A Long Island beverage warehouse is a bubbling cauldron of racial discrimination, a federal lawsuit alleges.
Two former workers at American Bottling Co. in Ronkonkoma claim they were terrorized by a racist manager who referred to himself as “God,” and called minorities in the warehouse “n-----s,” “Pancho,” and “Goya Beans.”
The manager also referred to black employees who commuted to work together as “the Jamaican bobsledding team,” and imposed a policy of speaking English only in the warehouse, the suit alleges.
Victor Molina, a laborer who unloaded crates of Snapple and bottled water, and Jeffrey Torres, a warehouse supervisor, both claim they were canned after complaining about the hostile workplace.
“It is despicable that my clients were routinely ridiculed and harassed by their manager because of their race,” said lawyer Adam Slater. “It is equally appalling that when they sought upper management’s help, they were hung out to dry.”
The manager, Michael Vitulli, denied the allegations, pointing out that he had hired both men, and they had been to his home for social visits.
“They worked for me for 12 years without making a complaint,” Vitulli said. “Then they both lost their jobs and they’re making up lies.”
The suit also alleges that after Torres filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Vitulli allegedly tried to coerce a warehouse dispatcher into falsely stating to the plaintiffs’ lawyer that it was Torres who had coined the “Jamaican bobsledding” slur.
Vitulli, who is not a named defendant in the suit, also allegedly tried to blame Torres for calling the dispatcher “Amy.” That nickname was used by a white supervisor based on the gorilla that performed sign language in the film “Congo,” the suit states.
A lawyer representing American Bottling Co. did not respond to a request for comment.
read more