Long Beach workers allege discrimination in Public Works, call for national Black employee protections
Despite city officials denying systemic discrimination, Black workers like Anthony Holmes and Kyle Seals are speaking out.
Anti-Black sentiments have long run deep in American society, and while eradicating these attitudes entirely may seem unlikely, the emotional and mental toll of racism on Black Americans often goes unrecognized. The struggle for equality often leaves those fighting for it feeling isolated and unsupported, a reality that Long Beach refuse worker Anthony Holmes knows all too well.
In January 2021, Holmes, who at the time had worked for the city’s Public Works department for about seven years, filed a formal complaint with the city detailing how officials consistently overlooked Black workers for promotions. In February 2022, Human Resources Officer Ramon Garcia sent Holmes a letter acknowledging the complaint, stating the city had retained an outside attorney to conduct an investigation.
According to Garcia, the investigation concluded that Holmes' allegations were unsubstantiated. The letter was the first contact Homes received after filing his complaint.
Long Beach City Manager Tom Modica also confirmed the findings of an outside investigation but declined to provide the Watchdog a copy or give any specific details. Holmes and former refuse worker Kyle Seals, who filed his own complaint against the city, believe the investigation was incomplete as investigators did not interview Black refuse workers who believed they had been repeatedly passed over for promotions.
In March 2023, Holmes began attending City Council meetings to voice his concerns about discrimination, retaliation, safety issues and a hostile work environment within the department. It was a move he believed was necessary as more of his colleagues began to voice similar concerns.
Five months later, during an August 2023 Zoom call, over a dozen Black refuse workers provided several examples of being passed over or even demoted after raising concerns about discrimination. Of those on the call, most were afraid to join Holmes during the public comment period at a council meeting that month, fearing it would intensify the retaliation or result in them losing their job.
Seals was fairly new to the department but put his fear aside and joined Holmes at the meeting. "I'm hoping you guys increase the wages for staff members who've been here a long time," he told the council on Aug. 12, 2023. "Without them, we aren't able to learn the job.”
Seals believed that promotions for Black workers, who he said were truly qualified, would fix the high turnover rate, improve employee morale and reduce hostility in the workplace.
Seals' desire to speak out resulted in what other workers feared most. In an interview with the SoCal Black Workers Hub, a 14-year-old community organization that assists Black people who experience workplace discrimination, Seals said his supervisors told him, "You're still new. You shouldn't be speaking on those issues."
Despite their warnings, Seals says the supervisors never told him his concerns were unfounded.
"So that's what led me to keep going," he said. "To try to bring awareness to the department. And sure enough, they blacklisted me out of the department."
Forcing Seals out solidified the anxiety and fear for others in the department.
"I've seen this too many times before," said one refuse worker who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "I'm older now. I have children. I can't risk losing my job."
Still, most on the call believed a sit-down with Councilman Al Austin and Mayor Rex Richardson would lead to not only their voices being heard but also a true investigation into their claims. Holmes disagreed, echoing a sentiment he shared during public comment at the August council meeting: "Black faces in high spaces are not going to save us."
Richardson and Austin did not respond to requests for comment regarding Holmes’s allegations.
Holmes argues that clearly stating the prerequisites for promotions would make it harder to pass over tenured employees. In June 2023, he sought definitive answers from the department, requesting documentation to explain why he was passed over for a promotion and the criteria needed to ensure it doesn't happen again.
After speaking with Administrative Analyst Rob Pfingsthorn, Holmes followed up with both Pfingsthorn and Personnel Officer Dawn Henderson to confirm whether the department would provide the information. Although Henderson assured Holmes that he would receive details regarding recent promotions, he said he only received a memo that Modica later referenced in a December 2023 email in response to a media request, which stated, in part:
"There has been a lot of change in how we hire refuse workers, promotions for 34 existing employees, the maximum extra performance bonuses for every single refuse worker who helped during the staff shortages ($600), and now $6,000 hiring bonuses for new employees. The management team is also new over at refuse, looking at things differently."
Modica also noted in his email that the number of discrimination complaints has decreased, reflecting a positive change in the department. But Holmes said that doesn't acknowledge that some people may be staying quiet out of fear — and it also doesn’t give clear and concise requirements for promotions.
Not receiving help locally, Holmes instead wants to create infrastructure for all working Black people across the country. He proposes a federal department created through what he dubbed the Anthony Holmes Act specifically for Black Americans, “so we won't have to go to personnel, HR or [the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] to file complaints."
The department, Holmes said, would provide a safe space for Black workers to receive guidance, investigate discrimination and seek legal remedies if necessary. Holmes is determined to create a better future for the next generation, including his own children.
"I don't want them to walk into the workforce and have to go through what I'm going through."
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