ABF | Question?

Is it acceptable for a manager to cuss out an employee? Union or non union? In front of others? at all? Should this be reported? is it work place violence? Is it our duty to report it or allow it to continue to employees or are we sissys to even say anything? This is a manly type of industry however a professional work environment? just curious opinions.

Depending on the situation I would have responded in kind, but that's me.
Probably proper thing to do is get witness statements then contact the labor board w/ charges of work place violence. If you go that route you better be right & document everything.

iam4us said:

Is it acceptable for a manager to cuss out an employee? Union or non union? In front of others? at all? Should this be reported? is it work place violence? Is it our duty to report it or allow it to continue to employees or are we sissys to even say anything? This is a manly type of industry however a professional work environment? just curious opinions.

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If it truly offends you,.....and although trucking is a "manly' occupation, I don't believe in cussing when you are discussing my future and my job. Too important for school-yard talk..........then it is something to be reported. If he's a foul-mouthed, vulgar idiot who enjoys belittling people,....file the charge!... If he just blurts out the occasional explicative,......well,....he's just being "manly".........I was always told that swear words are a stupid person's response to a lack of vocabulary and education...........

The biggest problem I have with this is that if we do it to them we get written up, fired for workplace violence and have to fight for our jobs back. I have had two at ABF who have called me *********, piece of **** and *******. Home office does not care and does not want to hear about it. Some people should just not be supervisors. First I would recommend getting witness statements and send letters to ABF regional manager and HR at the Fort, certified of course and Cc the local manager, who I am assuming is the culprit. I would keep the original statements and send copies with the letters. If nothing is done about that then it's a free for all and you can go in and call that individual anything you want regardless of who is around and if it was me I would work it to the hilt. See, I don't take kindly to that kind of disrespect by egotistical *******s. Furthermore, when the home office does nothing about it it's the same as condoning the behavior and they are game for it too.

I was told it happened at my little terminal years before I got there. Manager had a temper, driver made a couple of complaints, then he recorded one of his rants and sent that to the fort and next thing you know manager has moved on to other employment opportunities.

This is second hand info, just to be clear.

This particular manager has been with ABF for years and his M.O. is to be a smart ass to contract labor.. But he has really cussed out a belittled his dispatchers and I mean horribly!! also has referred to people in cuss word ways like the Mf word or ahole, slams doors, etc.. I in my right mind cant think of another industry where this would even fly! I would think his own non union men would want to sue!! its harassment and violence I think.. unprofessional at the least.. In a publicly traded company I cant imagine a company wanting its people acting in this way and as stated, yes contract labor would be fired.. You all are right, document, document..

What if you were a deeply religious person? What if you were a Bhuddist? What if you were a woman? NLRB rules require every employer to provide a non-hostile and safe working environment. I've trickled out my share of cuss words at work, but as a steward, I've had a standing rule for the several managers we've had here over the years. When it comes to discussing work rules, or discipline, or other employees, there will be no swearing, either on my part, or his. I find it highly offensive that two adults can't discuss Labor conditions without sinking to playground language. The several managers we've had have all been adult enough to agree,.......therefore we have mutual respect for each other. and very little screaming and tantrums,......Labor problems get ironed out with adult answers, instead of little kid reactions. Require your manager to act like an adult when he converses with you. Tell him,....in no uncertain terms,....you are offended by his language. Once you tell him,....then he's "on notice",....and as Bro. ABFer said:...document every time he "deliberately" offends your sensibilities with foul junior high school language. Some so-called "managers" regard it as a tactic to harass their employees, ...ostensibly to get more productivity. Some "managers" are on a power trip, and like to see how far they can push your personal envelope. Once you put him on notice that you find his language offensive,...then you've stepped into the NLRB rules about workplace violence and harrassment. Remember, though........If you're going to require him to be an adult ,...you've got to be one, too......

Just to be clear, Its not me, its a fellow worker and not a Teamster, but a person and a bad situation and one I feel his mental state is affected.

iam4us said:

Just to be clear, Its not me, its a fellow worker and not a Teamster, but a person and a bad situation and one I feel his mental state is affected.

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Dosent matter what side of the fence your on no one should have to come to work & deal with that....

Usually it is not acceptable for anyone to cuss anyone, union or non-union and never in front of others (if so then there are witnesses). Yes it should be reported. No it is not workplace violence but it could be hostile work environment. Stop worrying about being a sissy and do what is right.

If it is affecting someone's mental state they by all means report it. It that person drives a forklift, tractor, yard buggie, etc would you want them to "snap" while operating that type of equipment? Anytime you are pushed into a mental state then you are not focusing on what you are doing and this can cause accidents and injuries- not to mention someone being pushed to the point of going postal. This definitely sounds like hostile work environment. REPORT IT.

It seems to me that ABF is OK with this behavior as this is not the first I have seen and heard of it. We have a regional sales rep who got his ass handed to him when he belittled a supervisor in front of other workers. He went crying to upper management and the sup got reprimanded for it. These two shouldn't even have hardly known who each other are but he's disrespecting him? Someone should have been fired for that and not the sup. It is hard for me to respect a company that permits and defends this kind of behavior from its management people. And if they talk to other managers like that how do you think they talk to us lowly serfs?

It's a measure of respect towards other people as to how you phrase your statements, and the type of vocabulary you use. We're truck drivers,......We've invented creative swearing,........We can swear in Spanish,......We know swear words of five syllables,.....We know swear words so bad, that if you were to utter them, everyone within hearing would have to go get re-baptised,..........Have a box of freight tumble down and hit you on the head and knock your glasses off,....and you'll sound like a veritable Vesuvius of profanity,.......sulphur and brimstone would pour out the back of the trailer you're working until you've found your glasses,...........If there was a Ph.D in Profanity,....we would all have Masters,.....would probably be teaching the course,...(...stand still while I drop this box on your head....)........So,.....as I said,...it's a matter of respect when you talk to a supervisor, or a dispatcher, and you choose respectful and thoughtful words...........Besides,....you don't want them to embarrass themselves by trying to impress you with their weak, milque-toast version of what they regard as swearing,......It'll make you cringe, watching some red-faced lower-management type struggling to utter some mildly foul explicative,.....knowing that he's at his absolute limit for his capacity of harsh and offensive language,...........and you're trying hard not to smirk because you've heard truck stop waitresses use the same language as a term of endearment to their customers. You've probably heard nuns using sterner language........It's amazing to me why a supposedly educated manager would try to impress us truck drivers with their weak and imperfect command of scatalogical language,......when we've heard what Real Swearing,....by Real Men sounds like......Try not to laugh in that manager's face when he dribbles out what he considers strong language,.....but what we all know as the second-rate cussing of the boy you used to give a Dutch-Rub to on the Junior High School playground..........Embarrassing to hear....

if it happens to you directly, you could leave and walk out to HR and request to see a shrink because of the extreme workplace harassment ,inform the HR guy there is several witnesses. HR would tell you to take the day off to calm down wile he investigates. it would be a good way to get a super fired, that's for sure.

thats just what i would do ,the supers at ups are all walking bags of sh!t lol

Even though it didn't happen to you, you could report it to Wage and Labor board of your state as a whistleblower