Empire protesters stop traffic and speak to Tavern on Main diners in Belleville
Empire Comfort Systems employees and Black Lives Matter supporters slowed traffic in downtown Belleville early Friday evening by marching down the eastbound lane of East Main Street as part of their fourth protest against the company in five weeks.
About 15 protesters, both Black and white, stopped in front of Tavern on Main for several minutes, and co-organizer J.D. Dixon spoke directly to the mostly white customers eating at umbrella tables on the sidewalk.
“Even right now, we are being racially discriminated against because we are out here protesting against racism,” he yelled through a bullhorn. “... We are out here fighting for what’s right for us and what all you get naturally.”
The diners had no overt reaction, but Belleville policemen, who had been following protesters in two patrol cars, got out and told them to move along. About 10 vehicles were backed up behind them.
The march started at the main Empire plant on Freeburg Avenue about 5:30 p.m. and made a loop that included the Belleville Square. Protesters carried Black Lives Matter and other signs and chanted slogans such as “No hate. No KKK. No racist U.S.A.” One diner outside Bennie’s Pizza Pub gave a thumbs-up as they passed.
Dixon, 32, is a Black machinist at Empire and union member of Boilermakers Local S7.
Employees ‘extremely frustrated’
Dixon and other protesters have accused Empire of failing to stop racial discrimination by white managers and employees and producing a 2019 safety calendar with what they viewed as a racist image. The company has said it’s working to address problems.
Empire formed a Diversity Panel that has met with representatives of the Belleville Human Relations Commission and Center for Racial Harmony to evaluate the situation and determine what action should be taken.
“The Empire Comfort Systems management team is taking specific steps to evaluate each employee’s concerns or complaints ... and to resolve all the issues that have been raised,” according to a company statement last month. “Because these are internal employee issues, we will not be discussing any details in public.”
On Friday, Dixon said conditions for Black employees at Empire are no better than they were on June 19, when protesters first marched from the plant to downtown Belleville and back.
Dixon said several Black employees have filled grievances since that time and more than a dozen plan to jointly file a grievance Monday, objecting to a white employee who displays a tattoo of the iron cross, a symbol of Nazi Germany.
“We’re all extremely frustrated,” Dixon said. “I really can’t name anything that they have implemented as a sign of change. Everything’s the same.”
Protesters maintain that racial discrimination at Empire has taken the form of racist comments and images that create a hostile work environment and unequal treatment of Black employees by white supervisors.
Owner participated in first rally
About 40 employees and supporters showed up for the first Empire protest on June 19, propelled by Black Lives Matter marches across the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer who pressed a knee on his neck for about nine minutes.
Two Empire executives, President Nick Bauer, whose family owns the 88-year-old business, and Adam Hickman, vice president of sales and marketing, met with Dixon in advance and agreed to attend the Belleville protest to show solidarity for creating an environment of equality and respect for all employees.
The company set up tents to provide shade for protesters and served ice water and snacks in a grassy area across from the plant, which makes gas fireplaces.
“I’m basically here just to support my employees,” Hickman said before the rally. “That’s my role. I’m here to observe and learn. I’m just going to walk along.”
Protesters asked Empire to implement systemic changes, including formation of a diversity and intervention team of mostly minorities that would help investigate grievances; the hiring of Black people who understand issues of discrimination to serve in upper-level management; and the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy for racist comments or actions.
Protesters to continue marching
Empire employees and Black Lives Matter supporters marched again on July 3 and July 17. They vow to continue until company executives apologize and acknowledge wrongdoing.
Roots of the Empire safety calendar go back to 2018, when the company invited children of employees to submit artwork for it. The 2019 calendar included the month of January 2020, which featured the image that became controversial.
The image was patterned off a commercial safety sign. It showed what appears to be a white man with a red ball cap driving a forklift and plowing into a restroom-style stick figure that is shaded black. The message read, “CAUTION” and “WATCH FOR FORKLIFTS.”
Bauer stated in a letter to employees in June that it was drawn by a child. Dixon maintains the artist was an adult with the goal of “racist satire.”
“They intentionally made the driver white, and they intentionally made the hat red, and in these times, that’s an indication of a Trump hat,” he said at the time.
This story was originally published July 25, 2020 at 8:30 AM.
