SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF
|
LARRY PITTMAN, et al., Plaintiffs v. Defendant |
No. 99-2-52345-8KNT DECLARATION OF denise haynes IN OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION
FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT |
I, Denise Haynes,
declare,
I was an employee at King’s Command Foods from March of 1996 until December 1998. I started in the pizza plant in packing and I ended up as a line end. Darrel Cody ran the machine and I was the line end.
There was racial and sexual harassment going on and no one reported it. It was like we were their personal playground and they could do anything they wanted. Kirk McCoy was the main one that I would say was guilty of sexual harassment and racial as well, and Terry Smith made off-color sexual remarks to me. For example, one time I was working up in the loft and I was hot and sweaty. Terry Smith made a remark that I should take off my shirt because I’d look pretty good in that sports bra I had underneath. I was taken aback by that type of remark. And that was not an isolated incident. Over a period of time, I heard Kirk McCoy saying racial words like "boy", "jungle boogie", and other racial remarks to the Blacks. These were never words he used when about or when talking to the white employees.
Kirk McCoy would say racial jokes when you would least expect it. They were always using foul language. I have two black kids myself and I took offense.
I’m gay and Kirk would make comments about sexual acts between me and my roommate. Her name is Katie-Jo Lemur. He would fondle Katie. She would come home upset and for a long time she wouldn’t even tell me about it. I was back from Christmas and Kirk said, hey, why don’t you wear those tight black pants you wore to the Christmas party. This was so unprofessional. I think because I spoke up they used the occurrence policy to get rid of me.
I got let go for occurrences. I was a good worker and showed up all the time. The last occurrence, my electricity went out and I was five minutes late. Terry Smith told me I was okay and then a lady (Venetia Magnuson) said I wasn’t and I was fired. I know for a fact that they let other people go for occurrences and then let them right back. All of us who took this kind of treatment really needed our jobs and that’s why we didn’t do anything about it when we were there.
Sandy Long was let go for occurrences and she is right back there now.
I worked with Larry Pittman. He worked very hard. They never would promote him. He always applied and he had all the qualifications but they would never promote him. I never understood that. I witnessed Kirk McCoy hit Larry Pittman in the shoulder.
I heard foul language at Keith Kern.
I know Mary Coleman was an employee before I arrived. I was promoted before Mary.
Yoland Eskridge came as a temp and I told Yolanda to apply for a full time job. She went to second shift. She was the only black female on the second shift.
I felt that King's Command was racist. I was promoted over blacks who had more seniority.
When I was a line lead, I knew Mike Pittman. Steve Elliott got his sister "Little Bit" a job at King's Command and gave her a job without giving Mike Pittman a full time job. I overheard Terry Smith talking to Mike about the way he walked, that he needed to walk faster, but Mike Pittman has polio so he can't move faster. When I worked with Michael Pittman, he did anything they asked him to do. Kirk was always bullshitting with him and making racial comments. Michael never said anything about it. He just did his job.
They gave Larry Pittman all the shitty jobs.
There were Hispanics on my line who they would take off my line so that when Hispanics came in from Interim who couldn’t speak English so these people could translate. They were just using these people to do extra work translating.
There was a kid electrocuted on the platform because it was wet. Then he was let go because he didn’t come to work for two days after he was electrocuted.
There was a guy named David. He got his hand cut in the pizza line. He bled all over. They took him to the hospital and they made us clean up all the blood and keep the line going. They didn’t know if it was sanitized good enough. They pushed people too fast to push the product out. There was stuff on the floor that they’d make us pick up and throw it back. It was unsanitary.
Mary Coleman filled the job on the pizza line after I went to another position. She was there a number of years before she got a promotion. They promoted Katie and me over Mary. She was qualified and I don’t know why they didn’t promote her. When I became a line end, Mary helped me to program the computer. She knew more than I did when I was promoted. They never asked if she wanted to work nights or other shifts. She didn’t get promoted until I left.
Keith Kern was on the grinder platform. He was sick. They never gave him a break. They gave him all the cold and dirty work. Things that were difficult to do in his condition.
The preceding statement is made under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington.
______________________________
Denise Haynes
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