“This is awful, to leave these employees without some information about their job, leaving them hanging without knowing how they’re going to eat the next day,” Williams said. “I’m calling on [the] corporate office right now to reach out to me.”
Williams spoke Tuesday night with five to seven employees and expects specific details to come later. She said employees who were sent home were given no timeline or information regarding their paychecks.
Multiple employees, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their jobs, told the News-Sun that they faced harassment and discrimination, often on the basis of race or Haitian nationality, at work.
Some said they’d been sent home multiple times due to having little to no work to complete. One said they had been subject to retaliation for complaints about mistreatment.
Representatives for Gabe’s Distribution Center did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A receptionist answered the phone Wednesday and transferred this reporter to a voicemail inbox.
The business appeared to be operating somewhat normally Wednesday. Employees were seen leaving the distribution center around lunchtime, and the parking lot had dozens of cars.
Gabriel Brothers Inc. — the discount retail chain also known as Gabe’s — employs more than 200 people at a distribution center it opened in Springfield two years ago in the Prime Ohio development at I-70 and Ohio 41.
The facility is larger than the company’s five other distribution centers combined, and it’s the largest building located within Springfield’s corporate boundaries. The 870,000 square-foot facility contains nearly six miles of conveyor belts and was made with 32,000 cubic yards of concrete and 33,000 tons of asphalt.
About the Author
