Los Angeles civil rights group calls for Toyota boycott From AP 25sep99 11.30am (AEST) LOS ANGELES: The local chapter of the Congress for Racial Equality is calling for a worldwide boycott against Toyota products after a black employee of the car manufacturer's Long Beach subsidiary claimed he found a mock lynching scene at work. "We want people to boycott and protest," Sandra Moore, vice chairperson of CORE's California region, said Friday. "CORE has zero tolerance for corporate racism," she said. James Callier, a press operator at the parts manufacturing plant, filed a lawsuit last month against TABC Inc, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc. Callier claimed he found a soft drink bottle on his desk on Sept 14, 1998, painted black with eyes drawn on it, and wool-like material glued on like hair. A rope with a hangman's noose was around the bottle's neck, according to Toni Jaramilla, his attorney. The racial discrimination suit also claims that Callier and other employees were forced to tolerate racial slurs on a daily basis and that swastikas were drawn on the equipment, Jaramilla said. Barbara McDaniel, spokeswoman at Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc, based in Erlanger, Kentucky, said today she could not specifically address the lawsuit. But she said the company has strict anti-harassment policies. "We've got a real good track record in terms of enforcing and adequately dealing with allegations," she said. "People have been dismissed because of violation," she added. "It is something we don't tolerate and we take very seriously." TABC Vice President David Dedinsky said officials reacted immediately to Callier's complaints, fingerprinted the bottle and offered a $US1,000 ($A1,550) reward for information from eyewitnesses, but were unable to identify the perpetrator. "We refute the charge," Dedinsky said. "We would never tolerate anything like this." Callier said one employee who admitted painting the bottle and another who was seen hiding the noose were suspended with pay for one to two days. ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
