Blatant workplace discrimination

The majority of the Navajo people or most Native Americans live in Arizona, yet the U.S. Civil Rights Commission (U.S. CRC) will be conducting hearings in many states and not in Arizona. The defunct Navajo Nation Civil Rights Commission (NNCRC) need to revive and get involved in resolving civil rights violations in or around Indian Country and make immediate inquiry into blatant discrimination practices, especially in cases of serial blatant discrimination practices and corporate corruption.

Native American corporate discrimination or mistreatment including the following:

• [Being] held to double standards.

• [Enduring] long-term different terms and conditions for employment and being retaliated against for speaking out.

• White supervisors enjoy white employees’ unification tactics, divide and conquer tactics. • Workplace bias/favoritism, subjugation of Native Americans.

• Serial cases of workplace framing by white employees and/or supervisor.

• Falsification of schedules in order to frame with negligence of duty (one example of gross negligence).

• Serial investigation falsification in the workplace.

• Serial insubordination charges for documenting a white employee(s) and not vice versa. • Repeated and complete disregards for Native American work issues and not vice versa.

• Work or vacation or sick procedure(s) applied to Native American and not vice versa. • Drug screen for sending “antagonistic e-mail” by Native American and not vice versa. • Discipline for writing a work request for the same task and not vice versa.

• Discipline for negligence of duty and not vice versa (one example of company handbook discipline application to Native American only).

• Segregation in the workplace (stay in own work areas) and not vice versa.

• Discipline for performing certain technical task and not vice versa (job accommodations for white employee only).

• Do-not-document-on-company-time guideline for Native American and not vice versa. • Secret maneuvering of whites employees for dual job accommodations.

• Native American always lack “teamwork” spirit charges and not vice versa.

• Yearly Performance Reviews are applied to work group with Native Americans and not white only work group.

• White only supervision upgrades.

• Strict adherence to lunch time/break times/starting time/quitting time for Native American only.

• Strict computer guidelines/monitoring for Native American and not vice versa.

• “Unprofessional conduct” discipline against Native American and not vice versa.

• Application of discipline company policies to Native American and not vice versa.

• Management targeting of highly qualified Native American (supposedly a threat to white employees).

• Discriminatory termination.

• Discipline for advocating for another Native American employee for special recognition award.

• Discipline are used as tool for retaliation (after advocating for fair and equal treatment). • Racial stereotyping in the workplace by white supervisor (“Native Americans have a “you owe me” attitude”).

• Lease violations.

Profound disparate treatment as mentioned above, other incidences like alleged harassment document theft, attempted physical assault by top management personnel, and releasing of damaging personal information of Native American employee have been occurring on Navajoland for many years.

NNCRC has been defunct as they have failed to act and they have currently failed to bring U.S. CRC hearing to Arizona or Navajoland.

It would only be proper for NNCRC to act immediately as the courts have statute of limitations to address issues within certain timeframes. NNCRC’s failure to act will only lead to charges like these slipped away forever.

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley or the Navajo Nation Tribal Council is requested to take action in case NNCRC fails to do.

The NNCRC need to work closely with Navajo Nation Labor Commission and other government agencies to legislate new measures to ensure blatant cases of discrimination, racial harassment, or corporate corruption do not occur within Indian Country. For instance, the Office of Navajo Labor Relations and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) need to develop a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to resolve blatant discrimination practices on behalf of Navajo people.

The MOU enactment is well justified. MOU will have a positive effect on the national level on all Indian tribes/other minorities, and failure to create an MOU will allow continuance of blatant discrimination in the workplace.

The nation celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day on 01/19/04, but some of us have experienced setbacks due to our skin color. The NNCRC need to bring the civil rights hearing either to Flagstaff or Page or Winslow.

NNCRC’s past negligence, ignorance and notorious failure to act as a sounding board to address civil rights violations indirectly allows for permeation of racism and long-term adverse treatment of Indian people as second-class citizens.

Franklin Adakai

T’o’ aheedl’iinii or

Water Flow Together Clan

Teec Nos Pos, Ariz.

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