Nov 3, 2023
Black AT&T Worker FIRED For Reporting Racist Threat Against Her
- 6 minutes
Another accusation, AT&T at the forefront.
Let's put her up full mass.
According to Stacey Fowler,
who worked at AT&T for over three decades,
she was fired from her job
after reporting a racist and
[00:00:16]
alarming threat made against her.
Now, she's suing because according to her,
the company illegally discriminated and
retaliated,
according to the lawsuit
obtained by Atlanta Black Star.
[00:00:36]
Atlanta Fowler, excuse me, Stacy Fowler,
according to Atlanta Black Star,
is 53 years of age,
held a senior position at AT&T, Ohio,
following her recent termination.
The lawsuit was filed in late
September against at AT&T Inc,
[00:00:52]
AT&T Midwest and
Ohio Bell Telephone Company.
This is a hell of a story.
So Fowler served as an employee
at AT&T Ohio's Construction and
Engineering Department for more than
32 years, according to the filing.
In 2021,
she was promoted to Director of Access,
[00:01:10]
which the lawsuit noted is a white
male-dominated department.
She received positive performance
reviews throughout her career.
On March 30, 2023,
when Fowler returned to her office after
spending hours in meetings with managers,
[00:01:26]
she found an offensive note with
her business card stapled to it.
The complaint said, you stupid N-word b.
If we can't take you down,
we'll take you out.
End quote, the letter said.
[00:01:43]
A photo in the lawsuit shows,
her job title was also scratched
out on the business card.
All right, now you see what's happening.
She comes back to her department.
She finds this racist note,
looks to be a threat to me.
[00:02:01]
I would interpret it as a threat,
if I were the worker or in fact, the CEO.
That's a threat.
First thing I would do, I need to know
everyone who voted for Trump, number one.
All right, according to the complaint,
[00:02:17]
Fowler contacted the supervisor,
as she is to do via protocol.
And the company's asset protection
unit to report the threat.
Once again, per protocol,
she was instructed to work from
home amid an investigation.
[00:02:33]
And to also file an official police
report, which she completed on April 1st.
However, it took weeks before
she heard back from the team.
April 11,
she was informed by an investigator,
[00:02:50]
that he collected three
witness statements and
tipped off about the employee
who potentially wrote the note.
He also told her to sign a formal
document relating to her claim.
Days later,
she was called into a meeting and
[00:03:08]
fired based on a separate reverse
discrimination investigation.
Quote, rather than hold
a single person responsible for
this currently racist act, AT&T protected
the racist, fulfilled their wishes,
[00:03:25]
and fired Fowler instead,
mere weeks after Fowler was threatened.
Then AT&T replaced Fowler
with a white male,
which was likely the wishes of the racist.
In doing so, AT&T made clear that it would
go above and beyond to protect white males
[00:03:43]
at the expense of minorities and females
in general, and Fowler in particular.
The reverse discrimination investigation
came before Fowler's firing
in November 22nd, 2022 ,excuse me.
She was ordered to ax about 25% of
her team, according to the lawsuit,
[00:04:01]
mostly low ranking managers with
little assistance from the company.
She allowed the area managers to
select which roles to reduce and
supported their decision,
which was finalized in 2023.
The lawsuit says, one of the area managers
told a group of terminated employees,
[00:04:20]
that she chose to terminate them
because they are white men, and
against company policy gave them
confidential managerial documents.
That's when one of the terminated
employees filed a reverse discrimination
claim, it was bogus in the beginning.
The probe was open, and
the team investigated Fowler's email and
[00:04:38]
interrogated her,
although she made them aware,
that she did not make any
decision on the terminations.
She made no decisions on terminations.
She explained that the area managers,
who are white men, had the final say.
The filing accuses AT&T of working
swiftly to look into the reverse
[00:04:55]
discrimination claim.
And did not treat the vicious and
vile, racist and
misogynistic death threat that Fowler
reported with any urgency or gravity.
Speaking to The Daily Beast,
Fowler says she's disappointed with
how the company handled the situation.
[00:05:11]
Remember, she's been
with them over 30 years.
They did not care about my
psychological well being, any of that,
she told the outlet.
I just felt like nobody
really took me seriously.
Nobody really cared.
In a statement to the publication,
an AT&T spokesperson condemned the letter,
[00:05:29]
adding that they could
not find the culprit.
However, the rep noted that Fowler was let
go because she violated company policy.
We do not discriminate or do we tolerate
discrimination of any kind, including
based on race or any other factor,
the statement to The Daily Beast said.
[00:05:45]
Any suggestion,
that we do is just wrong and
intend ,we intend to fight this lawsuit.
Okay AT&T, fight at your own peril.
Because, when all of those workers are
under deposition, under sworn affidavit,
[00:06:02]
etc, to testify as to the knowledge that
they have of your particular practices,
well, let's just say
Pandora's box will open.
We will bring you an update
as the story develops.
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