Harley-Davidson employees allege years of harassment and racism at the Kansas City factory

On May 3rd, 2019 at 23:09 UTC

By Associated press

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Minority employees at Harley-Davidson's Kansas City factory have reported being harassed and discriminated against for years. Swastikas and rings were posted in the factory, racial epithets were used frequently and there was at least one assault, said several employees at a press conference organized by the NAACP -Kansas City Friday.

"All the time I've worked there, it's just ridiculous," said Emmanuel Matthews, father, who had been working at the plant for over two years. "We're in 2019. That sort of thing has to stop, something has to be done."

Matthews and other employees who spoke at the press conference work for Syncreon.US Inc., a subsidiary of Syncreon, which provides contract workers at the Harley-Davidson plant, but they claimed that the harassment targeted all employees belonging to minorities. Matthews said he was assaulted by another factory worker but refused to discuss the details.

Harley-Davidson said in a statement that he was not tolerating any form of harassment or discrimination. The company claims to actively enforce its code of conduct and anti-harassment policy, as well as well-established processes for employees to report their problems.

"The complaints we were aware of were the subject of a thorough investigation and action was taken based on the findings," the statement said. "If necessary, we also referred incidents and complaints to third-party employers sharing our factory."

Oswald Reid, President and CEO of Syncreon.US said in a statement Friday that the company did not tolerate any of the alleged actions. He added that the company offered many ways to report harassment or discrimination, including a confidential "ethical line". No complaints of racially discriminatory behavior have been reported to this channel in the past two years, Reid said.

"In the last three years, all alleged violations of the policy or code of conduct we are aware of have been dealt with quickly and effectively," Reid said. "At the moment, there are no open investigations into discriminatory behavior."

Harley-Davidson plans to close the Kansas City plant this year and transfer these operations to York, Pennsylvania. The Milwaukee-based company said the closure would eliminate 800 jobs in Kansas City.

Employees said the harassment had been taking place for years, but that it had intensified with the approach of closing the factory. They said they saw graffiti telling black employees to die or return to Africa. The workers said that when swastikas or racial epithets were reported, the images were sometimes left for days before being covered with speckles. They allege that management would say that the incidents are being investigated, but nothing has ever happened and the culprits have rarely been punished.

Rochelle Anthony, USW union representative at the factory for almost three years prior to her layoff, said she was facing constant obstacles. When she tried to file a grievance, she said that she could never get an answer or a direct feedback when she asked about her complaints.

"I tried it," she says. "I had the impression of fighting alone, I could not help them, the situation is getting worse, we need help."

Steve Nelson, chief executive of the Kansas City plant, sent a letter Thursday to Harley-Davidson employees, saying they wanted to reassure them that the company is "taking all the necessary steps" to implement its policies. He said harassment of all kinds "can not and will not be tolerated at Harley-Davidson". The letter contained details of the company's policies for reporting and investigating complaints.

Reverend Rodney Williams, president of the NAACP-Kansas City, said the National NAACP intended to ask Harley-Davidson to open an investigation in all its factories to determine if discrimination was part of from the corporate culture or was isolated in Kansas City.

"Whether it's closing or not, it's not acceptable," Williams said in an interview. "We have to send a message saying that it is not acceptable anywhere." Many of the staff came to complain, so we thought it was our job to give them a platform to help. They can be heard. "