THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 4, 1995 TAG: 9503040452
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
They came to federal court Friday carrying stories of discrimination and a belief that, this time, they would be heard.
They brought stacks of sworn statements and copies of calendars that detailed their 14-month struggle. They clutched documents they hoped would prove they'd been punished simply for being black.
``I feel relieved we've gotten this far,'' said Earl C. Walton, their leader. ``Maybe some of our questions will be answered.
``I just hope the judge will be fair and understand what we've been through.''
For Walton and 30 other shipyard workers who filled the courtroom's narrow wooden benches, Friday's hearing was a long-awaited first step in a lawsuit against the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
The suit, which was filed last October, names Navy Secretary John Dalton and the Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees, Metal Trades Council. It seeks $58 million in damages for what the workers allege has been a pattern of racial discrimination.
In a 2 1/2-hour hearing in U.S. District Court Friday morning, lawyers opened what they expect will be a lengthy and tedious fight.
At issue was not only whether the workers were harmed by specific actions, but also whether they filed complaints with the yard's Equal Employment Opportunity office in a timely manner.
During the hearing, lawyers for the Navy and the union asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller to dismiss the workers' claims for what they said was a marked lack of evidence.
They argued the workers had violated the administrative procedures by failing to notify the yard's EEO office of specific incidents of discrimination.
``Specific factual allegations that support claims of discrimination are a must. I suggest to the court they are sorely lacking in this case,'' argued Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Leonard, who is representing the shipyard.
But Thomas F. Hennessy, an attorney representing the shipyard workers, argued that discrimination has been an ongoing practice that is condoned by management and the union.
The workers, all of whom are members of Shop 71 at the shipyard, have been denied training and relegated to low-level jobs because of their race, he said.
They are routinely blocked from lucrative overtime assignments and have not been allowed to earn a protective nuclear clearance that could help them survive future reductions in force, he added.
On Jan. 25, 1994, they decided to fight back, he said, when Walton went to the yard's EEO office.
``We're alleging these particular claims as evidence of a pattern and practice,'' Hennessy said.
He referred to a study by a professor of psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, which found that there was less than a 1 in 100,000 chance that the work assignments and pay plans in Shop 71 could have happened randomly.
Hennessy also presented the court with copies of computer printouts from Shop 71 that named each of the workers and then listed their race according to a code - ``C'' for black and ``E'' for white.
Such documents were used by the supervisors in assigning workers to specific jobs, Hennessy said, in violation of federal regulations.
But Leonard said the printout proved only that the yard kept statistics, as do many government agencies. He said there was no evidence that the racial coding was used to make assignments.
It will be up to Miller, the magistrate judge, to determine what bearing, if any, such a document will have on the case. He said he will review the filings in the next few weeks and make his recommendations on how to proceed to the federal judges.
``If he just considers some of the evidence, the facts will bear out our claims,'' said Walton, at the close of the hearing. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
File photo
Earl C. Walton is the leader of 30 workers who filed a class action
lawsuit against Norfolk Naval Shipyard in October.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT RACIAL DISCRIMINATION by CNB