Despite murky details, we feel confident only about following:

• Thornton was shown surveillance video (of a good quality according to Thornton) of stealing inventory at a scheduled morning disciplinary meeting the morning of the massacre

Skeptics wonder about the tape, but there was more than one witness to the showing. This is not to say that employers do not manufacture “evidence” of wrongdoing. They simply lie about events, making a rational defense impossible. However, they rarely go to the extent of producing a doctored videotape. This is a small business not in the tech business. Thornton was not a repeat offender, so they likely did not make such an expensive investment.

He was accused of stealing inventory and selling it.

• the beer delivery truck driver (Thornton) was given the option to resign or be fired (not really alternatives) with his union president, Bryan Cirigliano at his side

A humiliating moment to be sure for anyone. At least his Weingarten rights were preserved. Not much the union could have done if theft was confirmed.

• Thornton was being escorted away from the meeting room when he began shooting

This is the infamous HR “exit parade,” the “perp walk,” the banishment. We’re not sure if HR or security did the escorting. It is another form of employer humiliation.

• both employer and the union said that Thornton had not filed any previous complaints or grievances
Harassed workers rarely complain. The history of complainants being retaliated against ripples through the company grapevine and becomes legend. Fear alone suppresses the complaints. The ones who abuse the employer complaint/union grievance processes do so multiple times. They use the policies and contracts to harass the employer. They drive the union reps crazy to the point they start to refuse to file grievances that tend to embarrass the union. If Thornton had not filed formally before, he was not a chronic filer. Could he actually have been harassed and not filed? Certainly, for the reasons stated.

Therefore, the employer and union hiding behind the absence of formal complaints or grievances by Thornton is not proof that he was not harassed. In hindsight (which all of this speculation is), he would have been taken more seriously had he filed.

• Hannah’s mother, Joanne Hannah, claimed that Thornton told her daughter he had complained both to a company supervisor and a union rep

• Thornton’s girlfriend, Kristi Hannah, claimed that Thornton said he had complained to his union rep

If a union rep or steward does not like the member, he or she can block that member’s route to redress. By hearing a verbal complaint and failing to file a grievance, the rep keeps the disrespected member in her or his place. It’s not right, but it happens frequently. Union members often report to us that their union disregarded them as much as HR did. Did Thornton lie about telling his rep? We’ll never know until a union member comes forward with the truth. Unfortunately, he may have told the president he shot and killed that morning carrying the truth to the grave.

• Thornton’s girlfriend, Kristi Hannah, claimed that Thornton said he had complained to her about racism

She said he showed her cell phone photos of crude drawings on the workplace bathroom wall of a noose around his neck with the inscription “Kill the n-word” and reported overhearing a co-worker say he wanted “that n-word out of there.” Ross Hollander, the company owner, said “I can state to you unequivocally no racism claim was ever alleged.” Of course, this would be the post-event stance if the work environment was racist. The craziness in our current political world seems to embrace a return to racist times. There was a noose incident in mid-state Illinois this year that enraged the state NAACP because its perpetrators experienced no consequences. Believe it. It happens, and in the north.

• Thornton called the State Police 911 dispatcher to admit he did the shooting and that it was over (except for his suicide)

During the call, Thornton described the two handguns used to kill eight others as “two of my favorites.” He legally owned six registered firearms. Why in the post-massacre analysis does the media never question the incendiary mix of readily accessible lethal weapons and an emotionally volatile state. He also told the dispatcher, “We’re just talking, you’re gonna play something on the news, you know I’m gonna be popular…” This is a common theme to shooters. Their world was out of their control, the massacre is their way of restoring control. Thornton said “They treat me bad over here and all the other black employees bad over here too…So I took it into my own hands and handled the problem.”

• bullied individuals do not react automatically with anger as some believe

Anger would have been a sign that he was relatively bullyproof. He would not have been afraid to confront. Targets shirk from confrontation. That’s why it is silly to ask them to confront, or even learn to confront.

This not to be confused with Thornton potentially feeling powerless to counter whatever racism was directed his way. There were many against his few. We don’t know how the other black employees acted toward him. Were they also victims? Why or why not?

Thornton’s anger could have been a simple frustration-aggression response with little to no emotional component. Bullying involves emotional injury.

The initial reaction of targets of workplace bullying is often to turn inward. Personal shame (the result of attempts to humiliate you) dictates actions. Feelings are kept inside and rarely shared, even with partners. Only after a long period of time does anger bubble to the surface. The anger most likely comes from the symptoms of hypervigilance associated with PTSD. Hence the anger and rage displayed by traumatized military veterans that puts spouses in danger of violence. PTSD is often delayed and the effects last long after the traumatizing events. But notice how the source (the emotional injury) is different than a more spontaneous, hair-trigger response when someone without PTSD explodes. In the latter case, it may have more to do with an inability to control violent impulses.

• bullied targets are gentle souls, too “nice” for their own good, non-confrontive

Not sure about the research here, but wondering how many bullied targets are gun aficionados. Thornton loved his guns to the point that the handguns he took into the facility that fateful day were two of his “favorites.” Therefore, he didn’t own guns to have them gather dust in a case. On the day of the shooting, he had a shotgun in his car. Hand-eye coordination fans fire virtual guns in video games. Gun nuts use them not just to keep a sharp eye. They love the power gun use conveys to owners. Targets are victims of the abuse of power, rarely its practitioners. Who knows, maybe targets love guns for their power because they are powerless at work. All untested hypotheses.

• Thornton had a plan to restore order to his world, was not insane

This was about seeking justice to him. He didn’t spray the workplace with bullets. He targeted some for death and avoided other individuals. He chased one co-worker outside the building and had to shoot his way back in to keep up the slaughter. He also spoke on his cell for 10 minutes with his mother. She was unable to talk him out of suicide.

• the causal link between a toxic work environment and massacre as solution is an indirect connection at best

As facts filter in, there may have been a set of conditions at Hartford Distributors that could drive a sane person to consider killing others as a solution (not if that person has no access to an arsenal of weapons). For example, our academic colleague Ken Westhues posts a report about the Virginia Tech massacre. That student was tormented by one of the professors.

There does always seem to be a “story behind the story.” Our society (read superficial media coverage) prefers to discount all shooters as nuts. They all have chosen extreme solutions, but they were not all previously insane. Nor were most insane when shooting. The explanations are complicated because they involve at least four parts:
- an alienated individual (either who started that way or was driven to the state)
- a toxic work environment created and sustained by the employer
- the failure to find allies at work (from diffident co-workers, obstinate union reps who refuse to engage, indifferent employer/HR reps),  and
-the availability of weapons.

Kneejerk post hoc analysis is inadequate. The documentary Murder By Proxy: How America Went Postal explores these factors to understand the why “going postal” happens so much. Thoughtful commentary by criminologist Alan Fox (Northeastern University) and psychiatrist Michael Welner provides the right level of analysis. I also address the role of work environment in the film. The film is 80+ minutes long. TV news segments about the shooting are usually no longer than 3 minutes!

So, let’s be careful to not equate workers targeted by bullying with shooters in workplace massacres. Not everyone with PTSD injures or kills his spouse. Not everyone with bipolar disorder is a danger to society. Bullied targets are more likely to retreat from society than to mount a guns-blazing deadly assault on peers.

The film will be screened at the Montreal World Film Festival Aug. 26 to Sept. 6, 2010

[See post to watch Flash video]

Interviews with Director Emil Chiaberi and Charlie Withers at the Royal Oak premiere.
If you were at Royal Oak, write your own review here, please.

Read the local Daily Tribune press coverage.

“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

On the morning of June 2, 2009, a city letter carrier went to work and reportedly fatally shot himself in the head in the locker room at a postal facility in Gastonia, North Carolina. The Gaston Gazette online news report stated that the “Gastonia Police are investigating an apparent suicide this morning at the post office. . . . One of the employees is inside dead from a gunshot wound.”

Prior to my retirement from the USPS, at a former district I worked for, there were three suicides within a two year period that I concluded were contributed to in significant part by how these employees were treated in the workplace. The third employee, a city letter carrier, fatally shot himself in a postal jeep and left a letter stating that he could no longer take the job. The suicide at the Gastonia postal facility was the second since December 2005.

Many people have asked: Why is there so much stress and workplace tragedies in the U.S. Postal Service? The answer to these questions is because the postal culture embraces and reflects core values that center on achieving bottom-line results with little or no regard for employee participation, respect, dignity, or fairness. Additionally, there is little or no accountability for the actions of top management in the Postal Service. Many postal facilities consequently have toxic work environments, and they can be a catalyst or trigger for serious acts of workplace violence, including homicide and suicide. The associated rewards system for behavior consistent with the postal culture core values, moreover, enables systemic organizational and individual bullying of employees at all levels of the organization.

I define a toxic workplace environment as a workplace where there is a high incidence of stress-related illnesses. These stress-related illnesses are manifested by psychological and physical deterioration. In other words, these types of environments seriously erode employees’ health and well-being. The primary factors contributing to a toxic workplace environment are high job demands, low job control, and low social support. Low social support generally entails a lack of respect and validation of employees’ dignity by their “superiors”. It also oftentimes includes organizational practices and methods that encourage the bullying of employees to meet corporate goals.

The name of the city letter carrier who committed suicide in Gastonia, NC on June 2, 2009 is Steven Spencer age 60. According to his obituary, Steven was married and leaves two daughters and three grandchildren. He was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers/ and state representative for Muscular Dystrophy Association. He was the founder of the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive for Gaston County. He was very active in Scouting, attaining the highest rank of Eagle Scout. He also was a member of the Order of the Arrow. Steven was a veteran of the Vietnam War serving his country proudly in the US Navy.

I find it highly improbable that an employee will kill himself or herself in a postal facility or while on a postal route unless it is to send a clear message that a toxic workplace exists and the person can’t handle it anymore. Sadly, it also may be a tragic attempt to better the lot of one’s fellow coworkers by drawing attention to the tragic event itself.

Prior to Steven’s suicide, I was contacted by a relative of an employee at the Gastonia post office in April of this year. She was concerned because of what she reported as a toxic workplace environment at the Gastonia post office, lack of accountability to address employees’ concerns, and that the situation may lead to another workplace tragedy. Unfortunately, her worst concern became a reality on June 2, 2009. She further indicated several employees have resigned their positions at the office because of the toxic workplace environment and others were suffering from negative psychological and physical effects because of this environment. I was told employees’ attempts, mostly city letter carriers, to have their concerns addressed over a two-year period included: filing of discrimination complaints and grievances, unprofessional workplace assessments, town hall meetings, contacts to congressional representatives both locally and nationally, contacts to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and petitions to Charlotte postal District officials and representatives of their national postal union. She further indicated that none of these measures contributed to fully addressing the workplace environment or alleviating its negative impact for the employees at the Gastonia Post Office.

In order for the U.S Postal Service to become a safe and healthy organization and thereby prevent future workplace tragedies, which have been at an endemic level over the past three decades, there is an urgent need for congressional intervention and legislation to address its toxic postal culture. Dr. Gary and his wife, Dr. Ruth Namie, along with their colleague Professor David Yamada, have for years pushed for such legislation at the state level. In order for national legislation for the prevention of workplace bullying to have the intended impact, it would require sanctions to employers or their representatives who are in violation of a new workplace statute that defines workplace bullying as a harmful and illegal activity.

Stephen D. Musacco, Ph.D.

http://goingpostal-beyond.com/

WBI Note: Readers of the comments below will see the pattern of abuse described above repeated at the same postal center with other employees. Sadly, other comments reveal a national pattern within the Postal Service. So, readers may also be interested in:

Details of a bullying-related NALC Arbitration and management’s use of “routine” bullying on the shop floor as a defense! and   The 1992 USPS Joint Statement on Violence (policy that supposedly applies to ALL employees, except when a grievance is filed)