Charlene Lust says she has no doubt that what she saw in a Macomb County auto plant in February was a noose.

Seeing the rope hanging in an area where she was coming to help a coworker clean up, Lust said she was overcome by a feeling of sadness.

“I literally almost fainted. I’ve never seen one,” Lust said from her living room on Detroit’s west side this month. “When I saw the noose, I was like stuck.”

She snapped a photo of the rope, which she believes was left as a message to African Americans like her, in the area of the plant’s paint shop. It reminded her of the day in 2015 she helped nab a pedophile, an action that garnered her a civilian citation from the Warren Police Department.

“It startled me. It felt like the moment I caught the young boy being molested at the park. It was like one of those shocks,” Lust said.

Now, the 34-year-old mother of four is fighting for her job and praying she can hold onto her home, two tasks that have become a challenge because she said she was told she cannot return to work. The reason? Photographing, and possibly posting on Facebook a video of, that looped rope hanging in the Sterling Heights Assembly plant.

Although the plant makes the 2019 Ram 1500 pickup, Lust was not employed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Instead, she worked for a subcontractor, MacLellan Integrated Services, a company based in Lexington, Kentucky. Lust says she was terminated and that she is not welcome to return to work.

MacLellan has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Lust has filed complaints claiming discrimination based on race and retaliation with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights against MacLellan, FCA and her union. The UAW, according to spokesman Brian Rothenberg, has filed a grievance against MacLellan on Lust’s behalf.

'Exhaustive investigation'

FCA spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said she had not seen the civil rights complaint so could not comment on it.

“What I can say is that FCA does not tolerate retaliation against any person who reports a violation or participates in an investigation involving a workplace incident. Such behavior is strictly prohibited and anyone found engaging in such behavior will be dealt with accordingly,” Tinson said in an email.

More than 7,800 people work at the Sterling Heights Assembly plant, also known as SHAP. FCA said last month that the report of the noose "was the subject of an exhaustive investigation conducted by external investigators. Although we have been unable to identify the person responsible, if and when that person is identified, their relationship with the company will be terminated."

A post in February on a Facebook page for plant workers referenced "several disturbing incidents over the last couple of months."

Activists have also been raising alarms about a rise in racist incidents at auto plants.

Photographing in auto plants is generally not permitted, but Lust says her employer, MacLellan, had encouraged her and others to take pictures showing their work.

Although there are no general statutes protecting employees who post things on social media, some activities, such as protesting adverse working conditions, are protected, according to New York University Law School Professor Samuel Estreicher.

An African American seeing a noose at her workplace could be considered an adverse working condition, "certainly a failure to take it down would be," Estreicher said.

He noted that posting a video of a noose on company property on social media, rather than just taking a picture to report it, might show poor judgment, but the maintenance company should have found some accommodation for Lust, such as a similar position with another client, rather than keeping her from returning to work.

Because what she did might be considered a “protected concerted activity,” Lust could also have additional recourse. For instance, she could file a charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

“The law we enforce gives employees the right to act together to try to improve their pay and working conditions, with or without a union. If employees are fired, suspended or otherwise penalized for taking part in protected group activity, the National Labor Relations Board will fight to restore what was unlawfully taken away,” according to the NLRB website.

Facing eviction

In the meantime, Lust is concerned about her immediate future.

Her landlord, Southfield-based Go2Guy Property Management, has already sent paperwork demanding she pay $1,250 in overdue rent or face possible eviction.

More:Fiat Chrysler investigates report of noose at Sterling Heights Assembly

More:GM offers $25,000 reward to nab those hanging nooses in plant

More:UAW group: Racial incidents need to stop, be condemned by leadership

For Lust, the possible loss of a home she has been in since she started her job with MacLellan last year has her relying on her faith in God and hoping for a miracle. Recent weeks have been particularly tough with a break-in at her home and loss of money to add to the uncertainty.

It’s a far cry from 2015 when she was attending Macomb Community College and working toward what she hoped would be a career in law enforcement as a detective. That summer she had even been honored by Warren Police for her heroism chasing down a 35-year-old man who had been sexually assaulting a 7-year-old boy at Jaycee Park in Warren.

Transportation troubles and the need to provide for her children now ages 7-16 derailed her plans, and Lust said she was forced to work various temporary jobs. When she landed the job with MacLellan, she said she was thrilled.

“I was like, ‘I need full-time work. I can’t keep hopping from temp job to temp job. Finally. I’ve got me a job. I’m landed.' I was so excited," Lust said. "I want to work."

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.