggers Please" Sparks a Revolution at MSU

theleadershipblog:

Hello! 

I am blogging you to inform you, if you have not been informed already, about the several racial incidents that have occurred on campus during this past week. 

1) On Wednesday of last week,  The phrase “No Niggers Please! :)” was written on the outside of a black girl’s dorm room door erase board. The girl, who was extremely in shock, was moved across campus within a hour by the Hall director. 

2) A few days later, a black doll was found in the Bio-medical Science Building hung by a homemade noose, made out of green Mardi Gras beads. 

Several other racial slurs and terms have been vandalized on walls in several residence halls during this week and according to students the faculty in the buildings wash the slurs away and refuse to do anything about it. 

A week after the first incident, today, the President of Michigan State University sent a campus wide email generally informing all students about the racial incidents that have been occurring. She then proceeds to say that she supports the first amendment right even though it may offend most people. The email showcased no compassion or remorse towards any of the students that were attacked. 

Tonight, the Black Student Alliance, held an Emergency Town Hall meeting entitled “Stop Racism”. Hundreds of students of all different races, though mainly black, came together to discuss the incidents that were going on campus, share testimonies and experiences with racism on campus, and lift their voices to hopefully spark a revolution; and yes a spark was created. 

The energy within the meeting was historic. I just want to share one quote with you by the opening speaker: 

“If action is not taken then we will shake this campus to its core with our voices.”

All Multi-Racial groups on campus are saying “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” and I’m happy to say that a Revolution is approaching.

U.S. Charges Bass Pro Shops With Racial Bias

deniscollins:

If you were an HR executive, what would you do if an assistant store manager turned down a highly qualified black job applicant because he didn’t fit the company’s profile?

Bass Pro Shops have developed a devoted following by packing cavernous stores full of rods and reels, camping and hunting gear, camouflage clothing and animal trophy-heads.

Behind the scenes, the retailer discriminates in hiring, the government said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Among the allegations: Bass Pro managers repeatedly refused to hire non-white workers as clerks, cashiers or managers, and used discriminatory language to explain their reasoning, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed its suit in federal district court in Houston.

For instance, the government alleged a Bass Pro human-resources executive told federal investigators that the assistant manager of a store in Louisiana rejected a qualified black candidate, saying “he really didn’t fit the company profile.” When pressed, the store manager used a racial slur to say that the stores don’t hire blacks, according to the complaint.

“This investigation and the EEOC’s conduct demonstrate a troubling tendency by the EEOC to stereotype those who love outdoor sports and support conservation as people who unlawfully discriminate or oppose equal opportunity for all,” said Mike Rowland, vice president of human resources at Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC, which is based in Springfield, Mo. The closely held company operates 55 Bass Pro Shops around the country.

The EEOC said the lawsuit relies in part on confidential reports that companies are required to file that give the gender and racial makeup of their work forces; the agency said it couldn’t release that information.

The agency said the lawsuit also is based on interviews with human-resource workers and store managers who say they were directed by company executives not to hire certain kinds of people. The lawsuit claims, for example, that a manager in Houston told a human-resources manager that “it was getting a little dark in here you need to hire some white people.”

The lawsuit contends the company also retaliated against workers who complained and destroyed documents related to its hiring practices.

zmizet: I don’t think you guys understand how deeply this goes. Shel Silverstein was my hero. Particularly because he got me into poetry, into reading in general. To see that he would actually write this…it breaks my fucking heart because another childhood hero has been destroyed. Of course, the poem I know is the “Googies Are Coming” - changed due to controversy.  I can’t really find words right now, but I’ll get back to you…. We live in a white supremacist society. No one is exempt from being effected by it. I hate when this happens though.
View Separately

zmizet:

I don’t think you guys understand how deeply this goes.

Shel Silverstein was my hero. Particularly because he got me into poetry, into reading in general. To see that he would actually write this…it breaks my fucking heart because another childhood hero has been destroyed. Of course, the poem I know is the “Googies Are Coming” - changed due to controversy. 

I can’t really find words right now, but I’ll get back to you….

We live in a white supremacist society. No one is exempt from being effected by it. I hate when this happens though.

I don’t think white people, generally, understand the full meaning of racist discriminatory behaviors directed toward Americans of African descent. They seem to see each act of discrimination or any act of violence as an “isolated” event. As a result, most white Americans cannot understand the strong reaction manifested by blacks when such events occur. They feel that blacks tend to “over-react.” They forget that in most cases, we live lives of quiet desperation generated by a litany of daily large and small events that whether or not by design, remind us of our “place” in American society.
The Continuing Significance of Race by Joe R. Feagin (via newwavefeminism)

Top