Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 08:39:21 -0400 (EDT) From: David Casti Reply-To: SJSHARKS7@aol.com Subject: ACTION ALERT: San Jose Here is some additional contact information -- San Jose Mercury News 750 Ridder Park Drive San Jose, CA 95190 Fax 408-271-3689 Knight Ridder One Herald Plaza Miami, FL 33132 Fax 305-376-3838. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Casti Pager: (800) 980-6227 Information Scientist http://www.casti.com/casti/David.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submitted by: SJSHARKS7@aol.com Homophobia even exists in the most liberal of newspapers. The San Jose Mercury News, in San Jose, CA has been sued for anti-gay harassment at the newspaper since 1989. The story has recieved nationwide coverage, most recently, in the Washington Blade. The Mercury News which is owned by the Knight Ridder Inc., in Miami, has continued to try to supress my political activities by trying to stop me from talking about the circumstances in this case. I feel very strongly that I have to speak up because this is an issue of FAIRNESS and NO ONE deserves to be treated like I was in the workplace. Most recently, the Mercury News contacted the San Jose Human Rights Commission, by requesting that I not appear to talk about homophobia in the workplace "due to pending litigation". Please contact Knight Ridder CEO and President Tony Ridder in Miami at (305) 376-3833 or San Jose Mercury News Publisher Jay T. Harris at (408) 920-5000 or email at JTHARRIS@AOL.COM. I recently finished lobbying in U.S. Congress for passage of the ENDA. We have to do something to stop this hate and intolerance. Your phone calls and email messages will be helpful in putting an end to this behavior. Thank you very very much. Listed below is a gay newspaper article that carried the story earlier this year. Monday, January 16, 1995 16:48:14 OutNow! Item From: Chris Thomas Subject: Lawsuit against Mercury News To: OutNow! Mercury News employee alleges discrimination, harassment By CYNTHIA LAIRD OutNOW! Staff Reporter A civil lawsuit has been filed against the San Jose Mercury News by a longtime employee who he has been discriminated against and harassed by fellow co-workers because he is gay and that management has not responded to the situation, despite his repeated attempts to resolve the issue. Peter Eliason, 30, a district manager in the newspaper's circulation department, stated that "The Mercury News has failed miserably to resolve my issues of sexual harassment based on my sexual orientation since I was outed in 1989 by a fellow employee." Eliason said that, since his employment in 1984, he has received several above-average performance reviews, job promotions, salary increases, and awards for his achievement in sales, service, and supervising as many as eight district managers in Santa Clara County. His job includes overseeing delivery of the paper to numerous sites such as convenience stores. Eliason received the newspaper's "World's Greatest Supervisor" award, and he improved recognition for workers whom he supervised. He noted that, between November 1991 and February 1992, he increased sales by 25 percent in Contra Costa County. Some of the more blatant examples of the alleged harassment Eliason experienced since 1989 include having a condom placed in his in-basked and the word "faggot" being etched into his office door nameplate, according to the lawsuit. Eliason said that he and his attorney are seeking unspecified compensatory damages including lost wages, unspecified punitive damages, and payment for medical bills and attorney fees in the lawsuit. Eliason has been out on temporary total stress disability since early November. He said that he does plan to return to work; however, no date has been determined. "I was really trying to follow the chain of command. But nobody was helping me, nobody was responding to me," Eliason said in an interview last week. He was referring to memos he has written to management about the alleged incidents he experienced. "Now, I just want my day in court." Steven McNichols, Eliason's attorney, said that his efforts to meet with legal counsel for the Mercury News have been futile. John Hammett, senior vice president and general counsel for the newspaper, has "broken several luncheon engagements" to discuss the case, McNichols said. The lawsuit requests a jury trial, although there are several legal procedures that must be completed before a trial can begin, McNichols noted. Hammett did not return phone calls to OutNOW!. Eliason has only recently decided to go public with his lawsuit. The newspaper, part of the national Knight-Ridder chain, was served with the complaint on Dec. 22. "The ball is in their court," McNichols said, noting that the newspaper has until Jan. 21 to file an answer to Eliason's complaint. Several individuals who currently work at the Mercury News are named as defendants, in addition to the newspaper as a corporation. They include Deane Barte, senior vice president; James Schober, personnel director; Steve Weaver, circulation director; Annie Gregg, assistant circulation director; Jaime Naranjo, assistant circulation director; Lori Clewett, district manager; and Rufina Calaoagan, customer service representative. An eighth defendant, Jim Souza, no longer works at the paper but is still listed as a defendant, Eliason said. The sexual orientation discrimination and harassment started in the summer of 1989, Eliason said, when Calaoagan allegedly spread rumors that Eliason was gay. "Co-workers were telling me she was spreading rumors. I didn't want to be out," Eliason said, adding that the gossip made him feel he had to "come up with disguises," such as having a girlfriend. In August, Eliason wrote his first memo to Schober, requesting assistance in ending rumors which were rapidly spreading to district managers whom Eliason supervised. He heard nothing from the personnel director. In January 1990, he wrote a second memo to Schober expressing his frustration and anger that Calaoagan had not been counseled about the detrimental nature of the rumors she was accused of spreading. It was in this memo that Eliason stated he felt he was being harassed. "I initially brought this situation to your attention six months ago and have been disappointed in the lack of change.... I feel I am being harassed...," Eliason's memo states. Another alleged incident occurred in February 1992, when an employee announced that other workers did not want to eat any of Eliason's birthday cake because they might get AIDS after Eliason blew out the candles, the lawsuit states. In June 1992, Eliason wrote to Hammett, outlining his "flawless" job record, awards, and salary increases from 1984 to February 1992. However, in March, he received two write-ups from Gregg, who had just joined the newspaper in February and was his immediate supervisor. Eliason questioned the write-ups, saying he believed they were the result of Gregg getting incorrect information. "Since 1989, I have loved the experience of being in management for the best newspaper in the USA," Eliason wrote to Hammett. The recent events, he added, were the result of the harassment he experienced, he charged. According to the complaint, Eliason never received verbal feedback from Gregg or other supervisors before the write-ups. He outlined what else he had experienced recently, maintaining that there is a prevalent anti-gay attitude among his co-workers. "This should not surprise anyone who works in the circulation department how extremely homophobic the atmosphere is," Eliason wrote when describing the comments allegedly made by co-workers about his birthday cake. He added that the editorial and classified advertising departments of the Mercury News are largely pro-gay, but the circulation department is not, with anti-gay jokes being told regularly. Hammett promptly responded to Eliason's letter. He stated that he believed Eliason was "making a mountain out of a molehill," and that he was over-reacting to the directives of the recently hired Gregg. Eliason should accept "the challenge of the guidelines... [and] discontinue the rhetoric.... I honestly don't see harassment or disparate treatment here," read Hammett's letter. Said Eliason of Hammett's letter, "I disagreed with him. It was a typical management response." Eliason noted that the alleged discrimination and harassment against him started in 1989, three years before Gregg began working at the newspaper. On July 2, 1992, Eliason received a performance evaluation which rated him "below average." It was the first such review he had received in eight years, and he was in disbelief. "I'm a hard worker, a dedicated worker," he said. The most offensive instances of sexual orientation discrimination and harassment occurred last year, Eliason's complaint states. On Aug. 30, he discovered the word "faggot" scratched into the nameplate on his office door. A copy of a photo of the nameplate is included in the lawsuit. Eliason stated that he met with Schober to "discuss the openly hostile work environment for gays in the circulation department" states the complaint, which notes that Eliason requested sensitivity training for all employees. On Oct. 2, Eliason and another employee reported to work and discovered a condom someone had put into his in-box. This was also immediately reported to management. A copy of a photo of the condom is also included in the suit, showing what appears to be a used condom. "It was getting to the point where I was afraid to open my office door," Eliason said. Through all of this, Eliason said that he is trying to get over his depression so that he can return to work. Although Eliason did not voluntarily come out as being gay, he says that he is okay with being open about his sexual orientation. "I'm proud to be gay," Eliason said. ______________________________________________________ Copyright (c) 1995 by Cynthia Laird. All rights reserved. Published by OutNOW!. Republication or redistribution prohibited.