Racism in the workplace
A prominent electrical contractor continues to work for Atlanta-based Southern Company, the nation's second largest utility, despite the contractor's documented history of tolerating, maybe even encouraging, wildly inappropriate workplace conduct, according to a report from longtime Alabama attorney and civil-rights advocate Donald Watkins. The misbehavior includes the swapping of racist and anti-gay jokes, along with anti-foreigner barbs.
Watkins, who has become a major voice in online journalism about various scandals (accounting fraud, racketeering, hush-money payments) that have been swirling around Southern Company for years, reports that the public record indicates the utility giant knows about, and has no problem with, the gross conduct of one of its contractors.
Under today's headline "Southern Company Turned a Blind Eye to Electrical Contractor’s History of Racist Workplace Behavior," Watkins writes:
Many people think Christopher C. Womack is running the Southern Company because he was appointed as chief executive officer on May 24, 2023. In truth, Womack has no REAL executive authority or presence within the company. He is merely a highly-paid African-American figurehead who was appointed to the job for public-relations purposes in the post-George Floyd “woke” era.
Former CEO Thomas A. Fanning runs the Southern Company from his perch as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. Fanning is Womack’s boss. He continues to run the Southern Company with a strong presence and dictatorial grip over Womack and the company's board of directors.
Against this backdrop, it is no surprise that Miller Electrical Contractors Inc. continues to work as a major Southern Company vendor, despite its documented history of workplace racism, anti-gay behavior, and xenophobic banter.
Tens of millions of Southern Company dollars feed Miller Electrical Contractor’s brand of racist, anti-gay, xenophobic hatred.
It's not as if there is any doubt about the ugly nature of communications emanating from, and through, Miller Electrical Contractors Inc. Evidence resides in the public domain, in black and white, and Watkins shares some of the shocking material in his post today. He also reveals the history behind it:
From 1993 to 2015, Michael W. Munroe was chief operating officer and corporate secretary for D&N Electric Company (DNE). From 2015 to 2023, Monroe was vice president of Miller Electrical Contractors, Inc., a company in which DNE owned 49% of the shares of stock. In his executive capacities, Michael Munroe served as a contracts administrator and compliance officer for DNE and Miller Electrical Contractors.
Munroe was also a prolific racist who enjoys writing and sending racist emails, caricature pictures, anti-gay jokes, and xenophobic satirical emails to: (a) his circle of personal friends, (b) former DNE employees, (c) Miller officials, including the company’s owners, its vice president for operations, and senior project manager, (d) a former executive at SunTrust Bank, and (e) other cohorts who shared his warped values.
Munroe's steady stream of racist, anti-gay, and xenophobic emails, pictures, and jokes was tasteless, offensive, and sickening. Collectively, this cache of documents evidences a deep-seated racism that is incapable of reformation.
How warped was the "humor" that flowed through Michael Munroe to various individuals and entities associated with Miller Electrical Contractors Inc.? Watkins provides examples:
On March 16, 2012, Michael Munroe wrote this email to Katie Davis, a SunTrust vice president for commercial banking in Morrow, Georgia, and others:
Katie Davis, who was a 2011 member of the SunTrust Bank Chairman’s Team, was not limited to receiving a multitude of Munroe's racist emails. On December 19, 2011, she originated one of her own and sent it to Munroe, complete with a smiley-face emoji and her SunTrust email address.
Katie Davis departed SunTrust in January 2013. She is now an account manager at TaxCredible (formerly Alpharesults), a position she has held since June 2013.
Munroe seemed to get particularly active with his communiques when political season kicked into high gear. Watkins has an example, and this one went to executives way outside the South:
In the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, Munroe sent Katie Davies, Miller Electrical co-owner Matt Armstrong, two company executives, and others an email that stated: “2012: Don’t Re-nig!” Within the context of the email chain, "Re-nig" was a dog-whistle term that was used to encourage Southern white voters to vote against Barack Obama during the 2012 presidential election.
Munroe’s post-election December 5, 2012, email chain featured a picture of Obama's face on a food stamp coupon. This email chain began by showing the pictures of six white presidents on U.S. currency, with a laudatory description for each president.
Then, as Munroe's email recipients scrolled down, Obama’s picture appeared on a food-stamp coupon, along with these derogatory comments.
Among the individuals copied on the Obama food-stamp email chain was a Human Resources executive at Farmers and Merchants Bank, an executive at MillerCoors Beverage Company (now known as Molson Coors), an executive at Sasco Chemical Company (Atlanta), someone at Lanier County, and a Georgia public school executive.Munroe even resorts to the tried-and-true "Pearly Gates" mode of Joke-telling, writes Watkins:Watkins concludes by noting that "birds of a feather flock together:Munroe's flaming white racism was searing in his June 9, 2011, email about "three male Niggers" who arrived at the "Pearly Gates." Banker Katie Davis was copied on this email, along with Munroe's other friends.
One of the sickest jokes discusses Munroe’s desire to become a truck driver after an 18-wheeler truck speeding through an intersection killed a car full of “loud Muslims shouting anti-American slogans.” Katie Davis was copied on this email, as well. Munroe also felt comfortable enough to copy Kathy Villanueva, an administrator at ADP Payroll Services.
Michael Munroe's display of racism, anti-gay humor, and xenophobic banter was endless and authentic. What is worse, Munroe's conspicuous racism was tolerated by the Southern Company, which knew or should have known. about his conduct.
Even though these Michael Munroe emails (and many others of the same ilk)
were available in public court proceedings, DNE and Miller Electrical
Contractors were able to pass the Southern Company's vetting and approval
process to work as electrical contractors at the company's plants and
facilities
Since 2016, Miller Electrical Contractors has grown and thrived off the company's vendor contracts with the Southern Company and Georgia Power.
From 2014 to 2023, James Y. Kerr, II, served as the Southern Company's
chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and chief of staff to then
CEO-Thomas Fanning. Kerr and his staff oversaw all compliance activities within
the Southern Company's constellation of companies.
Under Kerr's leadership, the Southern Company evolved into a corporate culture where purveyors of racism felt welcomed. Kerr and his colleagues in management actually brought executives into the Southern Company who had a history of racial discrimination at other companies.
In 2020, Kerr summarily dismissed as a “proposition” or “hypothesis” the
established fact that the North Birmingham (Alabama) Bribery Scheme of former
state representative Oliver Robinson, which was organized and funded by Alabama
Power and other Southern Company allies, was a racist scheme to suppress the
environmental protection rights of blacks (and poor whites) in three 92.5 %
black Birmingham neighborhoods. .
The Racist, Anti-Gay, and Xenophobic Behavior was Discovered by an African-American Company After Its Purchase of DNE
In 2013, DNE was purchased by an Atlanta-based company headed by accomplished African-American businessman John F. Carter. After the deal closed, Carter owned 60% of the company and the original owners became minority owners.
Prior to Carter's purchase of DNE, the company was owned by Robert Nix (60%), Matt Armstrong 30%, Larry Harper 5%, and Robert Starr 5%.
DNE also owned 49% of Miller Electric. The other 51% was owned by McKendree “Ken” Miller Electrical Contractors.
Carter's acquisition did not include a change of ownership of Miller Electrical Contractors or his assumption of control over the company.
Prior to and after Carter's purchase of DNE, the company was an approved vendor for Georgia Power, Southern Company, Tennessee Valley Authority (in Knoxville), Tennessee, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia.
Separately, since 2000, Miller Electric Contractors has been an approved vendor for various industrial-scale projects in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Fairburn, Georgia. The company also performed work on projects for Georgia Power, Southern Company, Tennessee Valley Authority (in Knoxville), and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
After Carter's acquisition of DNE closed, his management team discovered a cache of racist emails and photos on the company's computer servers. The emails and photos in this article were among those found on the servers.
A forensic audit commissioned by John Carter also uncovered suspicious banking activities, including what appeared to be fraud, forgery, and “insider” assistance and facilitation in connection with certain bank transactions involving DNE and the United Bank of Zebulon, Georgia. Carter promptly reported these suspicious financial activities to the East Point Police Department, Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
These questionable banking activities will be the subject of Part II of my special investigative report into the conduct of this major Southern Company vendor.
Michael Munroe retired as a vice president from Miller Electrical Contractors in May 2023. The company continues to serve as a Southern Company approved vendor.
Matthew Armstrong, who was listed among the circle of former DNE executives receiving Munroe’ racist, anti-gay, and xenophobic emails, serves as Miller Electrical Contractor’s president.
John Carter has disassociated himself from all of the shenanigans caused by the former executives of DNE and the current executives affiliated with Miller Electrical Contractors. The Southern Company has not done so.