Worker at Conshohocken Steel Plant Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Racial Harassment

Back on October 31st, MoreThanTheCurve.com reported on the allegations made by Darshall “Teke” Coleman, an African-American rail road operator at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Conshohocken (Plymouth Township), involving racist messages and oil poured onto steps in his work area.

On December 13th, Coleman filed a federal lawsuit (view lawsuit here) claiming that the incident in October was just one of a series of events that targeted him due to his race. Other incidents include:

  • A test for promotion that required Coleman to operate a device he had not been trained on, while Caucasians testing for promotion were not required to do the same
  • A pink stuffed monkey with a swastika and other other derogatory messages written on it was displayed so Coleman would see it
  • A noose displayed so Coleman would see it
  • An action by another employee that could have resulted in his electrocution

Coleman reported all of these incidents to the owner of the plant, ArcelorMittal, and the incidents involving the stuffed monkey, noose and the October 31st graffiti and spilled oil to the Plymouth Township Police Department. The company’s investigation into the October 31st did not discover who made the graffiti or poured the oil.

Coleman’s last day of employment at the plant was December 8th.

In an article on this subject on Philly.com, a representative of ArcelorMittal, Bill Steers, provided the following statement:

“ArcelorMittal is an equal opportunity employer and takes discrimination allegations very seriously. The company has launched a full investigation into the matter but unfortunately due to the pending litigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”