Opinion ID: 1429814
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Metoyer's Role in Relaying Discrimination Complaints by SAG Employees

Text: Almost immediately after Metoyer was hired, she began to be approached by minority employees within the Guild with complaints of racial discrimination. Several minority employees complained to Metoyer that the Guild's senior staff, including Schick, Leonard Chassman, Metoyer's immediate supervisor and the Guild's Hollywood Executive Director, and McGuire, (collectively senior management), were discriminating on the basis of race in making promotions, assigning work and pay. Metoyer assiduously related these complaints to senior management and others throughout her time at the Guild. Schick and Chassman responded to these complaints with blatantly racist comments. In response to complaints that African Americans were being kept in low-paying jobs, Shick stated: I'm keeping them there because I want to keep an eye on them because black people like to party and eat and don't do their work. Chassman's response was: They ought to be glad they have a job. In another meeting sometime in 1998 in which Metoyer put forth complaints of minority employees, Chassman responded, All of these people are lazy and malingerers. Is that something special with African Americans that they have to socialize all the time and they are never happy? They should be happy to have this job. Many of the employees told Metoyer that they were retaliated against after she brought their complaints to the attention of senior management. Schick warned Metoyer that she would not go far in the organization because she was too outspoken and SAG senior management did not tolerate people of color talking back the way she did. Schick commented, You talk more than other black people here. The rest of them are like  they're like a tribe or something. They hang around together, and they don't talk. You're unusual. You talk too much. Metoyer became concerned about her job because of the actions of senior management against other minority employees who brought complaints. Metoyer asked Chassman whether she was too outspoken and he responded affirmatively, explaining that McGuire did not like her because she was too outspoken in attempting to implement affirmative action policies. In 2000, SAG cut Metoyer's budget and there was an increase in racial discrimination complaints by SAG employees which culminated in the circulation of an anonymous letter written by SAG minority employees. Chassman accused Metoyer of fomenting discontent and unrest amongst SAG employees regarding racial discrimination and encouraging them to come forward with their race discrimination complaints.