From: cdromm@ix.netcom.com (Mary Ratcliff )
Newsgroups: alt.politics.homosexuality
Subject: Bizarre Problem Need Opinions
Date: 21 Jun 1995 08:36:37 GMT

    I would like to know if anyone out there has similar experiences
or know of anything like what I am going to tell you:

     My husband has worked for Mtn View/Los Altos School District for 4
years as a custodian.  The first 2 years were great, with good evalua-
tions etc.  Then in his 3rd year,  a sub custodian came to help with
a hard job they were working on, and my husband innocently said, "Thank
you for coming to help.  I could just hug and kiss you."  Of course he
made no move to actually do this, nor did he make any movement at all.
Nothing more whatsoever was said.  Later that night,  the sub made a
complaint to the supervisor that he had been sexually harassed.  The
manager from the district came in and gave my husband sexual harassment
policy papers and scheduled a meeting.  Nothing my husband said or did
fit the description, and witnesses attested to that.  The sub who made
the complaint soon realized that he wasn't going to become permanent
in doing that, so he also told the district that no sexual harassment
did occur.  The district enjoyed it so much, that they did not let it
go.  They spread it all over the school that my husband was gay and
that he had sexually harassed that guy.   All the people who used to
talk to him either walked by real fast or else shook their butts with
their wrists in the air as if to indicate that my husband was a girl
man.  My husband wrote to them repeatedly over a whole year to either
charge him and put him in jail where sexual harassers belong or else
clear him!  They ignored his pleas that people were making fun of him,
putting "GAY" signs on his car, etc.  They then transferred him to
another school, where he refused to take 2 and 3 hour lunches on the
clock with the rest of the crew.  Because he complained to them - both
privately and discreetly that he didn't think it was right to run off
for so long and not even account for the time, they put him on paid
leave for a month, and even wrote him 3 reprimands that were stupid
(one was for going to see his file during business hours at the bus-
iness office, one was for reporting to work (that was when he went to
the business office -- miles away from his work - to ask when they are
going to end the leave, and one was for talking to a teacher during his
lunch break nearly two months before!)  After much argument where it
had to be taken so far as to break their reprimands down into flow
charts, the reprimands were removed.  Then they transferred him to
another school again.  Just 2 weeks after being at the other school,
they called him in to be questioned about money that was missing. The
investigator said to him, "You are being falsely accused."  They then
started treating him like a thief,  changing the locks on several of
the doors he used to have access to,  making a new rule that the class-
room doors aren't to be opened until the teacher is present, etc.  The
head administrator of the school (Mtn. View Adult School) was sent a
letter to ask exactly when the police were called and when the money
was discovered missing.  He promised to answer the questions in the
beginning of his letter, and then launches into a tirade about how
bad my husband's work is -- and NEVER did answer the question.  He
later contradicted himself to say that the money was returned the
next day (which would have been before my husband was even questioned).
The head administrator was soon promoted to assistant superintendant,
and the job was taken by another person.  The new adminstrator imm-
ediately began to write letters about bad work performance, citing
my husband for everything under the sun.  He was even told to empty
the trash at 4:30 so that others would be around in case he "touches
somebody's leg".  His schedule was changed so that he is the only
person in the entire building on Fridays.  He has been cited for
things such as a streak on a towel dispensor in a bathroom, for some
chalk residue being on the chalk board (and was told that he may not
use water or any cleaning solution on the chalkboards at all) but
there must be no chalk residue on chalkboards whatsoever.  The CSEA
union is of no help whatsoever, and the superindendant said right
in front of the CSEA rep, "These union reps are not here for you.
They are here for me in case you pull out a gun to shoot me." The
union rep did not make a peep.  All of this has been given to the
union President with no luck.  The union reps have always continued
to parrot "The district is being more than fair."  They also change
the contract to remove rights to counsel for the worker, while leaving
this right there for themselves and the district.  Most recently, a
coworker of my husband's told him that they brought him in and told
him to write down everything he can find that my husband does wrong.
If he didn't do it,  he was told that he would be harassed also.  If
he did,  he was promised a promotion, since they were counting on a
58 million dollar bond issue (which they won).  He got the promotion,
but felt lousy and "wasn't sleeping good".   Upon hearing about the
confession,  the union did nothing,  and the district did nothing.
They simply changed my husband's schedule around so that he has as
little contact as possible with the coworker.   Any ideas out there?
What is their problem?  These people find it very hard to understand
that everyone isn't like them with their greed and heartlessness.
They have been told that he wants to do his job and come home.  Doesn't
want to make waves, and doesn't want to sue anyone.  They have a big
hearing problem, and continue to make things worse.  We have over
1,000 pages of misc. documents sent back & forth between the district,
CSEA, and ourselves.  They often contradict themselves, and their lack
of intelligence is plain as day.   Please let me know what you'd do in
such a situation,  share your experience or knowledge of similar exp.
or please give us some kind of encouragement.  He brings home some new
kind of complaint every night, and we are at our wits end.  Thanks!