In the spring of 2004 I began working for UPS. At the time I was a college student, in my second year studying musical theater. Sure, I may have seemed an unlikely candidate for the job but the work was effortless. Within my first three months of employment at UPS I excelled rather quickly. I was a hard worker and UPS showed their thanks by allowing me to train in many work areas. After learning the ropes I was even allowed to help train new employees. The first few months of my employment with UPS was great but it started to take a downward turn shortly thereafter.
One of the first problems I ever experienced at UPS came during the summer of 2004. One morning, unexpectedly I was called to the pre load managers office to discuss my attire. As far as I knew, no one had a problem with the clothes I wore to work. I never wore anything revealing or inappropriate but I did dress for the weather. As the summer progressed I began wearing tank tops to work, just as everyone else did. For hourly employees, UPS does not have a strict dress code (at least not at the time) and we were allowed to wear street clothes to work. Because there was no air conditioning in my work facility I compensated by dressing for the warm weather.
After sitting down in the pre load managers office he promptly told me “your low cut tops are inappropriate for work”. He then continued on to read me the sexual harassment policy. I asked the pre load manager why had he read the sexual harassment policy to me considering I have not broken any rules. He stated there were codes in effect to protect people like me. I didn’t know what to think. My shirts were no more inappropriate than any one else’s and they certainly were not low cut. Yes, my tank tops tended to be form fitting but I found them more comfortable for work than loose, baggy clothing that could also be a danger to me. After explaining my feelings about the situation to the pre load manager I also told him “if there is not a dress-code in place you cannot tell me what to wear”.
He continued further by saying “there’s been a lot of talk about you in the building and you’re stirring up a commotion”. I was thinking this has got to be a joke. For the most part, I distanced myself from the largely male population at my job and even avoided idle conversation with others. I was there for one reason only; to work. Being a female in a male dominated work force was hard but I always stood my ground. In fact, there was one man who made it part of his day to try to talk with me. He constantly asked me out on dates to which I always said no and when he asked why I told him I don’t date people from work. The honest truth was that I was not attracted to him whatsoever and his insistence on a date was really turning me off. Although I told him several times I wasn’t interested, he continued to pester me. Eventually I was fed up and told him to leave me alone or I will take it up with a manager. Thankfully, the harassment stopped but there was more to come.
At the end of the summer I was bored with my work area and requested to move to another center. By September 2004 the move was granted and I began working on secondary sort. Up to now, the work and the people had been good, but things were about to change drastically. When I moved to the new center things were fine in the beginning but after just a couple of weeks the harassment began. As I and the workers got to know each other things started getting out of hand. The men on the box line would make comments about my breasts, my butt, and how my body looked when I was in earshot of them. I heard everything. I should have said something, either to my boss or directly to the offenders, but I was embarrassed. I was also new to the work center and I didn’t want to go stirring up trouble for fear I would have to go back to my original work center, where I happened to be bored out of my mind. So, I said nothing for months.
Like my previous work assignments, I excelled rather quickly. I was an integral part of the workforce, I was self motivated and never had to be asked twice to complete a task. In October 2004, only a month after changing work areas I was again called to the pre load managers office. I was on guard this time figuring someone had made a complaint about me. To my surprise I was asked by the pre load manager to opt in to management. This would be a big change in my life and I told him I would think about it. After all, I was still in college pursuing an education that would lead me to a completely different career. I really needed the money so I soon accepted and I was promoted December 1st.
Although I had had a few minor problems during the first six months of my employment at UPS I figured by moving up to management I would have a much easier time of it. I was imagining my promotion to supervisor would be the beginning of a long career with UPS and I was even prepared to quit school and become a full time employee. I told my boss I wanted to go as far as I could with UPS and I hoped this would be the start of a long career. For once, I finally felt like I had a purpose in life, that I had a path to follow. The first day I began work as a supervisor was the day all the trouble began.
The hourly workers I had been a peer to in the preceding months were now my subordinates and they resented it. I couldn’t figure out what they resented more, either being told what to do by a young female or the fact I was promoted after working at UPS for only 7 months. Most of the hourly employees under my watch had worked for UPS for at least 10 years and they were middle aged males. The hourly employees whom I had worked side by side with for several months were now my biggest enemy. They were union, I was not. They were male, I was female. They were older, I was young. I can understand how they felt betrayed but taking it out on me was not the right thing to do. The first day I worked as a supervisor I must have been called a traitor at least five times, and I heard from several employees how they were going to give me a hard time.
Although I was an integral part of the daily operations the hourly workers resented me. They did not respect me and refused to follow my instructions. About two weeks into December I sat down with my direct supervisor to discuss what was going on. He laughed it off saying that they all went through it (the supervisors) and he would take care of it. That was pretty much the whole conversation. Meanwhile, the problems persisted well into the next few months. The workers I was responsible for plainly refused to do anything I asked of them in a timely manner, or they wouldn’t do it at all. Once, while showing an hourly how to properly execute the job he said “why don’t you just do it” and proceeded to storm off.
In the following weeks I was called a bitch, I was spit on, I was pushed, and I even had boxes dropped on me. When I confronted my boss the second time about the problems I was experiencing I was again told he would take care of it. He also advised me to fill out the appropriate paperwork and document everything that happens. I had only been a supervisor for two weeks, I did not have the proper training to know what papers to fill out, I was unsure of the chain of command, and I just plain did not know what to do. Whenever I asked my direct supervisor for help he always said he’ll take care of it or “later”.
By January 2005 I was fed up and I made an appointment to sit down with the pre load manager. I explained everything that had been happening since I had been promoted and expressed feelings of wanting to quit. By the time I left his office I was in tears and he assured me he would speak with my direct supervisor to get it all straightened out. Needless to say, the situation did not improve. In fact, it continued to worsen over the next several months and I began having a problem with another supervisor working in my center.
Although we both had the same job title of part time supervisor, he thought he was superior to me because of seniority. This supervisor would pick fights and argue with me over anything. One day we got into an argument about a worker I was having a disagreement with. The supervisor, a male who stood taller than 6 feet blocked the doorway to the office and would not let me leave. As he berated me in front of my employee I just couldn’t take it anymore and I exploded saying “Get the fuck out of my face!”. He was shocked that I would go this far and in his moment of awe I managed to get out the door.
Minutes later I was confronted by my boss who tried to make me out to be the bad guy. Yes, I was angry and upset but I was not the one to blame here. The other supervisor should have never tried to restrict my free will and he left me no choice but to react the way I did. He’s lucky I didn’t assault him with a kick or a punch. I’m not some wimpy girl who’s going to be told what to do or be forced to stay when I don’t want to. This supervisor and I continued to have problems related to this incident but he just would not let it go. For about two weeks he wouldn’t speak to me, look me in the eye, and wouldn’t help me if I asked him. He wouldn’t even give me the time of day and ignored me as if I didn’t exist or I hadn’t asked a question of him. I again raised the issue with my boss and he told me that we have to work it out on our own and to “knock it off already”.
Of course, we couldn’t work it out so I was again in his office with the same complaint a few weeks later. The supervisor and I never worked out our differences which lead to future problems. During this time I was still being harassed by hourly workers. Rumors were going around that I was a lesbian and I was sleeping with people who worked in my center. I was sexually harassed by two of my workers being slapped on the ass and also told “don’t worry my pretty little head about it. When I wanted to file a complaint my boss would not let me. As usual he said he would take care of it.
At this point in my career at UPS no one was taking me seriously even though I was working just as hard as everyone else, if not harder. I was at a loss after confronting my supervisor and the pre load manager. I had no one to turn to and I did not know how to get help. I could be nice, but it didn’t help. The problems just wouldn’t go away but neither was I. I stood my ground and continued working as diligently as ever. In may 2005 I had another problematic incident with the supervisor whom I had had problems with in the past. He was incorrectly stacking and labeling packages and I pointed out his mistake and offered to help do it right. He exploded telling me I had better “watch my fucking mouth” while pointing his finger in my face.
I stormed into the office an demanded that my boss speak with him, now. The other supervisor burst through the door screaming “I’ve been here for 10 years. Don’t think you can treat me like an hourly and tell me what to do!”. I explained to my boss that he was performing the job incorrectly and I offered to help. I looked right at the other supervisor and said “I don’t care who you are, even if you’re the boss of UPS, if you’re doing something wrong I’m going to tell you so!”. Then my boss says to me that I should be submissive because he has seniority, and the other supervisor has every right to be upset with me. I was pissed and slammed my way through the door and as I was leaving the other supervisor yelled loudly “she is such a fucking bitch!”.
During the second week of May 2005 I submitted my letter of resignation to my boss, the pre load manager, and human resources with an intent to resign by the end of the month. My direct supervisor asked me if I was serious about quitting and why. He asked if it had anything to do with what had been going on in the workplace. I lied and said I had been offered full time employment elsewhere. For two weeks I heard nothing from management about my impending departure. A couple of days before I was scheduled to quit I was questioned by other supervisors if I really was going to leave.
I was really ashamed that I was quitting and I felt defeated by everyone at UPS. What the employees did to me while I worked at UPS was wrong. They know it and I know it. What bothers me most about the situation is the fact they’ll probably do it to someone else too and get away with it. What’s worse is I dropped out of school to pursue a career with UPS and my life ended up in shambles. During the last two weeks of my employment at UPS I was truly unmotivated to go to work. When I did go I was late and at least two times I just didn’t even show up. I dreaded going to work for fear someone else was going to harass me but surprisingly the last two weeks were quiet after everyone had learned I was quitting.
I had truly planned on making UPS my career but the unfair treatment I was subjected to lead to my resignation at little after a year. At the time, I felt my only option was to leave. The problems I had at work carried over to my personal life causing me many nights of sleeplessness, I lost weight, my hair turned grey and fell out in gobs, and I just felt depressed. The harassment I endured was the cause of numerous headaches, stomachaches, and other ailments that kept me from performing my best. The 31st of May was supposed to be my last day of work but I couldn’t even drag myself out of bed to go so I didn’t show up. Just as I thought, UPS didn’t care and didn’t call to find out where I was.
When I look back on the situation I don’t regret anything. Actually, I’m glad it happened. Working for UPS is not exactly the future I pictured when I was young. Yes, I liked the money and the security of knowing I had a lifetime job was great but I’m so much smarter than that. There is so much more I can accomplish in my life. It is true, if you work hard you will be rewarded. Working hard for a company that does not respect or care about you is not going to get you ahead and the rewards may not be that great in the end. From this experience I’ve learned that it only pays to work hard for yourself. The rewards of working for myself are much greater than any company could ever offer me.
