|
|
|
|
Abusive Supervisor Reinstated By MSPB News Analysis & Commentary by Martin Johns Wanted: Freedom From Workplace Bullying News Analysis by Martin Johns
Abusive Supervisor Reinstated By MSPB NEWS ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY by Martin Johns The Merit Systems Protection Board has reinstated a supervisor whose removal was ordered by an Arbitrator and upheld by the courts for violation of the Joint Statement on Violence in the Workplace. In a ruling issued September 30, the Board held that, since the supervisor was not a party to the Arbitration, he was not bound by the decision. The MSPB did not seem bothered by the obvious contradiction inherent in this conclusion, in that the Postal Service was a party to the Arbitration and, using the MSPB logic, the Postal Service was bound by the decision. NALC President William Young expressed anger at the decision, saying, "It is a sad day for the Postal Service." Young was quick to tell advocates that arbitrators still retain broad rights to fashion a remedy for management violations of the Joint Statement, including "reassignment, a prohibition against the individual supervising letter carriers, and prohibiting the supervisor from receiving future promotions or performance-based bonuses." Additionally, the Union will continue to seek "appropriate disciplinary action," though removals and suspensions over 14 days will remain subject to MSPB review.
In 1998, Clinton, Maryland Postmaster Derek Hatten initiated an altercation with a letter carrier. The Union grieved the incident pursuant to the Joint Statement. The Arbitrator, Raymond L. Britton, ruled that Hatten “engaged in a course of conduct … that was directly inconsistent with and in violation of the … Joint Statement” and sustained the grievance, ordering Hatten's removal. The Postal Service went to court to vacate the award. Though the court upheld the award, they did advise the Service that Hatten could appeal to the MSPB. The MSPB also refused to hear from the NALC in the matter, though they had filed to intervene. The Board noted that it has no obligation to allow a party to intervene, regardless of the effects of their ruling on that party. Meanwhile, a Union official was fired for reading a book on his break, not because of the content of that book but because of its title (Al Ainsworth's Going Postal, a collection of stories about abusive management). At last report, that Union official is still out of work, almost 2 years later (note: Hatten was not removed until April 2003). Hypocrisy? Yes. Justice? No. Hypocrisy? In a recent arbitration here at Red Bank (admittedly my grievance), the Arbitrator agreed that the Union was prevented from proving its case by an unreasonable denial of information. He agreed the Union was entitled to draw an adverse inference that the information, if provided, would have proven the Union's case. However, he went on to rule that the Union had not proven its case and was therefore not entitled to remedy. This was a transparent thwarting of the Collective Bargaining process. Clearly, the Arbitrator feared a cash award would draw the wrath of Postal management and might cost him his cushy job. Justice? In a pig's eye! NALC President Young's Response Wanted: Freedom From Workplace Bullying News Analysis by Martin Johns October 18-24, 2003 was "Freedom from Bullies in the Workplace Week". The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute recently released the results of their latest research on the subject. I have attempted to distill some of the information on the Institute's web site. All quotes and statistics in this article are from the Institute web site, unless otherwise stated.
Of late, the hostility of the USPS work environment has only grown worse. A cancer patient in Ohio was subjected to the most disgraceful behavior imaginable by his supervisors. His doctor required that he have water "by his side at all times." "It doesn't say I have to let you drink it," was the supervisor's response (PostalWatch.org). At a recent Arbitration in New England, management openly declared, "We fire people with cancer BECAUSE WE CAN!" (related by participant). What kind of twisted people could even think like this? Postal managers. The Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace, signed by the Postal Service and most of the Postal unions after the Royal Oak massacre in 1991, promises that there will be "no tolerance" of violence, abuse, threats, harassment, intimidation, or bullying in the workplace. But enforcement has been entirely one-sided. Employees have been disciplined, even removed, for foul language or shouting. Managers, guilty of crimes as heinous as rape, are merely reassigned. Some have actually been promoted. (Going Postal...The Tip of the Iceberg by Al Ainsworth, Chewah Publishing). In 2000, the USPS spent $4 million funding the infamous Califano Report. Rather than look at the root cause of the problem (abusive managers), the Report's focus was preventing abused employees from becoming violent. The Report's conclusion? Pay higher salaries to managers. This represents organizational consistency. The culture of the Postal Service doesn't hold abusive managers accountable. It rewards them. Better than 1 in 3 USPS craft employees will be a victim of abuse or bullying during their career. This is higher than the national average. Most will never report it. Many will either be fired or will resign. According to the Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute, "Targets are predominately 40-ish, educated and veteran employees." 80% of targets are women; 20% are men. About two-thirds of all workplace bullying is same-sex harassment. Thus, targets are frequently denied protection under existing laws. Male bullies tend to target employees who are naturally independent and refuse to be controlled. Female bullies generally target employees they perceive as more competent and/or better liked than they are. In more than half of all reported cases, victims report that their tormentors are bullies by nature--that their personalities are abusive and they have a need to demean or destroy someone. Only 23% of workplace bullies act alone. Female bullies tend to recruit the target's peers while male bullies most often enlist other managers for "tag team" bullying. "Public Screaming" is a tactic employed by roughly two-thirds of all bullies. Better than half will retaliate if a complaint is made. (A 2001 study found retaliation rates to be close to 66%). Slightly less than half will threaten the target's job. About 20% will threaten physical harm (or assign the target to unsafe work). Female bullies favor the "silent treatment" and the turning of co-workers. "Targets cannot be called thin-skinned. They stay for a long time working under conditions rational people would consider intolerable." The bullying usually only stops with job loss. More targets will be fired than will quit. In contrast, bullies are almost never dealt with by employers. Less than 1 in 10 will receive any type of reprimand. Even then, "correction" is generally a slap on the wrist issued with a wink and a nod. "Bullying is done with impunity. Perpetrators face a low risk of being held accountable." Witnesses will often make the mistake of blaming the victims for their fate. This is known as "Fundamental Attribution Error." Generally, an "outsider" will choose this perception as an alternative to taking responsibility for their role in the abuse--their silence. Some witnesses will side with management because of their desire, conscious or unconscious, to be on "the winning side." Others fear becoming targets themselves. No target of workplace bullying escapes damage to their physical and/or mental health for long. The most common illnesses experienced by bullying victims are anxiety disorders, clinical depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 35% of targets will suffer Chronic Fatigue. In spite of the "not-so-impartial pro-employer" Workers' Compensation Office tendency to deny stress related claims, research shows that the vast majority of health effects suffered by targets are the direct result of the workplace bullying. In the early nineties, the cost of workplace bullying to the US economy was estimated at $6 billion a year. A RAND Corporation study estimated the cost might be as high as $44 billion a year. Truthfully, there is no way to accurately estimate the total cost. Employers suffer decreases in employee performance and productivity, and an increase in absenteeism. As always, they will blame the employees for these losses. So what can you do? Well, starting small, you can sign the petition at The Association of US Postal Workers. Education is key, so start reading some of the material on the links below. As a victim, you can confront your bully; refuse to be demeaned. File a 1767. Keep good notes on all the bully's tactics and incidents (the Red Bank Local has created Abusive Supervisor Incident forms; stop by the office and pick some up). As a witness, stand up and support your co-workers. As a steward, file those grievances and EEOs. Include Bullying Studies, and anything else you can think of, in your grievance file. We'll probably all die of old age before the "employer" does anything constructive. Personally, I hope for the day when all employees will drop what they are doing and just stare at the bully in the act of attacking their co-worker until he/she stops and slinks away in shame. (No respect? No production!) Until that day, management will do what they do "because they can." We will do what we can, BECAUSE WE MUST. In solidarity.
Petition: Association of US Postal Workers An association of U.S. Postal Workers seeking to collectively improve the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation of its members. California Postal Employees Zero Tolerance site (New! 8/17/04) Simi Valley (CA) APWU employee looking for assistance in campaign to ensure Zero Tolerance Policy applies to management. The Hatten case and more (Lu's News) Lunewsviews.com has been following the various court cases filed by managers over discipline issued by Arbitrators pursuant to the Snow award. Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute "Freedom from Bullies at the Workplace" Week is October 18-24, 2003. EAP Alert! Beware of Employer Provided Compassion The thesis of this 5 part series is that, for privacy reasons and expertise, you might do better to seek outside professional help than use EAP.
The Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace (pdf) PDF file of the actual Joint Statement, signed in February 1992 The Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace (html) Text version of the above Joint Statement (supplemental agreement) (pdf) Later that same year, the signatories to the Joint Statement agreed that discussions between management and labor on workplace behavior should be held on the Local level, too, not just at National and Regional levels. Carlton Snow's landmark National Level Arbitration award (Q90N-4F-C 94024977/94024038), upholding the NALC's contention that the Joint Statement is a binding agreement which must be applied equally to management AND craft and upholding the Union's right to grieve for discipline (and even removal) of supervisors when it is not. Do not let any manager tell you "this doesn't apply to the APWU." It does. Text version of above, courtesy NALC Local 908 Publication 108--Threat Assessment Team Guide (pdf) USPS Handbook which defines Zero Tolerance, Threats and Violence in terms that would include even low intensity harassment. Under Article 19, this Handbook is part of the Contract and should be cited in Hostile Work Environment grievances. Publication 45--A Violence-Free Workplace (pdf) A 5 page employee-oriented USPS pamphlet. Postal Service Supervisor And Manager Guilty of Abuse This page, from The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute, contains a synopsis as well as substantial text portions of one of the best Hostile Work Environment Arbitration awards ever, issued by Bernice Fields (I94N-4I C 99136168) in 2000. She gets it. Minneapolis Local Zero Tolerance Form (pdf) We will attempt to get the Red Bank Local forms on line soon. In the meantime, start here. Read the infamous Califano Report...all 249 pages of it. Never has so much been spent for so little.
EEO HELP Page (Red Bank Local) See also articles on Safety and Light Duty, elsewhere in this site. Links Page from The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute Though it sounds redundant, click on the "Links" link to get to the links. Links from this group of current and former Postal Workers "preserving the integrity of the Civil Rights Act," includes link to New Jersey POV homepage, where you can file complaints and sign petitions. The New York and California homepages are also excellent. Links page from Great Britain's "Workplace Bullying & Employment Law" web site.
The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute Pioneers in the field and one of the best web sites on the subject. kickbully.com: How to fight a workplace bully Tools for exposing and fighting workplace bullies. A group which seeks justice for women abused (and worse) by the USPS. Workplace Bullying, Stress, Employment Law and You! An informative web site--one of the first on the subject--from Great Britain. Bully OnLine (Tim Field's web site) Those who can, do. Those who can't, bully. Lots of information here.
The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute 2003 Study Other Bullying Studies at The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute 1998 Workplace Incivility Study by Christine Pearson, PhD (UNC)
Read the Lake Worth Herald Whistleblower series for tales of horror. People who don't work for the USPS would never believe this stuff. 21st Century Postal Worker Postal Attendance Terrorism Discussion Forum, including copious links. Women Abused. Is The USPS above the Law? A true story of rape and the USPS lack of accountability. 11 Year Cover Up Charged In Royal Oak PO Massacre (Lake Worth Herald) Leonard Saffir article from 10/31/02. 'Going Postal' Myth or Reality The USPS view, from Postal Life magazine. From a web site called "Off The Boss," this particular parable tells the tale of how bullies use the illusion of power when, really... The rest of the site's good, too! Check out the "Employer Aptitude Test." The Postal Justice Project--Inspectors on the Rampage (PDF) Repeat after me: The Inspection Service is not my friend. An Occupational Safety & Health Report from Canada's Safety Council. PSA Journal article - Workplace Bullying (9/03) New Zeland article. Check it out: "People who make a habit of bullying - called serial bullies by Tim Field and industrial psychopaths by others - know how to keep people on side. To everyone but the target of their bullying they can be charming and witty. And they are proficient liars." Bullying and Domestic Violence Studies show that the dynamics of workplace bullying resemble those of domestic violence more than anything else.
The Red Bank Local, APWU, AFL-CIO, is a non-profit organization. The Red Bank Local does not endorse nor mean to imply endorsement of or agreement with any site simply by presenting the links above.
|
|
