Jill Colter, a stage 4 cancer patient, was terminated from Clay Nissan of Newton recently. Her family set up a Facebook Page protesting the firing as unjust (don’t think they are saying it is illegal since Massachusetts is an at-will state), and the page has over 10,000 “Likes.”
I haven’t seen anything in local “mainstream” media (though I may have mised it– please let me know in comments), but did see an article on Jalopnik.
Last I saw on the page, they are planning to picket Clay Nissan in Newton Corner on July 28.
If I can swing by on Saturday I’ll see what happens.
I’m no lawyer but if the position is still in place and they hired someone without cancer — hell yes, that sounds illegal!
…I responded in emotion, if the person was away from the job for a length of time and unable to get back, that’s quite different — still upsetting though
Yeah, I have not enough understanding of the legalities involved- nor do I really know what happened. But am interested as a resident to see how a local business is affected by this, whether they are in the wrong or not- and as someone in the marketing space, how they deal with it in the social media world (for example, comments about the boycott on Clay’s Facebook page have disappeared- why? Not sure- but they are gone).
I think people should have their facts in order before doing something like picketing or boycotting, if they are even called for if the facts are as they might seem. Nothing better to do with your time? Will you get a kick out of destroying the reputation of a long-standing Newton business, without any basis?
@ Doug I talked to Jill’s brother Adam yesterday and Jill was fired from the Norwood Clay Nissan in June after she took a two month medical leave due to the side effects of full brain radiation to treat her stage 4 cancer. They are choosing to picket in Newton because the Norwood location is on a state highway, Route 1.
I have a story on it here http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x117476567/Supporters-of-cancer-patient-fire-from-Clay-Nissan-to-picket-in-Newton-Saturday#axzz21bFPdkQZ
@Chloe: Is there any direct connection to Newton? Colter never worked here. But does she live here? Is she from here?
I support the idea of picketing the dealership that fired her, I just don’t think it is fair to picket the Newton location when the management of the Norwood location is responsible. Granted, the Clay family owns both dealerships but picketing in Newton will make people think it was this location that fired her and not the Norwood location.
I agree with Whole Truth. Holding this protest in here won’t just reflect badly on the dealership, it also casts an undeserved spotlight on Newton.
I believe they picked the Newton location simply because of the visibility to the street, which they would not get at the Norwood location. Not saying that makes it fair for Newton (bc it isn’t). I would hope they make it clear that Norwood is the base of the issues, but they are probably more interested in bringing attention to Clay, regardless of location. The fact that we do not have an “Automile” (yay us). Means Newton got the short straw, I guess.
Will it reflect badly on Newton as a city? Not sure about that- how much does Scott Clay take part in the community? Is he/the company identified with Newton any more than a Starbucks franchise located here?
@Doug,
The Clay family has been a part of this community for decades. Scott Clay is the third generation of the Clay family to run the company.
I understand that this location was chosen because the Norwood site is not “visible” enough. The sad fact is that most people who pass by this protest will not know what it is about or that the problem was really at another location. The Newton location will be unfairly branded as the bad guy when in fact, they had nothing to do with it. I will say that I worked at this location over 30 years ago when it was Clay Chevrolet. Scott Clay was just a little kid when I worked there.
I have no allegiance to the Clay organization, just stating a disclaimer. But again, the Colter family is right to protest what happened to their sister. They just need to focus the attention in Norwood and not Newton.
It appears to me that we don’t know all the facts here. Clay Nissan seemed to have a reasonable response and offered the job back. Many people have been fired from their jobs for what seem to be poor reasons. It’s personal, and may involve a complaint, or a legal case, but doesn’t involve a public response, except occasionally if it is indicative of a pattern of behavior by a powerful business, and no-one here has suggested that. Perhaps this woman was unpleasant to work with. I don’t know, and neither does anyone on this blog.
To Hoss: Jill was hired by Clay with full disclosure that she already had cancer.
The Colter brothers have fired a nuclear weapon at Clay. When people post comments or questions on their Facebook page which are not in line with their immediate goals, the Colters take down those comments and effectively present a one sided argument. It is our understanding that Clay did admit to making a mistake and tried multiple times to remedy the situation by re-hire, re-placement, financial compensation and full health coverage. The Colter brothers have been and still are very unclear to what they actually want and its our opinion that, given the facts as we know them, their course of action is not in the best interest of Jill – who does needs a job and who does needs health insurance. clayfamillycares.com lays out Clay’s side of the story.
@Greg, No she lives in Franklin. The only connection is that there is a Clay Nissan dealership in Newton and they got in touch with the mayor’s office and the police about organizing the picket here.