On October 26, Norval Scott, an electrician and job site foreman at the $611 million taxpayer funded baseball stadium and four other African American workers were fired by Truland Tech for “productivity issues.” The usual union procedures were circumvented (no warning) and, according to Scott, it was because he raised his voice about problematic work conditions including protesting that others were getting preferential overtime while African Americans were not, limiting his workers’ break time and restricting where they could take their breaks (not the case with non-minority workers).

However, what he and his co-workers found most offensive and what Scott claims prompted his continued expressions of outrage were that his workers were repeatedly called “monkeys” with additional and repeated insults that “monkeys do better work than you do.”  On October 29 they filed a grievance with their union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)  Local 26.

According to Scott, his supervisor at Truland Tech (a subsidiary of Truland Systems which also subcontracts to the minority firm, City General) and the man who repeatedly used this language was John DeGennaro who is white and who has since been re-assigned to another project. Efforts to reach DeGennaro were unsuccessful.  

The Noose
So it was no joke when Steven White, along with co-worker Larry Cross (think about those last names), both electrical workers and job foremen at the Nationals Stadium, claimed according to press reports that they intended only humor in showing a noose he fashioned to at least four African Americans on the job site of the $611 million dollar taxpayer funded baseball stadium. Both men were fired by their employer, Truland Inc.

This is the same stadium project that has fallen short by nearly 600 good paying jobs ($35 per hour) promised for District residents as part of the stadium legislation. Goals in hiring that were set as a condition of funding were not met in 20 out of 23 job categories. These jobs allow the few DC residents who have them to bring home over $1000 per week plus significant overtime.

According to testimony at a swiftly called Roundtable by Councilmember Kwame Brown, Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, Keith Battle, a 21-year electrician and one of four African Americans who were witness to the noose incident, one of the fired workers held the noose to his neck mimicking a hanging when there was no initial reaction.

Battle, who entered the break room with Anthony Perry, a 15-year journeyman electrician,  immediately grasped the noose’s meaning. Perry adds that he grew angry and said: “What’s the joke? The point to me is that a noose means hanging. Is that the joke?“ and then the room which had been punctuated with laughter grew quiet. Both men reported the incident to their supervisor who dismissed it and did not take any action. The noose was still on the break room floor the next day and a cell phone was used to make a record of this racial incident.  Battle calls the noose “a symbol of hate.” .

A noose is a powerful symbol of racial animosity and is strongly associated with the lynching of African Americans in the United States. From 1880 till the mid ‘50s there were 3437 lynchings on record.

Battle also testified that he is “concerned about job security” and added, “ t’s kind of overwhelming, but I wanted to do the right thing.“ Battle reports that the day after the Roundtable, after repeated assurances by Councilmember Brown that the four African Americans were secure from retaliation and intimidation at the job site, one of the previously fired white electricians approached him and said, ”Thank you for getting me fired” in a way that might be considered threatening. Battle was surprised the worker was still on the site. 

Another example of job site tensions is the apparent severity of racial language and degree of vitriolic graffiti scratched on the interior walls of all the ‘port-o- johns’ which one of the four African Americans intends to bring to the attention of Truland and Clark/Hunt/Smoot, the principal contractor.

In the incident with Norval Scott in the autumn, both the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission (DCSEC), the owner of the stadium, and electrical union, IBEW Local #26 were slow to action. This time, DCSEC’s representative Courtland Cox met immediately with Clark/Hunt/Smoot, and successfully secured the workers’ immediate dismissal. A total of four workers including a supervisor were fired.

Brown’s Roundtable
Kwame Brown used the Jan. 30 hearing to repeatedly condemn the behavior of the noose wielding electricians as well as the atmosphere that allowed for it, repeatedly chastising the leadership of the Truland Company for being slow to take action, referring more than once to “what appears to be a pattern of behavior” at Truland job sites. Brown further threatened Truland and any other companies doing business in the District with its estimated $20 billion in construction projects with an economic death penalty if evidence was found of discriminatory behavior. Brown continued, “There are questions that must be answered, adding “There is nothing funny about possibly breaking the law.“  

Brown cited his own pending legislation, the Compliance and Enforcement Agency Establishment Act of 2007 ( B17-503),  a proposed agency that will monitor among other issues whether or not DC residents are being treated fairly and given promised employment in contracts the District has with private employers.

In addition Brown has introduced legislation amending current DC law which currently prohibits swastikas and burning crosses adding to such prohibitions the possession of “nooses in private or public” as part of this anti-hate legislation.  

The Roundtable produced the surprising admission by Truland’s CEO/ President Robert Truland that his company had taken no action in the three months between the two incidents either to change attitudes or behavior in the workplace. The Truland executive team which testified lacked any African American representation, although one of its claims is that its workforce is 48 % minority .

Robert Truland the owner of the company began his testimony by frankly admitting that “I am here to recapture our reputation.” Adding that he is old enough to remember Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech and that he is “distressed.”

At the end of the four hour Roundtable Matthew Cutts, Chairman of DCSEC, became the first and only witness to turn to the four electricians subject to this racial harassment and he apologized directly to them for what they had been put through.

Brown also indicated that he was both surprised and disappointed that IBEW local #26 did not attend the hearing and was not represented in any way at the Roundtable although given sufficient notice. Local 26 of IBEW is over 7000 members strong with estimated annual dues of approximately $3 to 3.5 million. All 14 of the fired workers and witnesses in both incidents, both white and African American, are members of the electrical union.

According to Ellen Boardman, legal counsel for Local #26, one of the four fired white union members has filed a grievance with IBEW #26. Boardman added that Chuck Graham, Business Agent for the union, had been out of town but was now in touch with Brown on remedies to this situation including training sessions. However, Local #26 was previously unavailable for meetings that were attempts to resolve the issue of the workers fired in October after protesting being called “monkeys.”

Brown concluded the Roundtable by charging Truland Inc, Clark Hunt Smoot the contractor, and the DC Sports & Entertainment Commission to meet with him in 30 days with recommendations about how to move forward on this issue. Courtland Cox of DCSEC testified briefly and indicated that he will be presenting a plan at the March meeting “that is more than just sensitivity training.”

According to Council member Brown an FBI task force is now involved and looking into the incident as it does as a matter of policy with the possibility of a hate crime.