In January of 2011, I was falsely accused of sexual harassment by my then co-worker, Miss Kewley. The fear, bewilderment, stress and anxiety which accompanies such accusations, is indescribable save for those who have gone through such an ordeal. When I learned of Miss Kewley’s unfounded claim, I rushed to call my department head, Mrs. Williams, and store manager, Mr. LeClair, to give them my side. I explained to Mrs. Williams that Miss Kewley was angry with me that I was trying to arrange an intervention for a coworker, Miss Harden, who was using methadone and percocet on the job. Mrs. Williams said she was aware and asked me to refrain from informing Mr. LeClair about the drugs. I naively obliged. Both supervisors strongly reassured me that I had nothing to worry about and stated that they knew it was far removed from my character to have done such a thing. Mr. LeClair went so far as to put a letter in my record denoting just how unlikely this was.

After an HR investigation, which, found her claim baseless, and further, Miss Kewley recanting her fabrication, Mrs. Williams said she would be transferring Miss Kewley in coming weeks. The weeks went by and I heard nothing. I asked Mrs. Williams about the transfer, she said she was having problems finding a store considering no one would take a “known behavioral problem.” I asked for an update roughly every two weeks from Mrs. Williams. In late March when I asked again, Mrs. Williams’ lashed out at my inquiry and began to defend Miss Kewley. “She’s too young understand what she did was wrong (despite being 25.)” I explained to Mrs. Williams the absurdity of her stance as plenty of people get their Master’s degree and purchase a house by that age. I elaborated that by twenty-five, I had two Associate Degree’s, and four years in the Navy as an Electronics Technician with an Honorable Discharge, and that her age is not an excuse under any circumstance. She is not a four year old stealing a candy bar from the store. Mrs. Williams acknowledged this, yet, reinforced that she’s aware but Miss Kewley is still very immature for her age and I need to be more understanding. Incredulous, I returned to work.

The abscence of behavioral correction from management coupled a lack of catharsis from Miss Kewley, led to an unmitigated continuation in antagonistic and adversarial behavior towards me. I routinely offered an olive branch by helping the difficult customers for Miss Kewley, yet, her antics did not abate. During one encounter, while trying to evoke some semblance of empathy from Miss Kewley, she stated that she, “doesn’t care or lose any sleep over it.” Aghast at this, I reluctantly informed Mrs. Williams of this who said she would talk to Miss Kewley over it. The retro-active continuity given to me as an excuse over her words words could only be best described as Cock and Bull.

A couple of weeks later, in mid-June, while conversing with a customer who is an amateur MMA fighter, Miss Kewley said that she wanted to fight me as she “...has a lot of anger she wants to get out towards me.” Immediately after laughing it off, I looked for whomever was the manager on duty. I explained the situation to the 3rd who asked why I don’t just look into transferring. Speechless at the avoidant advice, I approached Mr. LeClair the following day. He expressed shock that this was still going on, as according to Mrs. Williams, “This had been taken care of.” I assured him this was not the case and cited several examples to the contrary. A meeting occured shortly after involving the three of us. Unfortunately, it amounted to Mrs. Williams essentially loudly stating the necessity that she “needs” both of us. This tantrum fueled need “justification” was the same sophistry Mrs. Williams used when she slammed me with 40 hours while I was trying to return to college. My routine requests for a two or three day workweek was ignored -- it ultimately cost me nearly $7,000 worth of GI Bill benefits. Does QFC not support veteran’s desire to continued education? I didn’t put my life on the line to have a deli worker deprive me of my education benefits. There was no resolution from the meeting, and, in the convening months, Miss Kewley’s behavior continued unabated and uncorrected. After admitting her indifference to her actions and physical threats towards me, I was justifiably afraid to enter either the backroom or walk-in cooler, as there was no camera in those locations to defend me.

While this was all happening, I was being offered deli 2nd and 3rd PIC at Totem Lake as well as Mount Lake Terrace on multiple occasions. During the meat-wrapper/cutter realignment, Mr. LeClair said that as a “high performer” he would be more than willing to recommend me for the position if I so desired. I graciously declined each offer as a transfer on my part would be a tacit admission of guilt -- which I have fervently denied any wrongdoing.

In August, I approached Mr. LeClair with an amicable resolution to the impasse. I offered to accept a transfer to produce on the condition that I would be bumped up to the journeyman wage on the grocery scale. Store management and I agreed this was an agreeable arrangement for all parties. We discussed that as there would likely not be 40 hours available to me in produce, I would in all likelihood, be splitting my time behind there and HABA. I was informed it may take a couple of weeks to the changes to reflect in Express HR. After two weeks, as I was still listed under deli in Express HR, I finally decided to contact my UFCW 21 representative, Mr. Andy Heyman. I informed what had transpired and asked him to act as an advocate on my behalf. Mr. Heyman called the store the next day and was subsequently deferred to human resources. I believe it was a Mrs. Ostler with whom Mr. Heyman spoke with. He relayed that as contract changes had gone into effect, the promise of a raise was unenforceable. I do not believe that at all Mr. LeClair or store management purposefully mislead me in that regard, but, it is rather underhanded for the company to adopt this grossly indifferent stance given the circumstances. Instead of having a nearly guaranteed 40 hour workweek in the deli, I am now strung along with 25 hours over five days, resulting in a nearly 40% reduction in pay.

The day before Thanksgiving, I was approached by a customer whom I hadn’t seen in months. He asked if I was OK and said that he heard I had been transferred for sexual harassment. Informing him this wasn’t the case at all, I asked who he heard this from. “The girls,” he responded while pointing at Miss Kewley and Miss Harden. The next day, I approached Mr. LeClair with my dissatisfaction over hearing this. Shortly after, Bonnie, from District 3 HR was called in. After reciting a litany of innumerable offenses, Bonnie

HR’s horrible solution to this mess has long been to simply been to separate Miss Kewley and I. Not only is this policy a pass on Miss Kewley’s behavior, it is woefully avoidant and outright cowardly. I find it hard to believe that, if we were in a white-collar environment, the company would be taking such an obtuse, sexist, double-standard.

The Third Man is a great Orson Welles movie based on a Graham Greene and Carol Reed novel. In it, an American writer, Holly Martins, goes to post-war Vienna to visit his friend Harry Lime, an old friend who promised him a job. Upon his arrival, he discovers his friend was just killed in a car accident. The truth is, his friend isn't dead; he faked his death to elude the police. They're after him for selling diluted penicillin to hospitals, which is killing children. Harry Lime is one of the all-time super creeps, and when we first see him, he's a sniveling coward. Greene and Wells wanted to make him the most despicable character imaginable, they couldn't think of anything worse than someone who'd kill children out of pure greed. They never met Miss Kewley or Mrs. Williams.