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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
Street Roots • Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2017 News HARASSMENT, from page 4 and assault are locally. Of the men interviewed, the consensus was the issue existed but that it was mostly consensual among co-workers and was worse for women, especially from guest to co-worker. One man, though - a veteran downtown bartender told Street Roots he has been repeatedly stalked by female patrons, as well as harassed by a male patron. But the women have it way worse,” he said. On busy nights, I’ve seen guys reach up and try to grab them as they’re bending over and things like th at It’s awful.” Of the women interviewed for this article, here are a few of their many stories. Due to the nature of their accounts, Street Roots agreed to anonymity. One woman said she was asked to perform a sex act on her male manager in order to retain her job at a popular downtown tavern. Another woman was terminated for refusing service to a patron who was repeatedly verbally abusive to her, often calling her a “c*nt” Another bar worker said her male manager coaxed her onto the roof after closing and then made sexual advances toward her. She bolted and was later met with a barrage of inappropriate text messages. Another woman said a male patron at the bar where she worked “shoved his fingers up my skirt and into my underwear and then ran off.” Another reported an intoxicated male patron was sitting on her car when she left work, prompting her to go back inside to retrieve other employees to escort her out None of these experiences would be included in any retrievable statistic because none of these women filed a harassment or assault complaint to law enforcement. If the incident were reported to management, an incident report and investigation would likely occur, the results of which would remain confidential within the company. In the event of a reference check, companies are reluctant to ask much more than basic information like dates, titles and salaries and whether the person is eligible for rehire. “Some employers may limit the amount of information they give out of caution and fear of defamation suits,” said Charlie Burr, BOLI’s communications director. “It’s an individual choice by the employer, not a legal mandate.” Kelly Vaughn, a manager and bartender in Northeast Portland and a survivor of sexual assault, said, “It’s defihitely a problem I’ve seen in the industry - cases where managers get terminated and then go get hired somewhere else and repeat the same practices. There’s just no way to track it, unfortunately, because managers Have to adopt a legal approach. It’s a gray area, very tricky.” Coming forward Some high-profile cases of women and girls' coming forward have captured headlines Recently. In October, six women filed a class-action lawsuit against the owners of Italian restaurant Nonna Emilia in the Southwest Portland suburb of Aloha, accusing them of sexual harassment and abuse. A comprehensive investigation by BOLI found substantial evidence regarding the allegations that kitchen manager Justin Ceccanti otherwise aided, abetted, incited, compelled and/or Coerced unlawful em ploym ent practices. In BQLI documents ob ta in e d by S tre e t Roots, the allegations included: ■ One woman, who was pregnant at the Page 5 time, alleged that Ceccanti demanded to walk her to her car, where he assaulted her. ■ Another woman claimed Ceccanti “would regularly call female members of the staff profane names such as ‘stupid bitch,’ and made other harassing and threatening statements.” ■ Another said Ceccanti provided her and her co-worker with alcohol and pressured them both to engage in sexual conduct; at one point, she said, one of the women was unconscious. In a separate case, two teenagers sued Stars Cabaret in July, with the help of Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad If you believe that you¡ h a w Avakian and BOLI, on charges been illegally discriminated of “unlawful sexual harassment - against on the basis of a of minors.” The girls, including protected class or protected one who was prostituted to activity, contact the Bureau customers when she was 13, of Labor and Industries’ Civil recently went in front of a judge Rights Division a t 971-673- for closing arguments in the 0764 or crdemail@boli.state. civil rights case. One of the or.us. The BOLI website, girls came forward a year after www,oregon.gov/boli, in the events took place when she cludes a Sexual Harassment confided in a counselor. That one confession catapulted Q&A, detailed Information events that would end up with regard to the complaint causing Stars to go bankrupt, process, and more. lose its liquor license and send three men to prison for . compelling prostitution, first-degree sex abuse and second-degree rape, among other charges. It is common practice to question a victim’s trustworthiness when it comes to sexual harassment and assault. Look no further than public reaction to sexual assault allegations Report discrimination ag a in st c e le b ritie s an d p o litician s su c h a s Bill C o s b y an d D o n a ld T r u m p .- r ln th e c a se a g a in s t S ta rs C a b aret, .in spiteLftil PHO TO BY ELIZABETH BUÉLO W assault and harassment. AM ‘ j M A
