Racist taunting by employees targeting an African-American employee might have led to five employees being fatally shot including the shooter at the Molson Coors Beverage Company formerly known as MillierCoors.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
February 26, 2020
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Wednesday, Milwaukee police, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, Milwaukee Fire Department, Marquette University Police and multiple other law enforcement agencies including the ATF and FBI responded to an active shooter around 2:08 p.m. at the Molson Coors Company formerly known as MillerCoors at the 4100 block of W. State St. in Milwaukee. During an afternoon press conference Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales confirmed that five employees at the company were fatally shot and the 51-year-old suspected shooter who was found with an apparent self-inflicted wound.
The deceased shooter was identified on Facebook as Anthony Ferrill who worked at MillerCoors/Molson Coors for more than 20 years and is an African-American who was terminated from Molson Beverage Company earlier in the day, according to sources. Police have also identified the shooter as Ferrill.
The victims were identified by police as Jesus Valle Jr., 33; Gennady Levshetz, 61; Trever Wetselaar, 33; Dana Walk, 57, and Dale Hudson, 60.
The victims were identified by police as Jesus Valle Jr., 33; Gennady Levshetz, 61; Trever Wetselaar, 33; Dana Walk, 57, and Dale Hudson, 60.
Multiple Facebook posts indicated that racism by employees at Molson Coors might have triggered the multiple fatalities.
According to a Facebook post by Tony Muhammad, "The shooter at Millers Coors is reported to suffer racial discrimination and harassment from white co-workers. He recently filed a civil lawsuit against Miller Coors's racist work environment. The racist white co-workers had hung a hangman noose on his locker. He was rehired after the lawsuit five years ago. The white racist male harassment continue when he returned to work at Miller Coors."
"The racist white co-workers this time humiliated the 51-year-old African American male by pasting spade cards on his work locker and making his workday unbearable with white male racist antics.
"The Brother evidently was forced over the edge of sanity to make a violent and act to end Miller Coors workforce racist harassment. Perhaps with this most recent reported incident of workforce white male racism against African American Miller Coors in the City of Milwaukee will make fair and equal employment for all a matter of private and public policy... Miller Coors has a long history of tolerating its white brewery worker racist behavior and acts against Black brewery workers."
Muhammad also posted on Facebook, "One of my sons was wrongfully fired due to white racists coworkers and supervisors racial targetting him. The other two quit because of the hyper-white racism practiced at Miller Coors. Our young people do not have faith and rightfully so that filing employment discrimination complaints with the DOL, EEOC or State ERD will change the white racist outcomes in the American workforce! And it has not changed this nation practice of employment racism impact on Black Americans the past 55 years."
Police have not released any information or confirmed during their preliminary homicide investigation, if racism targeted at the shooter by unidentified employees at Molson Coors was the motive that led to the firing of the shooter on Wednesday for allegedly reporting a racist act against him to management that later led to the shooting spree.
At a press conference, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett stated, that the multiple shooting was a cowardly act and hopes it never repeats again.
According to APNews, a lawsuit was filed in 1994, "Three former employees of Miller Brewing Co.'s plant in Fulton, N.Y., allege in a lawsuit that employees were subjected to racist name-calling and harassment...The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, seeks class-action status, which would give attorneys the right to represent as many as 500 black people who have worked at the plant." Three previous legal actions were taken by Black employees before the lawsuit was filed in 1994.
Update: Employees from Molson Coors Beverage Company who did not want to be identified have come forward with allegations and confirmed that some White employees would say the N-word around Black employees and placed "Nooses" at areas where Black employees worked and at or near their lockers area and they (Whites) made the work place a "toxic racial work environment", which the company management might have tolerated, even when Black employees complained to management, according to news reports.
The Molson Coors Beverage Co. management has not confirmed or denied the racially toxic work environment allegations raised by employees reported by media sources. The mainstream media have taken up interest in the toxic racial work environment issue at the company and have began to ask questions.
Police have become aware of the toxic racially motivated work environment at the company from allegations raised in social media as well when it was first reported by Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
Roland H. Buck Jr. posted on his Facebook account, "To answer the reporters question yesterday about the miller shooting. She asked what was the shooters motive? Don’t get me wrong my condolences goes out to all individuals involved. This man has been harassed harassed and harassed on his job. He came to work one morning and had noose hanging on his locker. This informed come from a person that works with him everyday. He went to management and they did nothing about it. So he took actions into his hand and he got fired. They pushed that man to a breaking point. The blood is now on miller’s hand. A sad Occasion all the way around."
Update: Employees from Molson Coors Beverage Company who did not want to be identified have come forward with allegations and confirmed that some White employees would say the N-word around Black employees and placed "Nooses" at areas where Black employees worked and at or near their lockers area and they (Whites) made the work place a "toxic racial work environment", which the company management might have tolerated, even when Black employees complained to management, according to news reports.
The Molson Coors Beverage Co. management has not confirmed or denied the racially toxic work environment allegations raised by employees reported by media sources. The mainstream media have taken up interest in the toxic racial work environment issue at the company and have began to ask questions.
Police have become aware of the toxic racially motivated work environment at the company from allegations raised in social media as well when it was first reported by Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
Roland H. Buck Jr. posted on his Facebook account, "To answer the reporters question yesterday about the miller shooting. She asked what was the shooters motive? Don’t get me wrong my condolences goes out to all individuals involved. This man has been harassed harassed and harassed on his job. He came to work one morning and had noose hanging on his locker. This informed come from a person that works with him everyday. He went to management and they did nothing about it. So he took actions into his hand and he got fired. They pushed that man to a breaking point. The blood is now on miller’s hand. A sad Occasion all the way around."
Dear Tory Lowe,
I was an employee at Molson Coors for 4 years. I recently quit to save my life. The harassment, and hostile work environment I was exposed to almost made me lose my mind. I worked closely with all the individuals involved. Usually when we are being harassed at Miller we are isolated from other black workers. I was in the meeting when management talked about the noose and other situations of racial discrimination that were continuously swept under the rug. Many black employees were subjected to racist rhetoric, treated less then second class citizens.
I even considered suicide due to being emotionally subjected to being harassed in a racially charged work environment. I want the people to know the truth about what goes on inside Miller Coors. I'm hoping that situations like the recent shooting were 6 people lost their lives will never happen again. The people need to know what was really going on.
Sincerely,
Jelani Muhammad
Dated: February 28, 2020
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