*The lengthy letter below was drafted April 5th-6th, 2017 while on my first return flight from Costa Rica and was intended for the attorney of Royal Banana Co.. The weight of returning to America with unresolved business led to an urgency to force a resolution to situation where I felt victimized. During this stage in the journey, I almost felt as if I was in the eye of my psychotic hurricane, thinking as clearly as I had pre-awakening.
Due to the complexities of the case I will be presenting, I have decided it would be best to come forward with my evidence in segments in advance of the affidavit I will file with the National Labor Relations Board sometime during the week of April 10th. Given the all encompassing nature of my lawsuit, and the risk for “collateral damage” and “total exposure,” I feel it would be best if we try to settle this issue as swiftly and efficiently as possible. I am very confident in the strength of my stance, and would like to minimize any undesired results that may arise from releasing all the info I have ascertained over the course of my 6 years with Royal Banana Co. and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 337. At this time, I have left the latter out of this suit, but would like to reserve the right to add them as a defendant after a consultation with my attorney.
The facts listed below are excerpts from a greater timeline that I have created outlying the egregious misuses of authority, lack of organizational structure, hostile work environment, and lack of safety and sanitization protocols that have been growing rapidly during the tenure of Chief Operating Officer and sole-decision maker of Royal Banana Co., Tony Misuraca. The witness list I have prepared to support this greater document includes the entire staff of Royal Banana Co. as well as customers and competitors from around the region. Given the inability of Royal Banana Co. to properly maintain a list of addresses for their employees, I will need a brief amount of time to verify the contact information for each and every one of those witnesses. However, if at any time during the discovery process the lawyers for Royal Banana Co. feel that my case is too strong, I would be open to discuss my settlement proposals without and legal representation and with the consultation of Royal Banana Co. Vice President and majority stake-holder, Frank Misuraca Jr.
The following evidence will be used to support the smallest and least damaging aspect of my case, which is the accusation of a wrongful discharge and threats made by one Tony Misuraca. It will only detail the last 3 weeks of real-time, in contrast to the greater case which has tentacles reaching back to the beginning of my 6 year career, and as we will soon discover, likely far longer than that.
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The Summary
On March 8th 2017, C.O.O. Tony Misuraca and I had a private meeting where we discussed some of the troubles I was facing while trying to execute what I believed to be his wishes. It is very difficult to certify that those were his wishes, as I was never given a job description or any safety training during my time at Royal Banana Co.. However, when read in the context of the greater “Timeline,” I feel it will leave no doubt as to what was expected of me.
In this meeting, it was implied that my attempts to insulate Royal Banana Co. from any harmful lawsuits would only continue to cause unrest for the management, or more specifically, Tony, of Royal Banana Co.. The exact details of these issues I presented in this meeting would best be saved for the depositional process. One thing I gleaned from this conversation, is that Tony Misuraca was essentially giving up on any desire to run Royal Banana Co. in a safe and successful manner. Based on previous promises he had made, where it was stated that he was grooming me to be his successor, I saw this as an opportunity to reinvigorate his spirit and give him a job he could be proud of. My reason for this line of thinking was a statement he made along the lines of “We are not saving animals, we are just ripening bananas, it’s just a job.” Other comments he made in this meeting include his potential desire to sell Royal Banana Co. one day to a competitor, which would inevitably lead to an erosion of the wages that my co-workers had been trained to expect. As a pro-business lad myself, I do not fault him for thinking that this was an appropriate goal. However, given my loyalty to the company and the fine people it employs, I felt that if I could fix these issues it could set a new course for the company and allow everyone to feel happy and secure, ownership included, in their future with Royal Banana Co..
That weekend, March 11-12th, I spent time researching different thought processes and started down a trail that ultimately led to my dismissal. This thought was ignited from an article I had read in Crain’s Detroit regarding federal funding for a new Detroit Produce Terminal. In advance of new federal guidelines being implemented, I got the impression that this would be something that would happen during my long and successful future (as promised by Tony Misuraca) with Royal Banana Co.. Based off a conversation I had with Tony in January 2017, where he stated, “You and I think alike and have the same goals, I just think you do a much better job of following up,” I felt that it was important that I take the lead on this project as the voice and advocate of the company I had grown to love.
On March 13th, 2017, in a moment of serendipitous clarity, I stumbled into an idea that I felt would be the best course of action for making my dream become a reality. I shared this idea with Royal Banana Co. salesman, Kevin, a last name I cannot provide at this time due to unprofessionalism of the workplace. During the course of the next few days, I focused on nothing but the development of this plan. It was my vision. However, given my commitment to the company, I was still maintaining what I thought to be my job duties, even though they were never properly assigned or listed as mine. One of these duties was to be an around the clock assistant to Vice President Frank Misuraca, a gentleman I have a great deal of respect for and have always felt close to during my “advancement” up the Royal Banana Co. “organizational” structure. Given his disconnect from the business operations, due to the overwhelming aspect of his job and position of helplessness I identified on day 1, I did not bounce these ideas off of him at first because I felt it would only distract him from what is a never-ending job.
On March 17th 2017, I called a private meeting with General Manager Chad Brooks to discuss my plans for the future of Royal Banana Co.. The intent of this was to get his personal insights prior to presentation of the plan to C.O.O. Tony Misuraca whenever he returned from vacation. In this meeting, Chad shared personal information, which I will hold to the grave, that not only implied but stated that he found himself in a position of “no authority” very similar to the one I was coming to terms with myself. However, he very clearly supported my desire to organize the creation of a new terminal, and even encouraged me to actively pursue it in advance of him discussing it with C.O.O. Tony Misuraca. Based off the sequence of events in the previously mentioned “Timeline,” I had every reason to believe that approaching GM Chad Brooks was the proper person on the “organizational” structure to issue my tasks and approach to with my issues. An example of this, included in the timeline, is from February 2011 where in the interview I was told by President Fred Misuraca that Chad would be my manager, if when C.O.O. Tony Misuraca returned from vacation, he decided I was to be offered a job. Given my stellar resume and advancement in related work-background, I found it odd for an offer to be delayed after an interview they had solicited thru a mutual acquaintance. In hindsight, I should have seen that admittance as the foundation for what would soon become a major problem in the inner-workings of Royal Banana Co.
I digress.
Another aspect of this meeting with General Manager Chad Brooks was the discussion of an e-mail he had received in regards to federal grants available for projects strikingly similar to the one I had only mentally dreamed of. I took this as a sign that need for pursuit was imminent. This thought was hammered home, when he printed off the email for me and stated “I highlighted some important information on the back page” before handing it off to me in front of several witnesses whom I will name later. When I flipped to this page, I had found that a deadline for submission was the only thing highlighted, and the date was only 10 days from where we stood at that moment. When I mentioned that to him, and how I felt it was a sign that we were going to get this done, he smiled and said “Ya, it was in my e-mail for a few months, I had just thought of it as a “dead-end.”
Being an extremely motivated individual with confidence in his skills, I knew that 10 days was more than enough time for me to make this a reality. I immediately forwarded a photo of the grant to halfway decent friend and close confidante ***** **********, whose advice on this matter I had already been seeking. I also forwarded a copy to my uncle, Commercial Real Estate Developer and Global Missionary, ******* Burns, who responded in the affirmative when asked for his support. I also forwarded a copy of this grant to older brother, Director of Finance at *****, ****** Jernigan, hoping his connections in the business world would assist me in this pursuit. He pledged to support me on this endeavor in a way only family could.
March 19th 2017- I had nearly finalized the details of this grant, and was ready to pursue it with the fullness of my heart. This was on a Sunday, two days removed from the assignment of the project by General Manager Chad Brooks. Given the size of this project, I felt it would be best if we immediately met with attorneys that represent Royal Banana Co., hoping they could give me advice on how to properly pursue this. As a result of the highlighted deadline, I reached out to Business Manager Bethanne Munoz in a text message where I stated something along the lines of “Put the lawyers on high alert, I think I have come up with the ultimate Italian Job.” At the time she did not respond, but we had an unspoken agreement to only communicate outside of work when the issue was extremely pressing. She was also in a position of helplessness, the details of which have been laid out in the timeline and are based off of private conversations we had shared. So I did not take this as a negative reaction as I did not include any question marks in my text that would imply I expected a response.
I also emailed a one line summary of the plan to C.O.O. Tony Misuraca on this day, due to my excitement for the new plan and a statement he made on March 9th 2017. “You can e-mail me any time about anything, you are a really good writer, some of the things you say are so well done it is like I am reading them out of a book.” At the time, I took that as a compliment.
March 20th 2017-
Given the rate at which the highlighted deadline was approaching, I was having difficulty focusing on the union work that I was being expected to perform daily. In the 6 months I was removed from IBT local 337, at the request of Tony, I was never given any indication that I had a job other than the one that was previously negotiated when I was with representation of the union. A quick tangent, my compensation was never presented to me and was changed without notice by Tony Misuraca two weeks after leaving the union. When asked about my pension benefits he stated, “You’ll be in the Royal Banana plan now,” the exact details of which he was unwilling to share at the time.
Back to that fateful Monday. I had already presented and had the pursuit approved by General Manager Chad Brooks, and was ready to present to the President of Royal Banana Co. Fred Misuraca. I called him into a private meeting where I was again hoping he would provide insights as to how to properly approach sole-decision maker Tony Misuraca on this subject matter. In this meeting, the exact details of which are laid out in the timeline, it was implied that this project may be too big for me to handle and he could not understand my desire to chase a dream so large. I had mentioned to him that it would make my parents extremely proud, and would help to alleviate the stress caused from my childhood where I did nothing but disappoint them. I stated that in collaboration with this pursuit, I would write a book on my past where I exposed myself entirely to the world, in hopes that the open honesty would help publicize the project and set it on the proper course, which required unity and working together. At times in this meeting Fred smiled and hinted that it was a noble idea, but ultimately the meeting ended without him offering any assistance as to where to go from there. I got the sense from body language that perhaps there was an inner-turmoil, as if he knew that his son, Tony Misuraca, would not be on board with this project. The meeting concluded and we both continued about our work day. He went back to his office, I went back to performing union duties in an effort to assist Vice President Frank Misuraca.
Soon after, Tony approached me and stated that he had read my e-mail and was very curious about the plan. He stated that he was ready to have a meeting, and I replied that I needed a few minutes to unload a banana truck and that he should get the synopsis in advance from his father, President Fred Misuraca. We set a time for the meeting at 30 minutes. Within 20 minutes, he was waiting for me by what is referred to as “Banana Room 10” with a smile on his face, so I felt that he was ready to take action. Prior to entering the meeting, I received a text message from salesman Mark (I again apologize for the lack of proper name) where he requested my password for a OneDrive account I had set up to share my intellectual property with the company. This text made me feel uneasy, as I had already installed it on every computer and the only reason to need the password at this point was to change the password. I could sense trouble.
When I went upstairs for the meeting, I was again being led to believe by the smiles of Tony that we were about to have a history making moment in that office. On the way up to the office I pointed out a stack of pallets, and a recent “epiphany” I had about how signs of order versus the usual chaos, he replied with “Oh boy, there’s that word again.” My first indication that I was walking in to my own demise.
When I entered and saw General Manager Chad Brooks and the look he gave me, my previous thoughts of potential trouble were reinforced. Nonetheless, I proceeded with the presentation of the plan. At the time it was written on just 2 pages and only outlined the overall details, I was hopeful for assistance in expanding it. From the moment this meeting started, I was feeling mocked and ridiculed by C.O.O. Tony Misuraca. He stated repeatedly that he would not assist me in this endeavor, and used language that was geared toward forcing me to quit. Repeatedly, he told me that I did not need to give two weeks’ notice and that Royal Banana Co. would be fine without me. In preparation of this meeting, I had considered all the possible outcomes and was ready for this potential reaction from Tony, but did not quite understand the reasoning behind it. I was offering a new building, at no cost to them, and would take a substantial pay reduction to pursue this project on their behalf. Nonetheless, the idea was rejected by C.O.O. Tony Misuraca while GM Chad Brooks remained silent. I did not feel slighted by Chad at the time for failing to intervene when it was clearly going wrong. I am certain that he will verify the details of my timeline under oath. The important part of this meeting, is that I did not offer any resignation or suggest that I would look for work elsewhere.
After the meeting, I began to feel sick to my stomach because I was suddenly fearing for my job, something I had never experienced before in my long work history dating back to 1996 as a 10-year old paperboy in an industry that was quickly dissipating. I approached immediate supervisor, Lorenzo Hinojosa, and stated that I was feeling extremely ill and would need to leave work immediately. He gave me approval. I again stated that I was leaving because I was sick and would be back tomorrow, he once again, gave his approval.
While exiting, I was chased down in the back hallway by C.O.O. Tony Misuraca and pressured into quitting. I very wisely declined. The exact details of this conversation are laid out in the timeline and I would like the video recording of the conversation to be subpoenaed to support my case. Due to my role as operator of this surveillance equipment, I would be happy to teach all interested parties as to how quickly find this conversation on multiple cameras, and would be willing to present an expert lip-reader to help support the facts I lay out in the timeline.
At this time, I felt it would be best if I went and re-established my membership with IBT local 337 given the inability of Tony Misuraca to allow me to pursue anything outside of what was contractually listed as “union work.” On my way to the union hall, I ran out of gas for the first time in my adult life. I quickly realized it was because of my focus on this project I had neglected to keep up on personal tasks essential to my existence. Further details of this neglection is identified in the timeline and was pointed out to me by President Fred Misuraca and Vice-President Frank Misuraca prior to my realization of the problems it had caused myself. At the time, they were not willing to provide any assistance in alleviating the mental strain I was putting myself through on behalf of Royal Banana Co..
After contacting my brother (in-law), International Union of Operating Engineers Dispatcher and Business representative, **** ******, I was offered his assistance in filling my tank so I could proceed with my goals. When he arrived to the rescue, I filled him in on the details of my day and he affirmed that it was in my best interest to seek assistance from IBT local 337. I proceeded to what I knew as, and as signage indicated, the building hosting IBT local 337. Upon entry, I was directed to the 2nd floor where the gentleman behind the counter took my request, and assured me that I now again an active member, of which I was still in good-standing.
When I arrived at home, I began a list of grievances I had with Royal Banana Co. that I had remained silent about based on false promises made by Tony Misuraca and a unwavering sense of loyalty to the owners of this regional food distributor. I forwarded these complaints to President Fred Misuraca and Business Manager Bethanne Munoz. I also reached out to IBT local 337 business representative, Reno Milsap, who I was unable to get in contact with until my third attempt 4 days later.
At roughly 8pm that evening, my cellphone rang and I realized it was Tony. Given my past history of always being on-call to both him and VP-Frank Misuraca, I took this call under the assumption it was a work-related question. When I answered Tony yelled “ANDREW”, in a voice so threatening my dogs ear perked up. I politely responded, but he proceeded to say “I have decided, that you quit today.” To which I replied, “No, actually Tony, that is not what happened, and you affirmed my decision to go home for the day in our final conversation in the back hall, don’t you remember referring to me as “like a brother?” He continued with his lie, and said “NO, you quit.” I again replied calmly and said that if he felt that to be the case that we should only speak to each other thru legal representatives. He again doubled down and stated “That’s fine, either way, you’re not coming to work tomorrow,” and then hung up.
Given my distrust that he had just created, I immediately documented this conversation and forwarded the exact contents of it off to the attorney who I was seeking the assistance of at the time. I then called off work for the first time in my tenure to make sure I was covered in all aspects.
On March 21st, 2017 I began to construct a timeline very clearly explaining the sequence of events that led to this moment, the initial date listed on this greater timeline is March 5th 2011. By that evening, I had determined thru co-workers that Tony was spreading information around the company, in an effort to tarnish my reputation, and stating very clearly that I had been dismissed by him. This was in direct contradiction to what he had said to me in the threatening phone call he had made 20 hours prior. I then decided to call off work again and request that the remainder of the week be paid as a vacation, a practice that had been established long before the start of my career, but one that causes severe interruptions in the business processes. I also forwarded this request to General Manager Chad Brooks to assure that I was going thru all known protocols.
The details of March 22nd thru April 5th will be provided with my timeline when given the opportunity to present it to the NLRB. However, given what I would consider to be a “blessing in disguise” I received a package from Royal Banana Co. that I felt provided enough evidence to support my case on these ground alone and am willing to negotiate a settlement based off this document as an individual rather than in the greater context.
I was expecting my final pay, if dimissed, to be issued to me within 7 days of my final hour. Unfortunately, this did not arrive until April 4th 2017 due to clerical issues at Royal Banana Co. It appears they had my address wrong, for the second time in my career, and that the package had sat at the post office for 10 days while I was attempting to track it. In this package, which arrived 15 days after my dismissal, there was a letter from Tony Misuraca regarding the end of my employment. In it, he claims that I offered my resignation to him and General Manager Chad Brooks on the previously detailed meeting on March 20th 2017. Due to the complete and total inaccuracy of this letter, and the disorganization that went into getting it to me, I felt it would be best to move forward on these grounds alone.
Wronful dismissal and threats at home by one Tony Misuraca in response to me seeking union assistance. I feel the evidence I have pertaining to this fully supports what I am trying to accomplish, and with adherence to the guidelines I will set forward in regards to settlement, I feel this would be in the best interest of both parties to end this quickly and amicably. To defend this suit, will require convincing General Manager Chad Brooks to commit perjury, and I am willing to bet the whole bag of marbles that he will not. If I am wrong, I would like to point out that this document was created in just two hours somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico, and as detailed as it is, pales in comparison to the document that I will continue to work on in advance of next week’s meeting. The list of witnesses I will bring forward in the greater case will cause severe damage to the reputation of Royal Banana Co., and in my heart of hearts, I still love all of the members of the staff and want to avoid any one being hurt, myself included. However, I will not settle for anything less than two years salary plus bonuses, and if I feel in any way that I am being obstructed or given the run around, my desire to accept that minimal amount will quickly diminish.
I am focused on the future. I am hopeful that we can come to an agreement that allows us to shape the future for all parties in a positive light while allowing me to minimize the revelations in the Timeline in hopes of using it as a basis for a book series I intend on writing.
Thank you in advance for the swift execution of this document throughout the legal process, and it has been a pleasure to have an audience of attorneys for my dissertation who can properly understand the complex nature as to how it came to be shaped.
Please reach out to me directly at J*********@gmail.com with any serious offers as to an immediate resolution of this case.
Your Friend,
Andrew M Jernigan
The Journey 