On his first day of work in 2005 at a beverage warehouse in west suburban Northlake, Germaine Benson said he immediately felt tension between black and Hispanic workers.
But by 2007, conditions had grown much uglier as Hispanic supervisors repeatedly subjected black employees to racial insults such as "donkey," "monkey" and the n-word, said Benson, who is African-American.
This week Benson and six other current or former employees of the Dr Pepper Snapple warehouse filed a federal lawsuit that alleges systematic discrimination took place for more than two years before management took meaningful action.
The seven workers are seeking more than $1 million each in damages. Most of them joined the company in 2007.
In addition to the taunts, the workers allege that racially offensive graffiti was written across their lockers twice this year. The company painted over the hate-filled language on both occasions.
"I felt like it was kind of setting us back 100 years," said Archie Hayes, one of three plaintiffs who said they were fired this year after complaining about the hostile work environment.
Hayes and another plaintiff have since been hired back.
Toward the end of their shifts, Hayes said, the supervisors would often follow the black workers, calling them names and holding wooden sticks meant to stab plastic debris littering the warehouse floor.
Not if anyone knows better, Blacks and Hispanics should know better after all our ancestors have been through.
Well like Don King said "Only in America."
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