Full opinion text
ORDER ROBERT D. POTTER, Chief Judge. The Plaintiffs filed this action on May 20, 1982 alleging they were discriminated against by the Defendant because of race, sex, and age in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (Section 1981) and 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. (“ADEA”). By Order of April 9, 1984 the ADEA claims were dismissed. The trial was heard before the undersigned on November 26, 27, 28, and December 21, 1984 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Plaintiffs were represented by Michael A. Sheely and the Defendant was represented by William W. Sturges. After a full trial of the matter, the Court, having carefully considered the testimony and exhibits, enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law: FINDINGS OF FACT (1) The Defendant, United Parcel Service (“UPS”) is a corporation engaged in the interstate transportation of parcels. It employs in excess of fifteen employees and is an “employer” within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b) and a “person” within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. (2) Local Union No. 71 of the Teamsters is the bargaining agent at UPS for the bargaining unit in which the majority of the Plaintiffs are members. The positions covered by the collective bargaining agreement include package car drivers, feeder drivers, part-time loader/unloaders, sorters, car washers, mechanics, and building maintenance. The policy of UPS in reference to full-time bargaining unit positions provides that for every three openings two openings would be filled by part-time bargaining unit employees and the third opening would be filled from the street. (3) There are twelve Plaintiffs in this litigation who were all employed at the West Carolina District of UPS. This district encompasses the western part of North Carolina and all of South Carolina. (4) The Plaintiff, Marcus Ardrey, a black male is currently employed by UPS as a full-time car washer shifter. He asserts claims of racial discrimination in the denial of package car driver position and preloader position. (5) The Plaintiff, James Cherry, a black male, is currently employed by UPS as a full-time package car driver. He asserts claims of racial discrimination in the denial of a preloader position and in the issuing of warnings to him. In addition, he claims the warnings were issued in retaliation for his opposition to practices illegal under Title VII. (6) The Plaintiff, Bessie Easterling Brown, a black female, is currently employed by UPS as a feeder driver. She alleges racial discrimination in the issuance of warnings to her, the denial of time off, her one day discharge and her general treatment by the supervisors. (7) The Plaintiff, Lewis Funderburk, a black male, is currently employed by UPS as a feeder driver. He alleges racial discrimination in the assignment of feeder driver equipment. (8) The Plaintiff, Horace Jenkins, a black male over forty, was formerly employed by UPS as a package ear driver. He alleges age and racial discrimination in the denial of light duty work, the removal of the responsibility of “call tags” and “one shots” and the assignment of equipment. His ADEA claim has already been dismissed and summary judgment in favor of UPS was granted on his light duty claim. (9) The Plaintiff, Joyce Massey, a black female, was formerly employed by UPS as a part-time simulator. She alleges sex and race discrimination in her discharge after she was laid off by UPS. She was not a member of Local Union No. 71. (10) The Plaintiff, Eugene Neal, a black male, is currently employed by UPS as a feeder driver. He alleges racial discrimination and retaliation in the denial of a supervisor position and in assigning overtime work. He further testified that racial discrimination exists in the assignment of feeder driver equipment. (11) The Plaintiff, Matthew Smith, a black male, is currently employed by UPS as a feeder driver. He alleges racial discrimination in the assignment of feeder driver equipment and the issuance of warnings and suspensions. (12) The Plaintiff, Carl Watts, a black male, is currently employed by UPS as a part-time loader. He alleges racial discrimination in the denial of a package car position and in the issuance of warnings. (13) The Plaintiff, Cheryl Pettigrew, a black female, was formerly employed by UPS as a tracer clerk. She alleges racial discrimination in her treatment by her supervisor, her training and her subsequent discharge. (14) The Plaintiffs, Jerome Morrow and Henry Tyson, black males, are currently employed by UPS as full-time car wash shifters. They allege racial discrimination by having to work in a racist atmosphere. (15) All of the Plaintiffs allege racial discrimination by being subjected to work in a racist atmosphere. (16) All of the Plaintiffs filed a timely charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and exhausted their administrative remedies. A. ARDREY—PACKAGE CAR DRIVER (1) On April 7, 1980 Mr. Ardrey applied for a full-time package car position. His application revealed he was convicted on July 16, 1979 of a DUI and his license was suspended for six months. (2) Applicants for driving jobs must meet designated pre-qualification requirements before they are accepted as candidates to qualify as drivers. One of these requirements is that an applicant must have an acceptable driving record for the past three years. Such a record has been defined as one that does not have a license suspension or revocation within the past three years for, among other reasons, driving under the influence. (3) Mr. Ardrey was denied the opportunity to qualify for a driving job because he did not have an acceptable driving record for the preceding three years because of the DUI conviction. There is not any evidence that any white person was allowed to qualify without meeting the three year clean record requirement. Mr. Ardrey does not contend that the Company’s failure to qualify him because of his DUI was a pretext for discrimination. (4) Mr. Ardrey complains because he was mistakenly told by two white management employees that it was only two years. Mr. Johnson, a black supervisor, told Mr. Ardrey that it was three years. It is not clear why Mr. Ardrey contends the mistake is suppose to correlate to race. (5) The Court finds that Mr. Ardrey failed to show that in applying for the package car position he was treated differently because of his race. (The Plaintiffs Proposed Findings of Fact also state that Mr. Ardrey failed to prevail on this claim.) B. PRELOADER—ARDREY AND CHERRY 1. Ardrey’s Training (1) Mr. Ardrey was hired by UPS in August 1973 as a part-time trailer unloader. He was in the military between August 1975 and August 1979. In October 1979 he returned to UPS as a part-time unloader. (2) On February 11, 1980 Mr. Ardrey began training for a full-time preloader position on the sortrac. The qualification period is thirty days. (3) The sortrac is a 250 feet long convey- or belt with twelve slides on each side of the conveyor belt. Belts carry packages which are diverted down the slides for loading into package vans. There are approximately forty package cars parked on each side at the end of the slides for loading. The slides are eight to ten feet long and ten feet wide. The higher end of the slide is about five and a half feet and the lower end is about three feet. There are return conveyor belts beneath the slides. (4) Preloaders also work in the “boxline” area which is next to the sortrac. Packages in the boxline are delivered to the preloaders by being placed in cages which are on a continually running conveyor belt. The parties disagree as to what is the easiest area to work on the sortrac. (5) The keyers divert packages to the slides and cages. A package which is incorrectly keyed and does not belong on a slide is a missort or miskey. (6) Ken Hudson, a white male, supervised six employees on one side of the sortrac and Jim Stone supervised the employees on the other side. Mr. Hudson’s immediate supervisor was Rich Young, the sortrac manager. (7) Mr. Ardrey’s qualification supervisor was Ken Hudson. Mr. Ardrey was assigned slides A-54 and A-25, side by side in the sortrac area. (8) The job of preloader is to remove the packages from the slide and load them in the designated locations inside the package cars. There were three to four vans assigned to each slide. The packages were placed in the package cars in terms of a sequence determined by the route of the package car. A “sequence chart” established the order. A “sequence number” was determined by an address. Certain customers, due to their volume, receive sequence numbers. Eighty percent of the packages loaded on the cars are placed within twenty percent of the sequence numbers in the car. The sequence chart was a computer print out which was usually received daily at the beginning of the shift. The sort work hours were from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. (9) UPS implemented standard training programs for training employees attempting to qualify for the various positions. Each training program was designed for the needs of the particular position. (10) UPS utilized a standard training program for training preloaders. At the completion of the training period the employee is required to meet an established minimal level of competency in order to be qualified (receive seniority) as a preloader. (11) To attain seniority as a preloader the employee must meet at least a 200 package production rate at the end of his training period. There was not any evidence that any employee, black or white, was allowed to gain seniority as a preloader without satisfying this 200 package set level of competency. (12) Mr. Ardrey failed to meet the 200 package quota and therefore was not allowed to qualify as a preloader. Mr. Ardrey testifies that he was unable to satisfy the requirement because he received inferi- or training and harder assignments because of his race. (13) Mr. Ardrey testified that his training was sparse and that the only training he received was on “stop count” and “off load” of packages. This training was received during the first three days of his qualification period. Although Mr. Ardrey conceded that he received help from other employees when his belt jammed, he contended that the help was “late” and caused Mr. Ardrey to lose his production level since efforts would be spent in clearing the slides. Mr. Ardrey further testified that training on slides A-54 and 25 was more difficult because these slides were at the beginning of the main belt and were more likely to jam. Each time the belt jammed packages not belonging in the A-54 and 25 slides were pushed on the slides which would slow Mr. Ardrey’s production. Mr. Ardrey, in addition, testified that he knew the A-54 slide chart “pretty well”. He was tested twice on his chart knowledge and only scored 30% on each test. Finally, Mr. Ardrey testified that he received more missorts and miskeys than white trainees and was not promptly informed of added or deleted stops during his shift. (14) UPS contends that Mr. Ardrey received the same training, assistance and opportunity to qualify as any other employee, black or white. On Mr. Ardrey’s first day of training he received orientation on personnel matters from Martin Taylor. Mr. Ardrey began his on-the-job training the second day. This training involved personal training in all aspects of the job by Mr. Hudson. The same training was repeated the next day. Mr. Hudson testified that he spent approximately 70% of his time with Mr. Ardrey during these initial two days. (15) On the fourth day Mr. Ardrey received his first sortrac trainee evaluation by Mr. Hudson. At this time Mr. Ardrey was only loading the A-54 area. Mr. Hudson reviewed this evaluation with Mr. Ardrey. Mr. Hudson rated Mr. Ardrey good in attendance, attitude, follows instructions, and parcel knowledge. He was rated fair in production, retention, personal safety and knowledge of job. At this time Mr. Ardrey was averaging eighty-five pieces per hour which is average progress at this stage. Mr. Hudson recommended that Mr. Ardrey become more familiar with 80/20 (chart) knowledge. This evaluation is documented by a contemporaneously written evaluation signed by Mr. Ardrey (Def.Ex. 13). (16) On the fourth day another written evaluation was prepared, which evaluation is signed by Mr. Ardrey. It states that Mr. Ardrey needs to become more aggressive and enthusiastic, although his lack of enthusiasm is in part due to his lack of job knowledge. The evaluation further provides that his attitude, retention, service, and personal safety is good, he follows instructions well and his production is acceptable. (Def.Ex. 14). (17) On his fifth training day, Mr. Ardrey was evaluated on his slide to car methods. These methods involve essentially activities at the slide pre-sorting packages so that optimum carries can be made in loading the package cars and activities within the car in shelving the packages properly. In the slide to car evaluation Mr. Ardrey received a good in the majority of the categories. Mr. Hudson, however, stressed that Mr. Ardrey needs to improve his speed, chart knowledge, and optimum carries. This evaluation was documented and signed by Mr. Ardrey. (Def.Ex. 15). (18) Mr. Ardrey’s average package per hour rate at the end of his first week was eighty-three packages. This end-of-the-week progress report is documented. (Def.Ex. 16). (19) On February 18, 1980 Mr. Ardrey was given a written 80-20 chart knowledge test. Mr. Ardrey scored 30% on the test. This test is documented and signed by Mr. Ardrey. (Def.Ex. 17). After the test, Mr. Hudson counseled Mr. Ardrey that UPS expected 200 packages per hour in order to gain seniority and that he should be able to handle A-54 the first week without problems because the second week A-25 would be added and A-88 would be added the third week. Further, Mr. Hudson reviewed his current production level and reviewed where he needed to be week by week. Mr. Hudson told Mr. Ardrey that he must study and learn the 80-20 charts given to him. This counseling was documented in Mr. Ardrey’s file. (Def.Ex. 18). (Def.Ex. 20). (20) On February 19, 1980 Mr. Hudson worked with Mr. Ardrey for eight hours reviewing the preload procedures and good methods. Mr. Hudson worked with Mr. Ardrey to demonstrate the work pace needed to reach the established goals. Mr. Ardrey replied that this pace “was killing him.” Mr. Hudson prepared a written report documenting this training. (Def.Ex. 19). (21) In addition, on February 19, 1980 Mr. Young (the preload manager) performed a slide to car evaluation on Mr. Ardrey. Mr. Young observed that Mr. Ardrey’s chart knowledge was insufficient at 56%, that he was not selecting packages for optimum carries to one car and that his work pace lacked a sense of urgency or aggressiveness. The evaluation was documented and signed by Mr. Ardrey. (22) On February 20, 1980 Mr. Hudson performed the second sortrac trainee evaluation, day nine. Mr. Ardrey was rated good in attendance, retention, personal safety, following instructions, and parcel handling. His attitude and job knowledge was fair. It was recommended that he needed to improve his speed and chart knowledge. In fact, his package per hour rate was still at eighty-five, having not increased at all over his first week’s rate. This evaluation was documented and signed by Mr. Ardrey. (Def. Ex. 21). (23) On February 22, 1980 Mr. Hudson worked with Mr. Ardrey on using better methods for space utilization within the car. Mr. Hudson demonstrated the proper procedure for adjusting shelves and moving steps on the shelves for maximum utilization of existing shelf space. This training was documented by Mr. Hudson. (Def.Ex. 23). (24) In addition, on February 22, 1980, Mr. Hudson performed the tenth day, slide to ear evaluation of Ardrey. Mr. Ardrey was rated good to very good in many areas. His package per hour rate, however, was only 96% and he had to refer to the chart eight out of sixteen times. He was told that he needed to improve his pre-sorting and that his chart knowledge “reveals a great need for improvement. Chart knowledge from observation shows little or no chart knowledge.” This evaluation was documented and signed by Mr. Ardrey. (Def.Ex. 24). (25) On February 25, 1980 Mr. Young completed the center manager’s review with pre-seniority employee. Mr. Young found Mr. Ardrey to be strong in personal safety and stop for stop training. He was found to be weak in speed, chart knowledge, stop count accuracy and production. Although his production level should have been 150 packages per hour at this time it was only ninety-eight. He was advised that he needed to improve his speed in loading and should be able to load the area without help at this juncture. This review was documented and signed by Mr. Ardrey. (Def.Ex. 25). (26) Mr. Hudson performed the third sortrac evaluation and commentary, day fifteen, of Mr. Ardrey on February 28, 1980. Mr. Ardrey was rated good in attendance, personal safety, following instructions, and handling parcels. He was rated fair in attitude, production, retention and job knowledge. Mr. Ardrey’s production level was only 100 packages per hour. Mr. Hudson told Mr. Ardrey that he needed to study the charts and increase his speed and chart knowledge. Further his production needed “drastic improvements”. This evaluation was documented by Mr. Hudson. (Def.Exs. 26, 27). (27) On February 29, 1980, his sixteenth day, Mr. Ardrey received his third slide to car evaluation. Mr. Ardrey continued to be rated good to very good in the same areas and his space utilization had improved. He, however, continued to be deficient in chart knowledge and speed. He was advised his chart knowledge was less than it should be and that he needed to improve this deficient chart knowledge by studying his 80-20 sheets. If his speed and knowledge were not increased he would never be able to progress to the A-25 slide. This evaluation was documented by the Defendant. (Def.Ex. 28). (28) On Mr. Ardrey’s seventeenth training day, Mr. Young with the assistance of Mr. Hudson conducted a center manager’s review with pre-seniority employee about Mr. Ardrey. Mr. Ardrey’s strong area was stop for stop loading. His weak areas were counts, wrap up, and work rate. Mr. Ardrey’s actual production rate was 114 packages per hour, significantly below the 200 planned production level. Mr. Ardrey was advised that he needed drastic improvement in his wrap up, stop counts and work rate by March 8,1980 or he would not gain seniority. This evaluation was documented and signed by Mr. Ardrey. (29) On his twentieth training day Mr. Ardrey received his final sortrac trainee evaluation. His attendance, personal safety, following instructions, handling parcels and job knowledge was rated good. His attitude and retention was found to be fair. His production rating was poor. His production rate had dropped to eighty-nine considerably below the 175 to 200 piece per hour plan rate. The evaluation was documented by Mr. Hudson. (Def.Ex. 30). (30) Mr. Hudson also prepared a final slide to car evaluation. Mr. Ardrey continued to receive good ratings in the same areas and his space utilization was greatly improved. He, however, continued to have a serious problem with chart knowledge. He was given an 80-20 test and only scored 30%. In observation Mr. Hudson found that Mr. Ardrey handled seventy-two packages per hour with only 33% chart knowledge. His low level of production was due to his lack of chart knowledge. Mr. Hudson documented this evaluation. (Def.Exs. 32, 34). (31) Mr. Hudson’s final pre-seniority evaluation of Mr. Ardrey on March 11, 1980 concluded that Mr. Ardrey’s attitude seemed less than eager, that he failed to study the 80-20 study sheets and as a result his production was hampered. Mr. Hudson did not recommend Mr. Ardrey for seniority. This evaluation was documented by Mr. Hudson. (Def.Ex. 33). (32) On March 11, 1980 Mr. Hudson prepared a detailed memorandum summarizing his reasons for not being able to recommend Mr. Ardrey for seniority. The memorandum in part provides: The reasons for not wrapping up are due in part to a long standing lack of chart knowledge. This is upheld by the test scores of the 80-20 study sheets. This in itself has hampered Marcus from becoming qualified in this particular area. I feel with the lack a [sic] aggressiveness to study these sheets and become familiar with his work area has greatly decreased his chance of becoming a seniority employee. The aggressiveness that should be present with a pre-senior employee seemed lacking in Marcus. I feel greatly that Marcus has the ability to become a preloader if he wants to. But, without the effort and enthusiasm to pursue the requirements of the job he has fallen short of his recommended levels of production. Marcus has only reached an average production rate of around 114 pieces per hour. At this rate he will never be total [sic] capable of loading this assigned area. Due to the above on this 23rd day of pre-seniority, I personally do not recommend Marcus Ardrey for gaining seniority in my operation. (33) On March 12, 1980 Mr. Hudson prepared a “Synopsis of Work Performance” regarding' Mr. Ardrey. After describing Mr. Ardrey’s failure to attempt to learn the charts, Mr. Hudson noted These factors alone show that Marcus was determined to perform by his standards rather than perform by the expectations of myself. He presented himself as if he were going to qualify in his own terms. I feel attitude and mispeculation [sic] of our operation was the major problem that lead to his disquaification. I also feel Marcus did not have any idea that we could disqualify him. (Def.Ex. 36 B). (34) On March 12, 1980 Mr. Young, Mr. Hudson and Mr. Ardrey met to discuss Mr. Ardrey’s status. Mr. Young asked Mr. Ardrey how he felt his progress was as a pre-sorter. Mr. Ardrey replied “that his progress was about the same as day one.” Mr. Ardrey was advised that he was being disqualified from the sortrac. He responded that he had never heard of anyone being disqualified from the sortrac. Mr. Young informed Mr. Ardrey that although in the past preloaders had not been properly trained, within the past six months UPS had set these basic requirements for all new preloaders. Since that time some employees had qualified and some had not qualified, depending on whether they met the requirements in the pre-seniority training. This meeting is documented. (Def.Ex. 36 A). (35) After Mr. Ardrey’s disqualification he was returned to a part-time position with UPS. (36) On March 19, 1980 Mr. Ardrey filed a grievance with the union contesting his disqualification from the sortrac. The grievance does not mention or even allude to improper treatment because of his race. Mr. Ardrey claimed that UPS used improper procedures ‘for qualifying employees, which standards have not been agreed upon by Local 71. Mr. Ardrey felt that the requirements were unfair because UPS was requiring loading standards higher than those required of full-time qualified employees. (Def.Ex. 1). (37) Mr. Ardrey stated that the union grievance was settled by allowing him and Mr. Cherry to try and qualify for the next full-time job on the sortrac without waiting one year, which wait is normally required when an employee is disqualified from a job. (38) After the settlement of the grievance Mr. Ardrey was offered a full-time car wash job, which job he refused to accept. Thereafter, Mr. Ardrey filed another grievance claiming that UPS did not abide by the settlement terms of the first grievance. (Def.Ex. 2). Mr. Ardrey did not prevail on his second grievance. He was not offered another opportunity to qualify on the sortrac nor was he offered another full-time position in settlement of the first grievance. 2. Cherry’s Training (1) James Cherry was hired by UPS in August 1973 into a bargaining unit position of part-time unloader. In this litigation he complains that he was disqualified in his attempt to qualify as a preloader on the sortrac because of his race in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. He did not file an EEOC charge covering this allegation. (2) Mr. Cherry began training for a full-time preloader job on the sortrae on January 7, 1980. (3) His training supervisor was Mr. Hudson and his area supervisor was Mr. Young. He was trained on the slides for areas 54 and 25. He was trained by the same supervisors and trained on the same slides as Mr. Ardrey. Mr. Cherry’s qualification period also was for thirty working days, under the same standard training program. (4) On January 7, 1980 Mr. Cherry was given the orientation on personnel matters by Martin Taylor (Def.Ex. 109). (5) On January 10, 1980 Mr. Hudson gave Mr. Cherry his first sortrae trainee evaluation, day four. The evaluation reports that Mr. Cherry is enthusiastic, very aggressive, has a good attitude, follows instructions well, and is very service minded. His weaker areas were knowledge of the job, his speed and his production. This evaluation is documented and signed by Mr. Cherry. (Def.Ex. 110, 111). (6) On his fifth day, Mr. Cherry was evaluated on his slide to car methods. In this evaluation, Mr. Cherry was found to have a good pre-sort, car and post sort routine. He, however, needed to improve his speed in loading which was slow due to his lack of chart knowledge and having to constantly refer to the charts. This evaluation is documented and signed by Mr. Cherry. (Def.Ex. 112). (7) On the fifth day, Mr. Hudson also performed a productivity evaluation. Mr. Cherry’s planned production rate was 125 packages per hour. His actual rate was ninety-four packages per hour. Mr. Hudson recommended that Mr. Cherry should improve his chart knowledge which would result in an increase in his package per hour rate. This evaluation is documented and signed by Mr. Cherry. (Def.Ex. 113). (8) On January 15, 1980, Mr. Cherry’s progress was reviewed. Mr. Cherry, after six days, was not able to slide area 54 without any help, even though he received extensive training for three days and had received training each day thereafter. It was stressed to him that by the end of the week he should be able to load areas 54 and 25 without help. He was told that he would be given an 80-20 test the next day for which he should study and that UPS expected to witness some improvement by January 18, 1980 or he would be disqualified. This review is documented. (Def.Ex. 114). (9) The following day Mr. Cherry correctly answered only one out of the eleven questions on the 80-20 test. (11%). The test covered slide A-54. (Def.Ex. 118). (10) The test results were thought to reflect the major problem that Mr. Cherry had in his work area. Again, it was stressed to him that if his performance did not increase by Friday he would be disqualified. This review is documented. (Def.Ex. 115). (11) On Mr. Cherry’s ninth day of training, Mr. Hudson prepared the second sortrac evaluation and commentary. Mr. Cherry received a good in attendance, attitude, personal safety, following instructions and parcel handling. His production rate, however, was only at ninety pieces per hour. Thus he only received a fair rating in production, retention and job knowledge. This report is documented. (Def.Ex. 116). (12) On the day nine commentary Mr. Cherry was found to be enthusiastic, aggressive, service minded, and showing improvement. His production level, however, still was not on an acceptable level and needed improvement. This commentary is documented. (Def.Ex. 117). (13) On January 18, 1980 Mr. Cherry took an 80-20 test for area 54 on which he scored 90%. Mr. Hudson recommended, in light of his reasonable progress, that he not be disqualified. Mr. Hudson did qualify his recommendation by noting that Mr. Cherry “has a long way to go to become qualified as a seniority employee.” (Def.Ex. 119). (14) On Mr. Cherry’s tenth day of training he met with Mr. Young and Mr. Hudson to review his progress. By then Mr. Cherry had attained a production rate of 115 packages per hour. It was agreed that Mr. Cherry would have to attain a goal of 175 packages per hour by January 25, 1980 and that he would have to handle areas 54 and 25 without assistance. Area 88 would be added the following week so he could attain 200 packages per hour. Mr. Cherry indicated that these goals seemed reasonable and that he could attain them. He was encouraged to put some extra effort in learning the sequence numbers from the 80-20 charts. This meeting was documented. (Def.Ex. 121). (15) On the January 21, 1980 slide to car evaluation Mr. Cherry continued to receive positive remarks on his pre-sort, car and post sort procedures. He, however, was slow to develop his chart knowledge, which knowledge along with package per hour rate and wrap up needed drastic improvement. This evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 122). (16) The second productivity evaluation revealed that Mr. Cherry’s actual package per hour rate was only seventy-seven, compared to the planned rate of 105. It was recommended that if he improved his chart knowledge his overall production rate would improve. This evaluation is documented and signed by Mr. Cherry. (Def.Ex. 123). (17) On his second chart test Mr. Cherry scored 100%. Despite this good score, when he worked he continued to refer to the charts too much which hindered his production rate. He still was not able to manage areas 54 and 25. This evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 125). (18) On January 22, Mr. Cherry scored 80% on the chart test. (Def.Ex. 126). (19) On January 23, 1980 Mr. Hudson reported to Mr. Young that Mr. Cherry had not yet been able to load slides A-54 and A-25. His 80-20 test scores had improved but his overall production rate was too low for this stage of training. He was still referring to his charts too much. Mr. Hudson reported that Mr. Cherry would have to make considerable gains in his work pace to qualify. This report is documented. (Def.Ex. 127). (20) On January 25, 1980 Mr. Young performed a slide to car evaluation of Mr. Cherry. He found an improvement in Mr. Cherry’s knowledge. Mr. Cherry, however, was using improper selection methods so he would load only the packages he knew. Mr. Young was of the opinion that this caused Mr. Cherry to end up at the end of his shift with all the packages he did not know. Further, Mr. Cherry was not carrying optimum loads to the package cars. On eight occasions he carried more than one package. On thirty-one occasions, however, he carried only one package. This evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 128). (21) On Mr. Cherry’s fifteenth day of training, Mr. Hudson prepared the third sortrac trainee evaluation. Mr. Cherry continued to receive good ratings in all of the categories except production and retention. His production rate was at 110 pieces per hour. This evaluation is documented and signed by the Plaintiff. (Def.Ex. 129). (22) Mr. Cherry’s third slide to car evaluation was prepared by Mr. Hudson. He continued to receive positive ratings on his pre-sort, car arid post sort procedures. He, however, still needed to improve his chart knowledge and to carry optimum loads. In loading thirty packages he had to refer to the chart eleven times. This report is documented and signed by Mr. Cherry. (Def.Ex. 130). (23) In the sortrac commentary Mr. Hudson found Mr. Cherry to be aggressive, enthusiastic and very service minded but he needed to improve his production. This commentary is documented. (Def.Ex. 131). (24) On January 28, 1980 Mr. Cherry received his third productivity evaluation. He loaded thirty packages in ten minutes. Mr. Hudson remarked that Mr. Cherry needed to improve his optimum carries and thus increase his package per hour rate. His total productivity rate needed to be much higher. This evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 132). (25) On his twentieth training day, Mr. Hudson performed the final sortrac trainee evaluation. His package per hour rate was only at 100 packages and thus he received a poor rating on production. His production was far below where it should have been at 200 packages per hour. This evaluation is documented and signed by the Plaintiff. (Def.Ex. 133). (26) On the final sortrac commentary Mr. Cherry received good ratings except as to his production which was rated poor at 100 packages per hour. This final commentary is documented (Def.Ex. 134). (27) Mr. Cherry’s production during the week ending February 2, 1980 ranged from a high of 133 packages per hour to a low of ninety-four packages per hour. This range was far below the 200 package per hour planned rate. This week average evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 135). (28) The final productivity evaluation of Mr. Cherry on his twenty-second day of training found his actual production at 111 packages per hour. Mr. Hudson noted that without an improvement of eighty-nine packages by Friday, Mr. Hudson would not be able to recommend Mr. Cherry for seniority. This evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 136). (29) On the final slide to car evaluation dated February 5, 1980 Mr. Hudson rated Mr. Cherry very good on pre-sort, slide and post sort procedures. In summarizing his performance, however, he stated that Mr. Cherry’s production is poor, he needs improvement and he has reached a stalemate in his progression. This final evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 138). (30) On Mr. Cherry’s final pre-seniority evaluation Mr. Hudson did not recommend him for seniority because of his low productivity. The evaluation provides that: James has tried hard—very hard and has been very good in all stop for stop service audits in this period. James’ biggest problem is his productivity. He is slow is [sic] organization and performance of job function. (31) The following day, Mr. Young and Mr. Hudson met with Mr. Cherry to discuss his progress. Mr. Young told Mr. Cherry that his progress was not satisfactory on his twenty-third day of his thirty day training program. Mr. Cherry seemed to be stuck at the 100 to 110 package per hour level. Mr. Cherry was reminded that 200 packages per hour was required for seniority. He was advised that basically he was being held back by spending too much time on the slide selecting packages and not having enough optimum carries. Mr. Young further told Mr. Cherry that he would observe his work later during the shift and that by Friday, February 8, 1980 he needed to be loading 200 packages per hour and handling slides 54 and 25 without any help in eight hours. Mr. Cherry stated that he thought the problem was too many miskeys. Mr. Young told him that the 200 package per hour rate took into account the work required by miskeys and that Mr. Cherry should stack his miskeys for Mr. Young and Mr. Hudson to inspect. This meeting is documented. (Def.Ex. 139). (32) Later during the shift Mr. Young performed a slide to ear evaluation of Mr. Cherry. In the sixteen minute observation Mr. Cherry handled fifty-two packages which equals a production rate of 195 packages per hour. Mr. Young found that Mr. Cherry did not sort quickly and efficiently on the slide and that 50% of his loads were single carries. Again, the single carries reflected the fact that Mr. Cherry was selecting packages with familiar sequence numbers in order to increase his chart knowledge rating. The miskey rate was only 3.5%. This slide to car evaluation is documented. (Def.Ex. 140). (33) During Mr. Cherry’s last week of training his actual package per hour rates were 145, 99, 116 and 134. His highest actual package per hour rate during his entire training period never exceeded 145. His actual package per hour rates for his last week and for his entire training period are documented. (Def.Exs. 142, 143). (34) On February 8,1980 Mr. Young, Mr. Hudson, and Mr. Cherry met to assess Mr. Cherry’s standing after twenty-five days of training. They compared Mr. Cherry’s actual performance to the stated requirements. In that Mr. Cherry had failed to meet the standard of 200 packages per hour he was advised he was being disqualified for lack of performance. Mr. Cherry’s reaction to this was with self disappointment and a plea for reconsideration. We told him that his time had ran [sic] out for reconsideration, that we had extended his time five days already with hopes things would work out for him. We told James, we felt he had tried hard and had given us good effort these past weeks. Although, we have certain expectations of presenior people and we cannot vary from those expected standards. All presenior people have to achieve the same requirements with no exceptions. This meeting is documented. (Def.Ex. 141). (35) After Mr. Cherry’s disqualification he was returned to a part-time position with UPS. (36) On February 10, 1980, Mr. Cherry filed a grievance with the union contesting his disqualification from the sortrac. The grievance states that he failed to reach the required production rate because he was improperly trained. Mr. Cherry contended that he “should be retrained and given a chance to qualify for the job due to the improper training methods of management.” The grievance does not mention race as a factor and does not complain that he received improper training from management because of his race. (Def.Ex. 104). (37) The greivance was settled by an agreement that Mr. Cherry would be offered a chance to qualify for the first full-time job opening and Mr. Ardrey for the second full-time opening in the hub. (38) Pursuant to the settlement agreement Mr. Cherry was offered a full-time car wash job which he turned down. He subsequently qualified as a package car driver in April 1980. 3. Ardrey and Cherry—Alleged Disparate Treatment (1) The parties do not dispute that Mr. Ardrey and Mr. Cherry failed to meet the 200 package per hour requirement and that it was a legitimate requirement. See, Plaintiffs Proposed Findings of Fact, p. 82. Mr. Cherry and Mr. Ardrey contend that they could not reach this requirement because they received differential treatment in their training programs because of their race. This alleged differential treatment encompasses less training, less help during slide jams, less encouragement, (i.e., negative work environment), more miskeys and inferior equipment (harder slide assignments and dated charts.) (2) Mr. Lewis and Mr. Morrow, black employees with UPS, testified to the same effect, that white trainees received more training, better slides, timely help, more reinforcement, less jams and less miskeys than black trainees. Mr. Morrow went as far as to state that “it was suspect” that black trainees were intentionally given more miskeys. Mr. Morrow had absolutely no evidence to support his suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, except for his feeling that black trainees received more miskeys than white trainees. (3) The Court, after carefully considering all the evidence, does not find that Mr. Ardrey, Mr. Cherry, or any other black trainee received differential treatment. The Court is of the opinion that there were glitchs that needed to be ironed out in the training program, such as problems with miskeys and jams on the Sortrac. These problems, however, did not effect just Mr. Ardrey, Mr. Cherry, or the black employees and certainly these problems were not created because of race. They were legitimate run-of-the-mill business problems. Furthermore, as to Mr. Ardrey, these problems would not have any effect on his ability to study his charts and thus develop his chart knowledge. Chart knowledge is a requirement in which success was totally dependent on the time and effort Mr. Ardrey devoted to studying the charts. Mr. Ardrey acknowledged that his lack of chart knowledge was one of the primary reasons for his disqualification. (4) Mr. Ardrey and Mr. Cherry complained about the belt jamming and about receiving sequence charts too late in the shift. When a jam occurs the entire belt is stopped. All of the employees pitch in wherever the help is needed to clear the jam because the longer the jamming persists the more difficult it becomes to complete loading of all of the package cars. A jam effects all of the preloaders. As to the changes in the charts, the timing of the adjustment are dependent on various factors. Adjustment in the number of stops for each package car are made from time to time during the sort depending on the package load. If a preloader’s stop counts are inaccurate or he is behind in his work, the adjustments would need to be made at the end of the shift. If the package cars are not loaded and on their way by the end of the shift the presort supervisors must answer to their supervisors about the delay. If the supervisors were to allow jams to build up or to fail to timely load a slide it would directly effect the supervisor’s job because he would have to account to his supervisor for his failure to get the package cars loaded and out. Thus, although jams and chart changes did occur during the shifts the Court finds that the supervisors did not condone, tolerate or encourage jam buildups or inaccurate untimely charts for Mr. Cherry, Mr. Ardrey, or other black employees on the pre-sort. The presence of jams and chart changes are not attributable to racial animus. (5) Mr. Ardrey and Mr. Cherry contend that their slides, 54 and 25, were harder to work than the other slides. Whether these slides were more difficult, however, is not the issue confronting the Court. Instead, the issue is whether Mr. Ardrey or Mr. Cherry were assigned harder slides because of their race. The evidence does not support race as a factor in the assignment of slides. Prior to Mr. Cherry, Mr. Hudson trained Tom Styers, a white trainee, on the same slides. Mr. Styers reached a productivity rate of 201 packages per hour (average for his last week) under the same training program and thus was recommended for seniority as a preloader. James Lunn and Sean O’Grady, two other trainees, trained on the other side of the sortrac on slides 23 and 96. Mr. Lunn, black, reached a productivity rate of 160 packages per hour on the twenty-second day. He was disqualified for his lack of chart knowledge, but was placed on a preloader job as a result of a union grievance. Mr. O’Grady, white, was not allowed to qualify as a preloader. David Hemby, a white trainee, qualified as a preloader in the box line. He was trained by Ty Nimmons, a black supervisor. In light of the above, the Court finds that neither Mr. Ardrey, Mr. Cherry, or any other black trainee was assigned a certain slide because of his race. Both blacks and whites trained on slides 54 and 25, and slides 23 and 96. (6) The Plaintiffs also assert that they could not qualify as a preloader because they were given inadequate training and received less training and encouragement than the white trainees, especially Mr. O’Grady. After carefully weighing the credibility of the witnesses, the Court finds that neither Mr. Ardrey nor Mr. Cherry were given less training or less encouragement than white trainees. The constant training of both employees is meticulously documented by the evaluation reports. The reports are as positive as they are negative. Further, the reports reflect the fact that considerable time and expense was invested in their training program. UPS had nothing to gain by investing twenty to thirty days in training an employee, only to have him fail to qualify. In addition, if Mr. Hudson harbored some veiled plan to make it hard on Mr. Ardrey or Mr. Cherry to qualify because they were black, Mr. Hudson easily could have been negative in his report in the subjective areas. The fact of the matter is, however, that the only major criticism of Mr. Ardrey concerned his lack of chart knowledge, which lack of chart knowledge was objectively verified by the 80-20 tests. Similar to Mr. Ardrey, Mr. Cherry’s major area of criticism was his production rate, which rate along with the amount of help needed was recorded every day based on his actual performance during the shift. Furthermore, the testimony that Mr. Hudson spent more time encouraging and training Mr. O’Grady than Mr. Ardrey or Mr. Cherry is beyond belief, because Mr. Hudson was not even Mr. O’Grady’s supervisor. Jim Stone trained Mr. O’Grady. After carefully considering the evidence, the Court finds that Mr. Ardrey and Mr. Cherry did not receive differential training as preloaders because of their race. (7) In light of the above, the Court finds that Mr. Ardrey and Mr. Cherry were disqualified from the preloader job on the sortrac because they failed to meet the established performance levels. Even if it is assumed that Mr. Ardrey or Mr. Cherry established a prima facie case of discrimination, the Defendant met its burden of articulating a legitimate reason for the employment actions. Mr. Ardrey and Mr. Cherry failed to meet their ultimate burden of proving that the reason for their disqualification was pretextual or that they received disparate treatment during their training because of race. C. CHERRY—DISCRIMINATORY WARNINGS (1) Mr. Cherry testified that he received two written warnings from UPS, which warnings were racially motivated. In his EEOC charge, Mr. Cherry also complained about a warning issued on May 1981 for failure to follow instructions. Further, in his EEOC charge and trial brief, Mr. Cherry contended that the warnings were issued in retaliation for his opposition to practices illegal under Title VII. The Court will address all the contentions raised. (2) The first warning that Mr. Cherry complains about was issued because Mr. Cherry missed two pick-ups on a package car run. This warning was issued on February 11, 1981 by Arlin Dancy, the center manager. Mr. Dancy was the manager who qualified Mr. Cherry as a package car driver. (3) The Plaintiff concedes and the Court finds that the two pick-ups were missed, that the Defendant has a policy which requires a mandatory warning when a package car driver fails to pick up a package and that the warnings were issued to any employee, white or black, who missed a pick-up. The Plaintiff further concedes that this warning was not discriminatory. See, Plaintiffs Proposed Findinqs of Fact, pp. 10-11, 78. (4) In his EEOC charge, Mr. Cherry complains about a warning issued in “May 1981” for his failure to follow instruction. The warning was actually issued on March 25, 1981 by Mr. Dancy because Mr. Cherry did not notify his supervisor until too late in his run that he could not complete his assigned work. This late notification resulted in thirty-two service failures. (5) Although the warning letter was referred to in his EEOC charge Mr. Cherry did not elicit any testimony about it from anyone, including himself, or Mr. Dancy. Clearly, the Plaintiff cannot meet his burden of proof if he fails to present any evidence relating to his contention. (6) The February and March 1981 warning letters were both issued because the incidents involved service failure to customers of UPS. (7) Under the union contract at the expiration of nine months, the warning is removed from an employee’s record and can no longer be used for disciplinary action. The February and March 1981 warning letters issued by Mr. Dancy no longer have any effect on his record and never resulted in any disciplinary action. (8) The final warning letter complained of by Mr. Cherry was issued on December 18, 1981 by Mr. Dancy because Mr. Cherry failed to “be off the clock” at the designated time. Mr. Cherry contends that the warning is discriminatory because he was off the clock on time or alternatively if he was not off the clock on time, white employees did not receive warnings for the same conduct. (9) On December 8, 1981 Mr. Cherry punched in at 8:30 and was directed to punch out at 7:30. The punch out time on his card is 1950 (7:50 p.m.). Mr. Cherry testified that he punched out whenever he was suppose to punch out, although he does not know what time that is. Further, he testified that he wrote the clock in time time of 0830 (8:30) but that he did not write the clock out time of 1950 (7:50 p.m.). The Court, after examining the time card and the handwriting of Mr. Cherry, is of the opinion that Mr. Cherry did write the “1950” although he no longer recalls writing it. In making this finding the Court notes that the slant, the spacing and the pattern in the numbers are consistent. Further, the zero in the “0830” and “0840” (written by Mr. Cherry) is distinctive and this distinction is also present in the zero in “1950”. Furthermore, after carefully weighing the evidence, the Court is of the opinion that Mr. Cherry did not clock out on time on December 8,1981. The time card shows that Mr. Cherry did not clock out until 1950. Mr. Cherry cannot even identify the correct time in which he was to clock out. He admits that he did not even ask to see his time card when the supervisor talked to him about being late on the eighth and his only evidence that he punched out on time is his non-specific testimony that he clocked out at whatever time was the correct time. (10) Mr. Cherry alternatively contends that a white employee, Mark Speiler, was allowed to punch out late without receiving a warning. The personnel file of Mr. Speiler does not contain a warning letter for being off the clock late. The issue before the Court is whether Mr. Speiler actually punched out late. The only evidence Mr. Cherry offered in support of his contention is his vague testimony that on one occasion, on an unidentified date he observed Mr. Speiler punch out late and he thought the supervisor was in his office when this occurred. Mr. Cherry, however, cannot identify the day this occurred, the time when it occurred, the time when Mr. Speiler was suppose to clock out or whether the supervisor observed or knew that Mr. Speiler was late in getting off the clock. The only documentary evidence presented about Mr. Speiler shows that he punched out at 6:45 on the date that Mr. Cherry punched out at 7:50. There is no documentary evidence, such as a time card, that Mr. Speiler was late at any time. In addition, the evidence shows that several other whites received warnings for failing to clock out on time. In light of the above, the Court does not credit Mr. Cherry’s testimony that the Defendant allowed Mr. Speiler to punch out late without receiving a warning or that Mr. Cherry received his warning because he was black. (11) The EEOC charge also alleges that these warnings were issued in retaliation for Mr. Cherry’s opposition to practices made illegal under Title VII. At the trial Mr. Cherry did not present any evidence to this effect, such as identifying the practices he opposed or his supervisor’s knowledge or adverse reaction to these practices. The only grievance Mr. Cherry had filed prior to receiving his first warning concerned his disqualification from the sortrac. This disqualification occurred almost a year before his warning and the grievance complained about his sortrac supervisors, Mr. Young and Mr. Hudson, not Mr. Dancy. The Court finds that the warning letters were issued for legitimate reasons and not as a pretext for retaliation against Mr. Cherry because he asserted his rights under Title VII. (12) The Court finds that the Defendant issued the warning letter for a legitimate reason—Mr. Cherry’s infractions of Company procedure. The Court is further of the opinion that Mr. Cherry failed to prove that the asserted reason was a pretext for discrimination and failed to prove that the warning letters were issued because of his race or in retaliation for opposition to Defendant’s alleged discriminatory employment practice. The warning letters were issued for cause in accordance with the Defendant’s standard disciplinary practices. D. BROWN (Formerly Easterling). (1) Bessie Easterling Brown was hired by UPS on December 9, 1971 as a package car driver. She held that position until April 15, 1978. In April 1978 she applied for and obtained her current position of feeder driver. As a feeder driver she earns $13.56, one of the higher paying hourly positions at UPS. (2) She complains of being required to work overtime, of being denied overtime, of not being allowed to decide if she wants to work overtime or not, of being subjected to a biased working environment by being subjected to racially motivated assaults, of being treated rudely by her supervisors, of being placed out of service for one day because she refused to fill out an accident report and of receiving a warning in November 1982 because she had an avoidable accident. (3) After assessing Ms. Brown’s demean- or and testimony at the trial and reviewing her personnel records, the Court finds that Ms. Brown is probably a difficult employee to work with and manage. On the stand she was boisterous, hot tempered, argumentative, and quick to complain. Coupled with this truculent personality is her tendency to blame others instead of accepting some responsibility for acts that occur. For instance, she blames someone else and does not accept responsibility for a one tractor accident she had when she was backing her tractor and hit a guard rail. (4) A review of her personnel file also indicates that she can be disrespective, uncooperative, and insolent. UPS sent Ms. Brown a letter confirming a meeting with her and her union representatives during which meeting her attitude towards management was reviewed. The letter states that: Your past history of speaking above a normal business tone and being disrespectful towards management will not be tolerated in the future. It was reviewed with you the importance of management and employee communication to operate our business in an efficient manner. You were informed that insubordinate employees towards management instruction will be dealt with quickly and severely- Several months later Ms. Brown received a warning letter for her “demonstrated insubordination by [her] loud and discourteous remarks.” There are numerous other documented instances of insolence in her personnel file, such as “she became very arrogant and cutting in her voice”, “[a]gain, Bessie became very arrogant and refused to do so”, “carries an arrogant attitude around other employees, they have complained to me about this”, “her attitude is such that she causes disruptions in our operation and service”, and “Bessie started cussing and swearing”. Defendant’s Exhibits 209, 210. Finally, when Ms. Brown was instructed to fill out an accident report or she would be taken out of service “she then proceeded to write sideways along the accident report not filling it out properly.” Defendant’s Exhibit 224-A. Ms. Brown’s own testimony corroborates her impertinent response when instructed to fill out an accident report. After her supervisor told her she would be taken out of service if she did not fill out an accident report, she told him “I said, no, I’m not refusing, and I wrote on the accident report—I wrote on that report.” Transcript, p. 436. (5) In light of Ms. Brown’s personality and attitude problems at UPS, the Court is of the opinion that the source of many of her complaints can be traced to personality conflicts and not because of her race. The Court, however, will discuss each grievance individually. (6) In December 1980 Ms. Brown asked her supervisors, Ulysses West and James Elmore, if she could be off work on December 24, 1980. Both supervisors are black. They told her she would have to report on December 24, 1980, at which time the status of her run would be determined. If her run was cancelled she could ask her supervisor on duty if she could leave. Mr. Elmore prepared a list of employees who requested to be off on December 24, 1980 but failed to include Ms. Brown’s name. On December 24, 1980, Ms. Brown’s run was cancelled and she asked if she could go home. The supervisor on duty, Neal Lewis, denied her request because her name was not on the list. She was required to work in the yard. (7) On the same day employees with less seniority than Ms. Brown were allowed to go home. Similarly, white and black employees with more seniority than Ms. Brown worked that day. Scott Heine, a white feeder driver, reported to work after Ms. Brown and was allowed to go home when his run was cancelled. There was no evidence that white employees with less seniority whose name was not on the list was allowed to go home. (8) On December 29, 1980 Ms. Brown filed a grievance claiming that her seniority rights were violated because junior employees were permitted to be off and she was not. The grievance does not refer to race, does not suggest that race was a factor in the denial of the day off and does not claim that whites got the day off while blacks had to work. There is no suggestion that her name was intentionally omitted from the list. (9) This grievance was resolved by an agreement that employees would be let off on the basis of seniority. If a run is can-celled and a senior employee is on the yard, the senior employee will go home and the junior employee will work. (10) The Court finds that the denial of the day off was not because Ms. Brown is black but was because Mr. Elmore, a black male, accidently failed to include her name on the list. The Plaintiff failed to prove that the omission of her name from the list and the resulting denial of the day off was a pretext for racial discrimination. (11) Ms. Brown filed three other union grievances complaining about not receiving or receiving overtime work in accordance with her seniority rights. The grievances do not refer to race or suggest that race was a factor in overlooking her for overtime or assigning her overtime. The union found that her seniority rights were not violated in one instance, that she was entitled to overtime pay in another instance and that UPS needed to assign a start time and specified procedure for extra runs. There is no mention of race in resolution of the grievance or as a condition of settlement of the grievance. The Court finds that the complaints about her seniority rights were problems arising in application of the union contract and Ms. Brown’s seniority rights were not being violated because she was black. (12) Ms. Brown specifically complains about having to take a run to the airport in February 1981 after completing her regular run. The airport run was normally assigned to Kathy Hall, a junior white driver. (13) On February 2, 1980 Ms. Hall did not arrive back from the airport until 2:10 p.m. and was not able to take her lunch break until 2:30 p.m. Since the first air trailer had to go to the airport before Ms. Hall would have completed her lunch break, Richard Goebel requested that Ms. Brown drive the trailer to the airport and .told her that Ms. Hall would bring out the second unit later and help Ms. Brown finish loading the plane. Ms. Brown started cursing and swearing and said that she would not take the run. Mr. Goebel told her he would make other arrangements, and proceeded to get two other drivers to cover the Kannapolis and airport runs. Ms. Brown called Mr. Elmore at his home. Mr. Goebel talked to Mr. Elmore and as a result offered Ms. Brown the option of either taking the Kannapolis or the airport run. Ms. Brown then decided to accept the airport run. (14) At the airport that evening Ms. Brown’s performance was slack and caused the airplane to leave thirty minutes late. Ken Gunnels, air coordinator, wrote Mr. Fisher a memorandum about Ms. Brown’s inferior work and asked for assistance. Mr. Gunnels stated that Ms. Brown had difficulty backing her trailer into the appropriate position, was slow unloading the trailer and refused to help Ms. Hall load air bags into her trailer. Her attitude was evidently so “arrogant” that the other employees complained about working with her. Mr. Gunnels concluded that Ms. Brown was not qualified for the airport run and that her attitude causes disruptions in air ope