Black employees of Belleville company say ‘blatant racism’ occurs at plant
Black employees of Empire Comfort Systems in Belleville didn’t mince words on Friday when criticizing the company for allowing what one speaker at a protest called “blatant racism” to go unchecked at its manufacturing plant.
They were speaking to people gathered in a grassy field across the street from the 88-year-old plant, which produces gas fireplaces, before leaving on a Black Lives Matter march to downtown Belleville.
The employees accused white co-workers and supervisors of treating them unfairly, bullying them, telling racist jokes and bringing items with Confederate and KKK symbols to work.
“Human resources knew what was going on,” said Danny Fenton, 58, a welder from Cahokia. “They didn’t care. Because they knew we needed our jobs. We live from paycheck to paycheck. Let’s be real. We’re making them rich. It’s modern day slavery. The only thing different with this is they’re giving us a little change of what they’re making.”
The protest was co-organized by J.D. Dixon, 32, a machinist from Belleville. Earlier this week, he said he’s filed multiple grievances with Empire’s human-resources department and the Boilermakers union about harassment by white supervisors and co-workers, and that no one has been held accountable.
On Wednesday, after the protest was announced on social media, Dixon met with Adam Hickman, Empire’s vice president of sales and marketing, who offered to march with the protesters, print signs and hang a banner on the building that read “Together We Are Better” to show solidarity in efforts to create an environment of equality and respect for all employees.
Hickman and Empire President Nick Bauer attended the protest on Friday, but organizers turned down their offer on signs because they wanted their own messages, such as “Justice Brings Peace,” “Blue Lives Murder” and “Silence = Violence.”
“I’m basically here just to support my employees,” Hickman said before the protest. “That’s my role. I’m here to observe and learn. I’m just going to walk along.”
Bauer added, “Today is not about us. It’s a day to celebrate Juneteenth, and I think they should teach it more in school because a lot of people don’t even know about it.”
Protest localizes national movement
Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and systemic racism have been held in communities across the United States and metro-east since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer put his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and face down on a street.
The Belleville march was on Friday, June 19, which also is known as Juneteenth, an unofficial holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
About 40 people, mostly Empire employees and supporters, showed up despite temperatures in the low 90s. Before the march, they lined the street holding signs and shouting slogans such as, “We want justice. We want respect. We want equal opportunity.”
Several passing motorists honked their horns in support.
Another Empire employee who spoke was Mary Blassingame, 38, a line assembly worker from Belleville on leave due to injury. She told the crowd that she started her job more than three years ago with a passion that got ruined by an atmosphere of racism.
“I’m in an interracial relationship, and since I’ve been with this person who works here, he’s been getting bullied,” she said.
“It’s because he’s dating outside of his race with a Black woman … The white people that deal with the Black people get mistreated here. If you socialize, if they see that you’re communicating or you’re hanging out with a black person, you get discriminated against. You can’t move up. It’s unfair.”
Safety calendar causes controversy
Another issue discussed at the protest was a drawing in a 2019 safety-themed calendar that Empire produced after inviting children of employees to submit artwork. It shows 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 reads, “CAUTION” and “WATCH FOR FORKLIFTS.”
Dixon said he and other Black employees found the artwork to be offensive and threatening in light of past harassment and jokes told after the calendar was posted in the plant and offices. They believe it was drawn by an adult.
“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,” Dixon said.
Bauer sent a letter to employees last week about the calendar controversy, stating that a child patterned the drawing off a poster from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The image is actually not from OSHA, but from a commercial sign sold by SmartSign.
In the letter, Bauer apologized to employees who may have been offended by the drawing.
“We have instructed our managers to remove any remaining safety calendars that may be posted in any of our facilities,” he wrote. “If you know of one, please point it out to your supervisor so we can ensure all calendars are removed.”
Bauer, the fourth generation of his family to run the business, also asked for “tolerance, understanding and unity.”
At the protest Friday, Dixon choked up and said he was “hurt” when Empire management acknowledged that the calendar drawing offended some employees but wouldn’t admit it was “racist satire.” Dixon then looked directly at Hickman and Bauer, who were standing near a tent where the company was providing ice water and snacks for protesters.
“If you’re marching with us, that means you acknowledge that this is racist satire,” Dixon said pointing to a sign with the controversial calendar drawing on it. “You acknowledge that there is racial discrimination going on at Empire. You acknowledge that we’ve reported it and it went unanswered.”
Hickman and Bauer then walked forward to stand with the speakers, but they declined to take the microphone, even as some people demanded that they apologize.
After the speeches, Bauer had no comment on the accusations. Earlier this week, the company cited legal restrictions related to personnel matters.
Police stop motorist in bicycle incident
Toward the end of the Black Lives Matter march, a red truck with a white driver passed two Belleville police vehicles that were escorting the protesters and charged toward a Black bicyclist, yelling the N-word, according to witnesses.
“When I turned around and saw (the truck), I froze,” said the bicyclist, Cooper Jackson, 21, a fast food worker from Belleville. “If someone hadn’t screamed, ‘Watch out,’ honestly I don’t know what would have happened.”
The police then pulled over the truck driver, but it was unclear what action they took.
Roughly a quarter of the 40 protesters were white, a point that Fenton emphasized in his comments. He said white support is vital for the anti-racism movement.
One of the white protesters was Susie Wulf, 43, a pharmaceutical rep from Brentwood, Missouri. She thought the calendar drawing would have been rejected if Empire had any persons of color in management and said she admired Dixon for having the courage to come forward to complain.
Another white protester was Empire employee Logan Evans, 25, who lives across the street from the plant. He agreed that the calendar drawing was offensive.
“I know that (racial discrimination is) an issue a lot,” said Evans, a press brake operator on short-term disability because of a broken foot. “I’ve seen people walk out and quit their jobs because of it. Obviously, it’s not happening to me, but it’s something I hear about regularly.”
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 9:12 PM.
