Archive for the ‘Social Justice’ Category
Workplace Murderer: Target or Bully?
Monday, February 15th, 2010
The Feb. 12 Univ of Alabama-Huntsville campus shooting appears less likely to be the story of a revengeful target of mistreatment than it first appeared. Revelations keep coming about the history of aggression by the shooter, Amy Bishop Anderson.
Tags: Amy Bishop, homicide, shooting, UAH
Posted in Social Justice | Post a Comment »
Murdering professors. Surprised?
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
Think the professoriate in universities is all about collaboration and cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge? Think again. The shooting deaths of three professors (all tenured, including the department chair) during a routine biology faculty meeting on Friday Feb. 12, allegedly by the arrested assistant professor (not tenured) Amy Bishop Anderson, is unusual in many ways. The perpetrator is a woman. She used a gun. She had a plan and tried to escape. It is unclear whether or not learning about the denial of her tenure triggered the plan. Sometimes precedents are uncovered much later (see the documentary Murder By Proxy). Time will tell as facts are revealed.
Tags: Amy Bishop Anderson, biology, Ken Westhues, Murder by Proxy, UAH
Posted in Social Justice | Post a Comment »
Army demotes, discharges Mom for putting baby first
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Update of Nov 2009 story US Army single parent Alexis Hutchinson was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan. She was told that she had 30 more days to find care for her baby. The base commander never actually granted the promised extension. (DoD integrity?) Her care plan was not finalized prior to deployment date, so the Army arrested her for a short while. Because she refused to deploy without knowing how her son would be cared for, they threatened her with a court martial. According to NY Times reporter James Dao, there are more than 10,000 active duty single parents deployed overseas. Resolution came for Hutchinson on Feb. 11 — a demotion in rank to private, a less-than-honorable discharge, and loss of veterans benefits. She avoided a trial and jail, but the Army has no remorse for manufacturing the conflict between her job’s contractual obligations and her responsibility as a mother. Adding insult to the discharge, her employer claimed that she “didn’t intend to deploy to Afghanistan with her unit and deliberately sought ways out of the deployment.” A mean-spirited tactic — denigrate the humiliated, terminated employee.
Imagine that. A sane single parent not wanting to deploy. What an upside down world when seen through a mother’s eyes.
Tags: Alexis Hutchinson, Army, demotion, deployment, discharge, single parent mother
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Social Justice | 2 Comments »
In Memoriam: Howard Zinn
Friday, February 5th, 2010
Photo (c) Robin Holland
Academic historian, author, activist & playwright Howard Zinn died on Jan. 27, 2010 of a heart attack. His work inspired us WBI citizen lobbyists with his 2007 essay “Are We Politicians or Citizens?” Said he, “We are not politicians, but citizens. We have no office to hold on to, only our consciences, which insist on telling the truth.”
Tags: anti-war, Democracy Now, Howard Zinn, Marian Wright Edelman, NPR, peace, People's History of the U.S.
Posted in Social Justice | Post a Comment »
Conan and the rest of us
Friday, February 5th, 2010
What lessons can we take from the Conan vs. NBC employment rift. Let me count the ways. (more…)
Tags: Conan, NBC, O'Brien, Tonight show
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Social Justice | Post a Comment »
Michigan Post Office Bullying Allegations
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
“Postal worker’s bullying allegations draw attention” by John Schneider, Lansing State Journal, Feb. 4, 2010 Read the original article
A postal worker, Ray Miehlke, contacted LSJ columnist Schneider with reports of a “reign of intimidation at the U.S. Postal Service’s Collins Road facility,” and a complaint of a physical assault by his supervisor which was found to have “no merit” by USPS spokesman Jim Mruk. To explain his willingness to speak up while others are intimidated into silence with threats of retaliation, Miehlke said “I’ve lived my life not putting up with bullies.”
Abusive workplaces are not rare at the Post Office. See the following articles posted here:
Another USPS Tragedy The 2010 Murder by Proxy documentary An arbitration where the Post Office defended the bully supervisor claiming the Violence policy does not apply
Tags: Collins Road, Lansing, Michigan, Post Office, USPS
Posted in Social Justice | 1 Comment »
Is this your life at work?
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
2009 Super Bowl ads, the only anti-corporate messages allowed on TV (as long as you laugh)
Tags: careerbuilder.com, hating work, hulu
Posted in Social Justice | Post a Comment »
New Documentary Announcement
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Please check out this film! The Drs. Namie and the WBI Legislative Campaign are featured. It’s a documentary that begins with post office homicide and then introduces bullying as a potential toxic feature of the work environment that can set the stage for violence.
“Delivers a potent mix of shocking truth, honest analysis and dark humor”
COMING TO THEATERS IN 2010
Feature documentary Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal offers a provocative examination of the possible role of hostile work environments in mass murder incidents, starting with the earliest USPS mass murder-suicide in 1986.
At a time when tensions are rising again in the Postal Service and in other workplaces across America, Murder By Proxy is a simply a must-see film.
Spread the word, forward the link to this announcement to your friends
Tags: bullying, going postal, massacre, Murder by Proxy, USPS, violence
Posted in Announcements, Events, Social Justice | 1 Comment »
A Confluence of Misery
Friday, January 8th, 2010
· St. Louis workplace shootings – 4 dead, 5 wounded
· Conference Board survey: U.S. worker satisfaction at 45% new 20 yr. low
· Dec. 2009, U.S. employers shed 85,000 more jobs – 17.3% of Americans are unemployed, underemployed or discouraged
· 37% of U.S. workers are bullied and in 2009, 28% said the abuse worsened with the recession
· Number of suicides by those who lost their identities and life purpose when their economic status was reduced to rubble — unknown, but surely rising.
All the happy talk about an economic recovery (for the publicly funded mega-banks) is balderdash in light of the reality for working people. Let’s drop the Dow Jones number obsession and start measuring what counts in real people’s lives. Until there’s an active social movement, the politicians will continue to cater to corporations.
Tags: Conference Board, shootings
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Social Justice | 2 Comments »
Army tears child from mother; prison for mom
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Army cook specialist Alexis Hutchinson, 21, is a single mother of 10-month-old son, Kamani. She is stationed, and now imprisoned, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA. She was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan for her first tour. She asked for, and was granted, a time extension for her deployment in order to find a caregiver for her son.
Tags: Army, caregiver plan, Family Care Plan, family dissolution, mother, protective services
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Social Justice | 8 Comments »
Who We Are
WBI is the only United States organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying that combines help for individuals, research, public education, consulting for employers, and legislative advocacy.