New discrimination suit filed against Georgia Power

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Posted 8:32AM on Wednesday, February 27, 2002

ATLANTA - Four former employees of a contractor doing work at a Georgia Power plant have filed suit against the power company and their previous employers, claiming they suffered racial discrimination and harassment and were fired when they complained about it. Attorneys for the four men, who are black, said nooses and racist graffiti were displayed at the work site. The plaintiffs also were called racist names and were not allowed to use facilities to which whites had access, attorney Johnnie Cochran said. "When the jury sees the evidence, they will be astounded. We can show a 10-year pattern of this behavior," he said. The suit, which was filed Tuesday in Georgia State Court, names Georgia Power Co., General Insulation Inc. and Zachry Construction Co. as defendants. Alabama-based General Insulation is a division of Zachry Construction Co., which is based in San Antonio, Tex. "When these men told their employers what they were being subjected to, General Insulation fired them," said Michael Terry, who is representing the plaintiffs with Cochran. "They asked for help and they were told, "We're making a lot of money here, keep your heads down'," he said. Jon Sell, a spokesman for Georgia Power said seven nooses were found at the company's Roopville plant, about 50 miles southwest of Atlanta, between September 2001 and January 2002. Sell said the nooses, which all were found in areas where contractors work, were removed as soon as they were discovered. He also said the plaintiffs were not fired for complaining about alleged racial discrimination. "Their employer fired these employees for attendance problems, essentially for not showing up to work," he said. "According to General Insulation, these workers were warned. They signed the warnings, and when the problem continued, they were fired." Three white workers were fired the same day, also for attendance problems, Sell said. Calls to Zachry Construction were not immediately returned Tuesday. Georgia Power has about 250 employees at Plant Wansley, Sell said, and between 1,000 and 1,300 contract employees who do mainly retrofitting and construction work at the site. No contract workers of any race are allowed to use company restrooms or snack rooms, he said, but are provided with temporary facilities outdoors. Sell said Georgia Power investigates all claims of racial harassment and has offered a $20,000 reward in the hope of finding out who is responsible for the nooses at the Roopville plant. He said the plaintiff's attorneys are suing to pressure Georgia Power to settle a separate discrimination lawsuit alleging the company maintained discriminatory employment, personnel and human resources policies and failed to remove pictures of nooses in the company's operating headquarters of Cornelia. In August 2001, a federal judge dismissed the seven plaintiffs' motion for class-action status for 2,400 past and present black workers. Attorneys have appealed that decision.