Maine man sues shipyard company, saying it let employees refer to him as a ‘chimp’

Referring to Black people as monkeys or apes is a racist cliché used for ages to justify slavery and imply that Black people are less than human.

A Black welder filed a lawsuit against a Maine shipyard, alleging the company permitted racial discrimination against him without repercussion.

Former employee Aaron Martin filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, claiming Bath Iron Works subjected him to “severe and pervasive racial discrimination and harassment,” including allowing others to refer to him as a “chimp,” according to Bangor Daily News.

Referring to Black people as monkeys or apes is a racist cliché used for ages to justify slavery and imply that Black people are less than human.

The federal lawsuit claims Martin would frequently hear co-workers and superiors refer to him with a racial epithet used against Black people. In one instance, an employee allegedly called him a slur in front of dozens of co-workers and managers.

Managers failed to discipline the employee, the lawsuit states, with one advising Martin that he should have physically assaulted his co-worker instead.

“The allegations in the complaint speak for themselves,” said Martin’s attorney, Nicholas Bernate. “During the years that Aaron worked at Bath Iron Works, he was regularly subject to racial slurs and severe discrimination based on the color of his skin. We look forward to Bath Iron Works being held to account for its conduct.”

One of Martin’s managers used a derogatory epithet to refer to Black employees in written correspondence and to allude to work he believed to be subpar.

The complaint claimed that when Martin or other Black employees were present, others would call them monkeys and chimpanzees and make monkey noises.

Martin’s lawsuit comes not long after “Love & Hip-Hop” franchise producer Mona Scott-Young fired Erica Mena from the long-running series for calling fellow cast member Spice, who is Jamaican, a “blue monkey,” theGrio previously reported.

Mena, who shares two mixed-race children with ex-husband Safaree Samuels, also tells Spice she “should have died,” referring to a health scare. As production crew members guide Mena to her car, she again uses the slur.

“Erica, I cannot believe you,” then-castmate Shekinah Jo, who was also present during the incident, said in an interview during the episode. “You just called this girl a monkey and then said she should have died.”  She questioned how Mena would feel if someone referred to her own Jamaican children as “monkeys.”

Bangor Daily News reported that one supervisor in Martin’s lawsuit used a racist slur to inform a welder his team was made up of Black and Latino employees, adding that Bath Iron Works “is an equal opportunity employer after all.”

The lawsuit claims team members carried out the harassment openly without attempting to conceal it. The complaint contends that, as a result, the business should have been aware of what was happening and taken appropriate action.

Martin, who began working at the shipyard in August 2018, received notices of his right to sue from the Maine Human Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after filing a discrimination complaint.

He is requesting that the court rule that Bath Iron Works’ conduct was unlawful discrimination, provide compensatory and punitive damages, and award lawyers’ fees and costs.

According to its website, Bath Iron Works started manufacturing ships in 1884 and has since produced over 425 vessels. The company designs and builds ships from start to finish, including for the U.S. Navy. The state of Maine said the business has 6,001 to 6,500 employees in 2023, making it the fourth largest employer.

Bath Iron Works terminated Martin in October 2021 for reasons unrelated to the lawsuit. At the time Martin worked there, the shipyard — a General Dynamics subsidiary — had around 4,000 employees.

Bath Iron Works spokesperson David Hench said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

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