Racial harassment allegations at Microsoft campus construction site – KIRO 7 news Seattle

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Racial harassment at work – this is what a black construction worker says he faced for months on the jobsite at Microsoft’s Redmond campus.

Quinte Harris is a construction worker who works in the garage parking lot, part of the project led by Skanska Balfour Beatty. He says that after multiple racist incidents and filing complaints, his supervisors removed him from his work team.

Now Harris and his lawyer have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

“Very proud to be part of these projects,” said Harris.

“We are a very proud, very proud union family,” said his wife, Traci Harris.

Quinte Harris says there are around 110 people working on his project – with him being the only black man.

“I thought we were all equal – we’re all on this project together,” Harris said. “I never talked about it, not once,” he said.

But recently, a series of incidents rocked this family.

“It was horrible,” Traci Harris said.

“I reported every incident and no one did anything,” said Quinte Harris.

Harris said the harassment started in May when a team leader approached him.

“Our manager said,” Hey Q “- they call me” Q “-” I want to tell you something. I have something in mind. And I thought it was work related. So I said, ‘yeah sure, what’s going on?’ And he said, “Well, I just wanted to let you know that my feelings about Black Lives Matter and black people, especially the south – I don’t like them, I don’t care about movement. I think they came here and ruined everything. I watched it ‚- I didn’t know what to say,” said Harris.

“As we started to move away, he threatened our jobs. He said, ‘Watch what you’re doing or saying because there are going to be layoffs very soon,’ ”Harris said.

Harris says he and another employee who heard the statement reported the incident to their foreman.

Unrelated to the incident, Skanska Balfour Beatty launched a “Safe From Hate” initiative, distributing stickers and posting flyers with “do you speak” hotlines on campus.

But Harris says after that training, another incident happened.

On a cart a few steps from his workplace, someone left a cardboard sign with a handwritten message that read: “NOT a sorry safe zone.”

“I took a picture of it and sent it to my foreman, and nothing was done, like they ignored it,” Harris said.

“It’s really hard to hear because a construction site is a very dangerous place. – very dangerous. You rely on your coworkers for support, just in case – “I haven’t seen this” or “Hey, watch what you are doing”. And if these people weren’t looking after my husband, you know it’s really dangerous, ”said his wife, Traci Harris, moved.

Quinte Harris says he called the “Safe From Hate” hotline on the flyers.

“I spoke to a person on the other line about three times and no one ever contacted me,” Harris said.

“I have asked my foreman several times. There is supposed to be zero tolerance for hate on campus and on the job site, and it appears to be not true, ”Harris said.

Harris said of his boss’s response, “He told me to get over it, get another job. He told me in front of other colleagues. He says his boss then told him he had been fired.

“Fired me at work,” Harris said.

He says that in an immediate follow-up meeting, a senior boss assured him that he was not losing his job.

Instead, they moved Harris to another team. Harris said it was still inappropriate to be transferred to another team, but added that on top of that, he hadn’t been given the proper tools to do his job for about three weeks.

“That in itself was degrading. I felt it was retaliation, I felt it was personal. Because I told a friend of theirs who said, “I don’t like black people, I don’t like Black Lives Matter,” Harris said. “The other trades I worked with saw my work incomplete. It was like they were setting me up for someone to complain about letting me go, ”Harris said.

Quinte and Traci Harris said the ordeal lasted for months, with other incidents also occurring. They say it had a huge impact on their personal lives and they felt like no one was listening or taking any action, despite reports and meetings.

KIRO7 reached out to Skanska Balfour Beatty about all of this. The company sent out a statement saying:

“We are aware of the complaint that was filed by one of our employees. We have taken the allegations very seriously and conducted a thorough investigation in full cooperation with all parties concerned. We are confident in the results of the investigation and in the measures we have put in place to protect our employees. We do not tolerate the kind of behavior described in the complaint to our joint venture or by anyone associated with us. We are committed to providing a safe, diverse, inclusive and non-discriminatory workplace where everyone is valued and respected.

In a follow-up email, Skanska Balfour Beatty said for reasons of confidentiality she would not disclose whether reprimands or training had taken place for parties involved.

Quinte says that after being transferred to his new work team, he is no longer a victim of harassment, but he wants the company to implement what it preaches and demonstrate that harassment will not be tolerated.

“I would very much like this situation to be a learning tool to make it stop; because the culture that made that OK is still there, ”said Harris.

“Are you creating that something more serious could happen?” KIRO7’s Deedee Sun asked.

“Every day, every day. It’s terrifying, ”said Traci Harris.

“You never know. I’m afraid if I keep talking about it my job is going to be in danger. I’m afraid my livelihood is in danger. I’m afraid something may happen on the job site that they say it’s an accident, ”said Quinte Harris.

Now he and his attorney, John Cochran, have filed a harassment complaint with the EEOC.

“The law is not supposed to allow it. It’s not supposed to allow people to be placed in a hostile work environment, ”Cochran said.

The EEOC website states in part that harassment becomes illegal when “the conduct is serious or intrusive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive.”

“It’s quite painful and no one should ever have to go through this. Nobody, ”Harris said. “That’s why I wanted to tell you this story – that it has to be brought to light because it actually happened,” Harris said.

The workers’ union, Local 242, said in a letter to Harris that it had not found enough “evidence to collaborate with your allegations of harassment and retaliation.” Harris and his lawyer hope the EEOC recognizes what he experienced as harassment.

Since KIRO7 spoke with Harris, several other people who are or were part of the build crew are also speaking out. At least one other person has also filed a harassment complaint with the EEOC. Those affected have also reached out to at least one member of Seattle City Council to draw attention to the issue.

© 2021 Cox Media Group

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