After the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a huge sexual harassment case against Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, top officials at the company’s Normal, Illinois plant called a meeting of employees to warn them that they could lose their jobs if sales drop as a result of the allegations. Officials also said phones would be installed at the plant so that employees could call Congress and the President for free to tell them the charges are false. Also planned is an employee march on the Chicago offices of the EEOC who the plant says “affects their job security.”
Mistubishi denies the claims of the 30 women who filed a suit against the company in December 1994 as well as the EEOC’s claim at least 300 women were subjected to sexual harassment and intimidation at the 4,000-person plant. One man, who admitted he himself sexually harassed women at the plant, reported seeing numerous photos handed out at the plant of naked men and women having sex at a party. Patricia Benassi, attorney for the women in the original suit, said women at the plant are being threatened for suing and that the wall of a men’s locker room reportedly has a warning that a man will “go hunting” for women if he loses his job.
