Warren v. Halstead Industries, Inc.

• Decision Date: 02 October 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-1575,No. 391,391,85-1575
• Citation: 802 F.2d 746
• Parties: 41 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1665, 41 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 36,491 Alvin WARREN and Alfred Warren, Appellants, v. HALSTEAD INDUSTRIES, INC., Appellee, and Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers Local Union, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouseman and Helpers of America, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 746

802 F.2d 746

41 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1665,

41 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 36,491

Alvin WARREN and Alfred Warren, Appellants, v. HALSTEAD INDUSTRIES, INC., Appellee and Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers Local Union No. 391 affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouseman and Helpers of America, Defendants.

No. 85-1575.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Argued Dec. 2, 1985.

Decided Oct. 2, 1986.

Harvey L. Kennedy and Harold L. Kennedy, III, Winston-Salem, N.C., for appellants.

James B. Spears, Jr. and Thomas A. Bright, Greenville, S.C., for appellee.

Before WINTER, Chief Judge, MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judge, and LUTHER M. SWYGERT, Senior United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit, sitting by designation.

SWYGERT, Senior Circuit Judge.

This case concerns an action charging employment discrimination based on race in violation of Title VII and section 1981. Plaintiffs allege that their discharge from employment was in retaliation for filing administrative charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or for complaining to management of Halstead Industries, Inc., their employer, about racial discrimination in promotions. Upon our review of the record, we affirm in part and reverse in part and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I

The facts in this case are heavily contested. The serious allegations made by the plaintiffs are generally denied by the defendants; the district court based much of its decision on credibility and discounted key testimony of both plaintiffs. Our first task, therefore, is to review the voluminous record and to glean the facts from the conflicting versions.

There is no dispute that on June 12, 1978 the plaintiff-brothers, Alfred and Alvin Warren, were hired by Halstead Industries, Inc. ("Halstead") located in Pine Hall, North Carolina. The two black men sought employment following several years of college study. Both plaintiffs and their family members were active in Stokes County, North Carolina politics.

The Halstead factory manufactured copper tubing; it was a new plant, having been constructed in December 1977. During the first years of operation, the number of black employees was low (fourteen black employees out of 95 in 1977; seventeen blacks out of 190 in 1978; 56 blacks out of 372 in 1979). The original supervisors were white employees who moved to Pine Hall from two other Halstead plants. It is contested whether any black foremen or supervisors were employed in the plant as a whole or in Halstead's production department ("the B-Bay") from 1977 to 1979. ¹

As an additional factor, Halstead's Pine Hall plant was in flux because a union membership drive for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("the Union") was being promoted throughout the time span with which this case is concerned, and there was a possibility of a strike. In June 1978 handbilling began; in September the Warrens joined the Union and participated in efforts to organize the Union at the Stokes County Plant (e.g., wearing Union T-shirts and hats to work, passing out cards, and handbilling). An election was held in December 1978, and the Union was elected to represent the employees. After the plaintiffs were terminated from employment, August 1979 to April 1980, Halstead went through a protracted strike.

Few other facts are undisputed. Rather, the balance of the allegations are found in the two parties' conflicting statements. The plaintiffs allege a pattern of company actions constituting discrimination in promotion and racial harassment. The Warrens claim that ultimately they were discharged from employment when they, along with other employees, sought to meet with management and later filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("the EEOC").

The Warrens claim that their probationary work records were good. ² Both brothers were hired as utility laborers. Alfred was assigned to a bench helper's position during his probationary period; at the end of the time, he was designated a bench operator. At the time Alvin was hired he worked as an operator for about three weeks; he was removed from that job while still on probation. Jimmy Gann, a white employee, was then assigned to Alvin's position. It is undisputed that the brothers did not receive write-ups and faced no major personnel problems until the fall of 1978 when they allegedly were passed over in promotion in favor of two white employees with less seniority.

Plaintiffs assert that in September 1978 a vacancy occurred for the position of leadman in their production department. Although Halstead's policy had been to grant a promotion based on departmental seniority, the Warrens contend that on September 11, 1978 white employee Greg Smothers was promoted to leadman with less seniority than plaintiffs. Further, they assert that on October 11 Gann was also so promoted. (Later, on December 18 Stephen Boles was also allegedly promoted to leadman out of seniority sequence.) The company insists that these promotions were in accordance with seniority.

Seeking to raise a grievance following these first two promotion decisions, plaintiffs and other black employees sought a meeting with Personnel Manager Allen on October 12. Allen allegedly said to them: "Get the hell back to work or punch the damn clock." Allen denies talking with the plaintiffs about problems regarding discrimination against blacks being promoted on this or any other date up to January 17, 1979. (Vol. VI, p. 133.) Following that attempted meeting, plaintiffs assert, a pattern of daily retaliation was put into effect by immediate foreman Larry Sands, the recently promoted Gann, and Smothers.

Specifically, these complained-of retaliatory acts consisted of "getting in the way of plaintiffs being able to get out production." The acts reportedly included "hollering from twelve inches away" in the plaintiffs' faces and rubbing plaintiffs' buttocks with hands or sexual organs. The white supervisors allegedly stood between the plaintiffs' machines and control panels to hinder their work production. Both plaintiffs testified that they felt humiliated, like a "piece of meat." At the same time that these retaliatory acts were reportedly being committed, the white supervisors were admonishing the plaintiffs to "cooperate." The Warrens contend that Sands and Smothers did not engage in this type of behavior toward white employees.

Plaintiffs also claim that numerous racial comments were made to black employees. Alfred alleges, for instance, that at the time he received a three-day suspension, Personnel Manager Allen told him that "this country should be like it is in South Africa, that the white man should be ruler, that the black man didn't have enough intelligence to have a leadership position." Similarly, Alvin Warren contends that Allen told him that the "white man was always going to be superior to the black because of money." Allen acknowledges talking to Alvin about South Africa, but denies that it was in a discriminatory manner.

To counteract the harassment, plaintiffs allege, they sought, along with other black employees, to meet with Plant Manager Terlinden on December 19 and 20, 1978. Both groups working on two different shifts were allegedly made to wait for thirty minutes and then told to return to work without having made any arrangements to talk to Terlinden. It is undisputed that Alvin received a "first warning" because of "lack of cooperation" on December 20, 1978, and Alfred received a "first warning" on December 19, 1978 citing "walked off job without permission." (Vol. II, pp. 45, 53.)

Following the attempted meeting with Terlinden, plaintiffs testified the write-ups and disciplinary measures escalated; Alvin claims he no longer took breaks and recruited a fellow employee to bring lunch to his machine. It is undisputed that beginning on the date of the attempted meeting with Terlinden Alvin's supervisors began keeping notes on cards documenting plaintiff's "lack of cooperation." These cards were never shown to the plaintiff, nor were the notes kept on any white employee in B-Bay other than Perry Kendrick, who accompanied plaintiffs and black employees when they sought to complain to Terlinden. Halstead characterizes the cards as a normal plant practice.

On January 15, 1979 both plaintiffs filed charges of racial discrimination with the EEOC in Charlotte, North Carolina; six other black employees filed the same charges. The plaintiffs further allege that after they filed the charges the retaliatory behavior increased. Alvin testified that while he was training Gary Galloway, a white employee came at him from behind and hit him on the head with a copper tube. Alvin contends that even though Bill McClain, an area supervisor, was standing nearby, McClain "just turned his head away." Halstead's "Accident Investigation Report" of January 4, 1979 signed by Sands lists the circumstances as "crane moved and employee let go of tube which hit injured in head." (Vol. II, p. 86.)

Alvin further alleges that the reason he was unable to begin work on time the morning of December 20 was that his toolbox had been demolished and he had to locate another. Every day thereafter, he alleges, his tools were hidden, and although he complained to Allen, no action was taken. The company characterized the tools as "lost."

On January 22, 1979 Alfred was terminated for excessive absenteeism. On February 2, 1979 Alvin was terminated for failure to cooperate. Plaintiffs allege that all of the other black employees who filed EEOC charges were also thereafter terminated (specifically, Ronnie Anderson, James Eckerd, Steven Golden, Robert Martin, William Dalton, and Joe McClinton). They further allege that one of the four employees involved in the December attempted meeting--white employee Kendrick--was also fired.

On February 1, 1982 the Warrens...