Originally published 3/15/2013
Peggy Callahan
Senior Human Resources Representative
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The highlighted image is from a Public Record documents search I requested from BOLI (Bureau of Labor and Industries) regarding a complaint I filed against Trimet for violating my Civil Rights and for continued acts of retaliation.
Because Trimet via Peggy Callahan lied about all of it to the Government Investigator, I'm exposing it here as information for public transparency.
This posting, the third in a series of more, is about two complaints filed against me by Al Margulies and an additional one from John Olsen, as they had done before and continue to do again and again and again..... filing charges against me to Trimet's HR Department, but THESE complaints in particular are from October of 2011 and generated four reprimands. Not the first time I've received reprimands from Olsen but the Union grievance process was able to get them thrown out since HR didn't conduct an actual investigation. I am currently waiting a step III on this last group.
This posting is also about the meeting which generated the 4 reprimands and how I was treated. It was required by Senior Human Resources Representative Peggy Callahan in which SHE SEVERELY MISTREATED, BULLIED AND INTIMIDATED ME! Her mission was to CAUSE EXTREME EMOTIONAL ANGUISH AND THEN SHE EXPECTED ME TO OPERATE A 40,000 LB or 20 TON BUS ON THE STREETS OF PORTLAND!
At the start of the meeting she disclosed she was, "under orders". I pursed it, she admitted it. Doesn't matter. "NO" is still a complete sentence IF you possess the integrity to say it! She could have refused and then conducted the meeting professionally but unfortunately it didn't happen.
I was accompanied by my Union Representative. Many of you know her, you know her reputation. If at any point you question anything I've written here, please feel free to ask her for verification. You know she doesn't take anything out of meetings or discuss members with members or with anyone else. But because of the nature and experience we shared with Peggy that day, combined with what Peggy told the BOLI Investigator in the highlighted document above, I expect she would be more then willing to relate that the experience as I have articulated it here is indeed FACTUAL!!!
Callahan called me to the meeting and made three accusations. Two from Al Margulies and the other from John Olsen. Other then Olsen's, she refused to relate Margulies' claims against me. She ordered me to remove an image from my blog but refused to say which image and where I might find it. (see image below) She threatened me with suspension and or termination. Each time I asked which one she was referring to she yelled out similar to a parrot in a high pitched shriek, "Now Ellen, now you know better then that, now Ellen, now Ellen..." At one point she shoved a stack of papers (copies of my Blog) across the table over to me and there they sat. I was not allowed to ask questions! At one point I was so frustrated by the continuum of abuse I was in tears. I leaned in and looked right at her and said, "I AM IN A DEEP __________!. Do you know what that means?" As an HR Representative she knew what I had just relayed to her was my DISABILITY, recognized by the ADA and protected by BOLI. She didn't blink an eye, she said nothing - just glared - wide eyed and empty. KNOWING full well what my disability was at that point, she EXPECTED me to OPERATE A BUS ON THE STREETS OF PORTLAND! I asked for special accommodations by asking that I be allowed to go home. I WAS NOT 'FIT' TO OPERATE A BUS! She continued to glare. My Union Rep literally begged her not to put me in a bus. She shrugged her shoulders! 'SO WHAT?!!!' She advised us that she would call Evelyn Warren, Center Street Station Manager to see what she could do. Evelyn told us she received the call from Peggy but there wasn't anything she could do either. Her concern she said was they may not have Operators to cover my run. Interesting because when I had the problem with Jensen she immediately gave me a tda (time off without timeloss). It trickles down - they HAVE TO take orders or they risk loosing their careers. A Stations Agent later saw me in the bullpen and immediately gave me a tda. He said, "No way are you going out (driving) like that!" Couldn't even ride my bike home. So there I am out front waiting for a bus and feel something like someone's staring at me. I turned and saw Hayden Talbot staring at me with the BIGGEST (bigger then usual) SMILE you've ever seen. His lip was partially curled up. He stayed there staring /glaring at me saying nothing until the Bus came. WorkPlace Bullying!
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Because of the nature of our jobs there are no set rules about notifying Trimet of a disability unless the job affects you or the disability affects the job as was in my case. There are no set rules or policies for employee disability issues. In 2002,Trimet was requiring ADA in writing from your Dr. in order to accomodate a request such as a certain Bus style. Because I'm short (5' 1") I asked for a certain style Bus because I came close to killing someone. With all the blind spots like high fare boxes, clamshell mirrors, the windshield and door pillars, etc. I couldn't see where I was going. Even rockin' and rollin' in the seats didn't correct the problem. The newer buses today (3000 series) are by far worse. Trimet used to send trainers to the Factory now the people in charge of ordering new buses and other safety sensitive equipment pick from a brochure. I had to see HR about it because Trimet considered being 'short' a disability. In reality is was a SAFETY issue but that meant it would cost them some money. It was cheaper to not take a proactive stance and just blame it on employees stature. I couldn't get a disability for being short because being short wasn't a disability so I was required to operate Buses on the streets with less then 50% visibility. Even if you had, say a shoulder problem which your Dr gave you a disability for, Trimet still wouldn't honor it with proper accommodations. They don't care! They just give you what they have. What I ended up doing was asking dispatch for courtesy trades because It was a SAFETY issue for me! One Dispatcher asked if I was refusing to drive.
The thing about Trimet is you want to be very careful about what personal information you share with them because many of the Managers aren't professional enough to protect or respect your privacy. I had no reason to share my disability until they created a situation where it kicked in and as a result I literally became an ENDANGERMENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
Not respecting my disability or the disabilities of my co-workers is not respecting the public! My job is SAFETY SENSITIVE! The safety of our citizens, our community is based on our / my ability to FOCUS. IF I'M DOING MY JOB THE WAY I'M SUPPOSED TO, THE VERY NATURE OF IT IN AND OF ITSELF WILL FORCE ME TO FOCUS! If something happens which CREATES A SAFETY DISTRACTION then that has to be dealt with professionally by the people who caused it. For example, Peggy Callahan has no business scheduling meetings with Operators or Maintenance because she doesn't understand what it is that we do for a living. She's not qualified or professional enough to recognize how her actions affect others! She needs to be educated but even more then that, Trimet needs to start hiring people who are not just bureaucrats but people who are qualified and have integrity! People who are honest and fair and have a sense of humanity in their dealings with each other. Non-Union employees at Trimet have purposely separated themselves from the TRANSIT INDUSTRY as a whole. They are people who sit in cubiles and now that they're situated at Harrison Square they won't see the buses or the uniformed employees coming or going. Above all, they have to remember they're WORKING FOR TRANSIT, THEY'RE WORKING FOR THE PUBLIC!!!
