Ray v. Weyerhaeuser
| Decision Date | 19 August 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-6130.,97-6130. |
| Citation | 17 F.Supp.2d 867 |
| Parties | Barbara RAY, Plaintiff, v. WEYERHAEUSER, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Arkansas |
Regina Haralson, Philip E. Kaplan, Kaplan, Brewer & Maxey, P.A., Little Rock, AR, for Plaintiff.
Kathlyn Graves, John G. Lile, Don S. McKinney, Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, Little Rock, AR, for Defendant.
This case is before the court on defendant's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff, Barbara Ray (Ray), filed this sex discrimination action against her former employer, Weyerhaeuser, under the provisions of Title VII on August 8, 1997. Ray also asserts a supplemental state law claim under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act. Trial is currently set for the week of February 8, 1999.
Background.
Ray had two different periods of employment with Weyerhaeuser at its Mountain Pine plywood mill. First, she worked for defendant in a variety of positions in the general labor pool from 1977 to some point in 1982 when she resigned her position. This resignation was unrelated to any allegations of discrimination on defendant's part. Second, she was rehired in November of 1982. Ray worked in a variety of positions including relief supervisor of the green end until she was promoted to supervisor effective November 24, 1989.1
Ray has no complaints of sex discrimination prior to her promotion in 1989. Ray Deposition at 22. Once promoted to a supervisory position, Ray received supervisory training. She has no complaints regarding the training she was provided. Id. at 25.
The Mountain Pine plywood mill is divided into three basic activities: green end, dry end, and finishing. Welch Affidavit at ¶ 3. On the green end, logs are soaked in vats of water and heated. Id. The heated logs are then placed on a lathe where they are rotated while sheets of veneer are peeled from the log. Id. The sheets of veneer are then placed in dryers where the moisture content is reduced. Id. On the dry end of the production line, the dried veneer is sorted into one of thirteen grade and moisture categories. Id. The sorted veneer is then cross-banded, layered, and glued while pressure and heat are applied to create a secure bond. Id. The finishing end of production prepares the plywood product for shipment. Id. The plywood mill typically runs around the clock in three shifts. Id.
When Ray was first promoted, Dave Walsh was plant superintendent and her immediate superior. Ray Deposition at 28. Ray was first assigned to the graveyard shift, green end/dry belt. Id. In this position, she had supervisory authority over 30 or 35 people. Id. at 29.
From the time of her promotion, Ray contends management made sexist remarks. Ray provides the following examples of sexist remarks and/or actions: (1) Walsh would introduce Brian McKenna as the dry end supervisor but introduce her as the one who "dabbles in housekeeping over here;" (2) Walsh would come up and stick his finger in her ear, or place his arm around her shoulders, or during meetings would grab her knee, squeeze it, and then remove his hand;2 (3) during a meeting, Walsh opined that something made as much sense as "tits on a boar" and then added, "No offense, Barbara;" and (4) during another meeting, a male supervisor shed his outer coveralls, and Walsh said, "Take some more off, Barbara is getting really hot over here." Ray Deposition at 34, 30-33, and 34.
In her deposition, Ray testified all these incidents with Walsh occurred within a year of her having been promoted to supervisor. Id. at 35-36. Ray complained of this conduct to Jim Neal the human resources person at the facility. Ray Deposition at 35. Neal talked with Walsh and Ray Deposition at 36.
Ray testified that James Taylor, green end coordinator, displayed a sexist attitude by seeking input from male supervisors but not from her, ignoring her opinions when she volunteered them, failing to inform her of crucial operational decisions, criticizing activity on her shift while disregarding the same activity on male supervisors' shifts, scheduling meetings on her day off, and undermining her authority by reassigning members of her crew. Ray Deposition at 62-72.3 However, she also testified that other supervisors including Lewis Ivey, Charlie Lacaze, and Billie Orrell, had similar problems with Taylor. Ray Deposition at 64-66.
Orrell was the only other female supervisor during the time Ray served as supervisor. Orrell left defendant's employee because of personal problems some time before Ray's termination.
In July of 1992, Jimmy Welch (Welch) was employed by Weyerhaeuser as the Mountain Pine plywood mill superintendent. Prior to his employment with defendant, Welch had worked in supervisory positions for various other wood product companies. He and Taylor had worked together while both were employed at International Paper Company.
When defendant first approached Welch about coming to work for it at the Mountain Pine facility, Welch was told the plywood operation was nonproductive that the "housekeeping was horrible, the safety record was not good, the morale was terrible," and if things didn't change defendant would close the mill. Welch Deposition at 19. When he first saw the plant, Welch found it to be even worse than he could have envisioned. Id. at 21. He initially told defendant that he didn't believe it was willing to invest the money necessary to improve the plant. Id. at 21-22. However, defendant approached Welch a second time and after some discussion he took the position. Once at Mountain Pine, Welch started replacing, renovating, and rebuilding. Id. at 23-24.
At the time Welch became superintendent, defendant was installing a new lathe on the green end. Welch Affidavit at ¶ 5. The lathe was state-of-the-art equipment which became operational in September of 1992. Id. The supervisors were responsible for learning many of the technical aspects of plywood production in order to maximize the potential for the new lathe. Id.
Although the plywood mill has the same lay-up line, the same presses, and the same dryers as it did in 1992, the production goals have steadily increased. Welch Deposition at 150. In 1992 the production target was 2,800,000 feet on a weekly basis. Welch Deposition at 150. By 1995, the goal had increased to 4,000,000 feet and the mill is currently producing at the rate of 5,000,000 feet. Id.
In Welch's opinion, employee morale was very low at the Mountain Pine mill. Welch Affidavit at ¶ 15. He heard that the prior managers employed harsh management skills or in Welch's words "management by intimidation" and that is not his style. Welch Deposition at 26-27.
Welch's goal was "[t]o make Mountain Pine plywood plant the best forest products company, to make Weyerhaeuser the best forest products company in the world, and to make Weyerhaeuser Mountain Pine Plywood the best one in the industry." Welch Deposition at 27. One of the things he wanted to accomplish was to create a less harsh climate for employees, to empower the hourly employees and to thereby raise morale and increase productivity. Id. at 125. See also Welch Affidavit at ¶ 15. He maintained an open door policy which allowed employees to bring concerns to him regarding the workplace. Welch Deposition at 18-25.
According to Welch, his expectations for supervisors focuses upon their ability to motivate employees to work as a team and to take responsibility for the quality and amount of production. Welch Affidavit at ¶ 7. He requires his supervisors to possess both technical knowledge of plywood production and the ability to manage people. Id.
The production statistics are maintained for the plywood mill as a whole on a weekly basis and not by shift or supervisor. Welch Deposition at 138. Thus, Welch evaluates a supervisor's ability to motivate and manage employees based on how the supervisor handles various situations in the workplace, observations, and interactions with the supervisors over time. Welch Affidavit at ¶ 7.
A number of supervisors had difficulty adapting to Welch's management style. Over the next several years, Welch first counseled with and then terminated a number of supervisors. Specifically, he terminated Charles Lacaze, Lewis Ivey, Danny Baggett, and Barbara Ray. Two other supervisors Mike Avery and John Elliott left Mountain Pine.
Welch testified he had several counseling sessions with John Elliott because he was a "harsh hollerer" and even sent him to a supervisor training school. Welch Deposition at 122-26. Although he was "extremely competent and technically smart within the business," Elliott was given an ultimatum. Welch Deposition at 124. It was made clear to him that "his behavior had to change to stay in an acceptable level with Weyerhaeuser." Id. at 123. A few months later, Elliott chose to take a job with another company because his management style "may not fit within Weyerhaeuser." Id. at 124.
Welch had similar concerns with Avery. Welch Deposition at 127. Avery was verbally put on probation. Id. at 128. He then sought another position with a subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser because he didn't believe he was going to fit Weyerhaeuser's "changing mold of working more and giving more to the employees, empowerment." Welch Deposition at 128-29.
Welch terminated Charles Lacaze because of his conduct — treating employees in an unprofessional manner, "hollering," and using an abusive tone or abusive language. Id. at 39-40. Welch terminated Lewis Ivey because he was harsh and he "blew up" on the floor. Welch Deposition at 131-32. The first time he blew up on the floor, took his hat off and threw it on the ground and "hollered," he was suspended. He was terminated when he engaged in similar conduct a second time in an even more explosive manner. Welch Deposition at 13...
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