46 sign petition complaining of co-worker
Forty-six employees with the Hernando County Utilities Department signed a petition calling for their department supervisor, the manager of human resources and even county commissioners’ help in dealing with an employee they say has sunk morale to the bottom.
BROOKSVILLE Forty-six employees with the Hernando County Utilities Department signed a petition calling for their department supervisor, the manager of human resources and even county commissioners’ help in dealing with an employee they say is too hard to work with and has torpedoed morale.
Human Resources Manager Cheryl Marsden said she and Joe Staph, director of environmental services, met Monday with James Beck’s unhappy co-workers and assured them that appropriate discipline measures have been taken.
Frankly, Marsden doesn’t think the employees were mollified after the meeting.
Dan Oliver, a union steward with Teamsters Union 79, is sticking up for Beck and said he was shocked when he saw the petition. The whole thing, he said, smacks of a “witch hunt.”
“They’re ganging up on this poor guy because they want to get rid of him,” Oliver said.
So what has utility worker Beck done to make so many of his co-workers mad at him?
Hernando Today requested all the disciplinary notices leveled against Beck in his almost five years with the county.
In all, there have been four actions taken:• In February 2008, Beck was advised not to touch or push any employee following a reported altercation in the parking lot of a lift station.
• In April 2008, Beck was disciplined for cussing and using inappropriate body language toward an employee.
• In June 2009, Beck was disciplined for ripping off the mud flaps from a county vehicle as he backed up at the county landfill. Damage to the vehicle was an estimated $630.
• Then in August 2010, Beck referred to another employee as “one-eye” during a meeting, a violation of the county’s harassment policy. Beck was asked to attend a refresher course on harassment.
The 46 employees’ said they were forced to bring the matter to the attention of higher-ups because they exhausted all other avenues.
Every time they refer the matter to county human resources, “he escapes and comes back with a vengeance,” the petition says.
“For the last several months he has constantly caused disruption, turmoil and a chaotic workplace environment,” the petition reads. “His actions include but are not limited to berating, intimidation and humiliation of fellow employees, which also includes supervisors and manager.”
But union steward Oliver paints a different picture of Beck.
Oliver said Beck is a 25-year retired U.S. Army veteran who can’t hear well and, as a result, must speak loud at times.
“You’ve got to holler at him to get him to hear anything,” said Oliver said. “Is he a little outspoken? Sure. Everyone is a little outspoken.”
In a union response to the petition, Steve Mosely, the local’s recording secretary and business agent, calls for a full investigation of the petition because the facts don’t add up.
Roughly 95 percent of Beck’s workday is spent away from the Wiscon utilities complex and his dealings with other employees would be minimal, Mosely says.
“Mr. Beck simply would not have the time to commit these misdeeds,” he said.
Mosely also questions whether every person who signed the petition did so of their own free will.
Hernando Today couldn’t reach Beck for comment. When asked to speak to him, a reporter was told he was out in the field.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or [email protected].
