San Francisco Electrician Out Of Job For Connection To Virginia Rally
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Bay Area electrician was out of a job Wednesday after his employer found out he was scheduled to speak at last weekend's violent white supremacist rally in Virginia.
John Ramondetta, who reportedly is also known by the pseudonym Johnny Monoxide and runs a white supremacist blog called "The Right Stuff," was scheduled to speak at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville Saturday.
KPIX 5 spoke on the phone with Ramondetta. He said Rosendin Electric in San Francisco let him go Wednesday.
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A spokesperson for the company said his actions did not match their policies.
Similarly, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 6 of San Francisco – the union that Ramondetta is a member of – issued a statement disavowing his beliefs.
"The views and opinions expressed by insider wireman electrician and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 6 member, John Ramondetta, are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of IBEW Local Union No. 6 or its parent organization the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers," read the statement issued by the Union's Business Manager and Financial Secretary John J. Doherty.
However, the released statement also noted that the union recognizes "that the Constitution of the United States allows him to express these views and opinions provided that he does so in accordance with the law" and that the union's authorities to discipline or hold Ramondetta accountable did not "extend to the expression of his views and opiinions as an individual outside of the workplace."
Ramondetta is the second Bay Area worker to part ways with his employer over connections to the Virginia rally.
Cole White left his job at the Top Dog hot dog shack in Berkeley last weekend. White was identified as a participant at the rally after a picture of him was posted to social media.
The Berkeley business was targeted with threats after news about White having worked there became public, according to authorities.
