GM lawsuit alleging racism at Toledo plant goes national

TOLEDO — The Toledo Blade is reporting General Motors Co. is under pressure after new details emerged about racial hate and bullying at GM’s Toledo Transmission plant.

The problems at the North Toledo plant first surfaced in April, when the Ohio Civil Rights Commission found GM should have done more to protect its employees from a spate of racially charged incidents, including nooses hanging from equipment and white employees using disparaging racial slurs to refer to their black coworkers.

Lawyers for GM appealed the commission’s initial determination.

A GM spokesman previously told The Blade the automaker has not broken any laws.

“While the incidents are unacceptable, we took prompt action to investigate and address the issues that occurred at the Toledo Transmission facility. We are reviewing our next steps and maintain we have not violated any laws,” the company said in an emailed statement to The Blade.

“Harassment and discrimination of all types, including those racial in nature, are simply not tolerated at General Motors,” the statement continued. “We take harassment and discrimination claims very seriously and treat any incident brought forward with confidentiality, sensitivity and a sense of urgency. GM has a strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, and we encourage employees to report any incidents of harassment without fear of retaliation.”

Two federal lawsuits related to the case are pending.