Belleville Lube Shop Owner's Racist Talk Led to Firing, Mass Exodus, Workers Say

[TexasTowelie]

DeWayne Wren says he was fired from his job at a Metro East lube shop after objecting to his boss' use of the n-word and other racial slurs. And it's not just Wren's word against his former employer — not only do two other employees back up his allegations, but they say they walked off the job in protest, along with two others.

Wren worked at East End X-Press Lube in Belleville, Illinois, beginning in February 2018. But he says owner Paul Beeler's racist language quickly became an ongoing problem.

One day, Wren says, Beeler told a customer a story about his time as a milk truck driver and joked that “the black kids running to get their milk looked like monkeys.” On another occasion, Wren says, Beeler observed Wren's waistband slipping low on a hot day. "I don’t understand why black people get offended when they’re called [the n-word] when they wear their pants on their ass, because that is what they look like and right now you look like a [n-word]," he says Beeler told him.

A former employee, Ethan Haas, confirms that he also heard the exchange about Wren's pants. And Samuel Sargeant, another ex-employee, recalls Beeler making at least three racist comments during the months that he worked there.

Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/09/10/belleville-lube-shop-owners-racist-talk-led-to-firing-mass-exodus-workers-say

[The Polack MSgt]

1. Late to the party, sorry I don't come around the IL page very often

Holy hell.

My wife and I sometime used that shop for oil changes and tire rotations.

It's so weird to see a place you know in the news like this - Obviously, fuck that guy I can find another shop.

But I feel very disappointed because most other maintenance shops around here are franchises and the East end X-Press is an independent operation.

Fuck

[TexasTowelie]

2. I regret that this thread hit so close to home.

It is disappointing to know that a business that you've supported has so little consideration for their employees that they would permit such conduct.

I also suggest that you subscribe to the Illinois Group to stay current with the events in your state.

[The Polack MSgt]

3. Yeah, I subscribed now.