I am
Millicent Lorraine Mercer. I am an
African American Woman. I have a
Bachelors degree in Marketing and one in Theology. I also have some language skills. I was hired as management in the
Marketing Department with a specific purpose to further penetrate the emerging
market (RTP area). I had been told
UPS has a problem selling head to head with FEDX, and the strategy was to get to
the customer before the competition does.
One of the greatest fears discussed in the business meetings was that the
market place would turn into the “Coca Cola vs. Pepsi or MCI vs. ATT”
wars.
I
developed new strategic partnerships with Research Triangle Foundation (Gary
Shope) and Research Triangle Regional Partnership – RTRP (Charles Hayes and Ted
Abernathy) and strengthened old ones (NCWTA, CED, China Initiative/TEDA and the
various chambers). I was praised
for my accomplishments but the discriminatory remarks and harassment soon
followed. Within two months of my
hire, I experienced what was to be the first of many incidents dealt to me at a
luncheon among co-workers by my immediate supervisor.
Lisa
Squirewell (my supervisor), made derogatory remarks regarding interracial
marriages full well knowing that my husband is white. John Howard, (Marketing department
manager and Lisa Squirewell’s boss) made no attempt to discourage her comments
and while not participating directly in the remarks did respond with his opinion
– that “people marry who they want to”, but in no way did he exercise his
responsibility as a manager to stop her discriminatory remarks and she continued
on.
I was
harassed, discriminated and retaliated against because I am highly educated, I
am a woman, I am married with children and I am an African American married to a
Caucasian.
Lisa
Squirewell initiated many of the harassment/discrimination incidents I survived
while she had the full support of John Howard and Michael DiNovi (District Sales
Manager). Lisa is a single African
American woman without formal education.
She has been with the UPS in excess of 11 years. Michael DiNovi and John Howard did
nothing to restrain her after many requests on my part. They acknowledged they knew what she was
doing and fully supported her. UPS
policy and employment laws meant nothing to them. I was repeatedly told, “this is UPS, and
we are a different animal”. While
under Lisa’s supervision I received an e-mail from her threatening me with
disciplinary action contrary to UPS’ policy. Michael DiNovi and John Howard had prior
knowledge of the e-mail and did not prevent her from sending it, nor did they
reprimand her after she sent it.
I
continually attempted to bring these issues to John Howard’s attention but he
refused to talk to me and on occasion literally ran away from me when I tried to
speak with him. Michael DiNovi
brought John Howard over from accounting and made him department manager about
the same time I was hired. UPS
policy is a person is to become a supervisor before becoming a manager. HR looked the other way. When I questioned Michael DiNovi about
how John was handling my situation, he chalked it up to immaturity. Michael said John was a supervisor
trying to do a manager’s job.
Michael never questioned John’s actions or inactions nor was John
reprimanded.
Michael
DiNovi asked me “If you were white would Lisa treat you the way she was
treating you?” My response was, “If
I were white you wouldn’t allow it.”
Michael
DiNovi told me that my harassment issues were because of Lisa Squirewell. I was told at the time she was the
problem and would be moved to a different department. (While this seemed
encouraging at the moment it later became clear to me that this action is not
according to UPS’ policy regarding harassment.) When I questioned John Howard’s
involvement – Michael stated emphatically John was innocent and that it was all
Lisa’s doing, but I didn’t buy it.
As a result my work environment became more tumultuous and those who I
should have been able to look to for support and supervision instead gave me the
cold shoulder and glares. It became
a very uncomfortable environment in which to work.
At the
time Michael was playing Lisa and I against each other. She was being promised things and so was
I. (Michael DiNovi told me many
times he was sure Lisa would fail in her new position, which she did, but she
knew someone on the board, and used her contact to save her job.) I was told Derek Williams would become
my new supervisor when Lisa was eventually moved. He did subsequently assume Lisa’s
position but I never worked under him because at that point I was told by John
Howard, Michael DiNovi and Lisa Squirewell that UPS had budget constraints and
there wasn’t enough money for my job.
Lisa was moved to a job that was supposed to require a degree and my job
was dissolved and my responsibilities were dispersed. That only happened after I had
introduced Derek to all the contacts I made and the projects I was working on
under the guise of “teamwork and being on the same page” under the direction of
Michael DiNovi and John Howard.
The only
Caucasian woman (Crystal Almond) in the department was treated with
preference. Crystal had no degree
and at the time was taking art classes.
Most of the time her office attire was not in accordance to UPS attire
per the manual and she was not reprimanded for it. She was pretty, blond, and had a great
body and all the guys loved it. Her
excessive rings and jewelry were overlooked. Later, Michael DiNovi bragged about
promoting her to the most important job in the district. She was put in charge of determining the
bonus pay for the sales force. She
had no sales experience and more qualified people were
overlooked.
In one
meeting for which I was given no advance notice, (this was typical of my
experience) the harassing and discriminating remarks overcame me. Michael, John and Lisa attended this
meeting. I was still under Lisa’s
supervision and she presented a list of infractions (a record she had been
compiling with John Howard’s blessings).
These were things I had supposedly committed and were transferred to a
corporate form (in this meeting), which I was not allowed to see (the Pittsburgh
form) or receive a copy of. I
requested a copy because I wanted to document my treatment as the supposed
infractions were fabricated. I was
then told the Pittsburgh form was used for part-timers and non-management
people. I questioned why it was
being used against me since I was neither and no one could answer. I was even told by John Howard, Crystal
Almond had been complaining about me but they wouldn’t specify what the
complaints were. Michael DiNovi told me,
“You are a woman, you are married and you have children and you need to
be home with them. Then he said,
“Your blood doesn’t bleed BROWN”; John Howard and Lisa Squirewell concurred.
Lisa was set up to be the example.
Then I was given a choice between losing my job or answering phones at
night. This involved coming into
the office twice a week, at night, for about three hours and sitting in front of
a phone that did not ring except for Michael DiNovi’s call to see if I was
there. Within UPS’ corporate
structure, at the district level this was a menial job held by part time
workers – not managers. Michael DiNovi quipped; “I don’t fire
people they quit on their own”.
John Howard gave me a time limit to decide. I left the meeting in tears. John later called me at 7 pm at home to
get my answer.
In our
department no white person was treated as I was. In our department no white person lost
their job or had it dissolved because UPS did not have money nor did they have
to answer phones as I did. In our
department no white person had as much education as I did. In our department all the
white people (John Howard, Derek Williams, Crystal Almond) were promoted by
Michael DiNovi to regional jobs.
It was
also very curious how The Marketing Department continued to sponsor organization
events but did not have money for my job according to John, Lisa and
Michael. In a meeting with RTRP,
and E-Comeleon, John Howard offered Ted Abernathy $7,500 as a part of the
strategic partnership in essence for business leads. E-Comeleon was looking to open an office
in the states. They are a British
company and they were leaning to a location that was heavily supplied by
FEDX. They did locate in the RTP
area.
I started
to take these issues to Pat Donoghue, Human Resources manager but her handling
of the matter involved calling Michael DiNovi and giving it back to him to
resolve. On one occasion, I was
told to stay late that Michael was on his way back to the office. When Michael arrived he called me into a
meeting room against my many objections.
I objected because Human Resources was not a part of the meeting. William Battle asked if I wanted
him to stay. I had seen him around
but I had no idea how he fit into the picture, so I declined his presence. He did not identify at that point in
time what his purpose was in offering to stay. Only later did I become aware he was
with Human Resources but at that point it was to late.
In this
meeting, Michael DiNovi began berating me.
He cursed me, yelled at me, and threatened my job if I didn’t tell him
what I was going to tell HR. He
also threatened me with time off.
At that point I was in tears and he then said it was my fault I was being
treated the way I was. He said I
brought it on myself. There was no
one in the room other than Michael and myself.
Every time
I called Pat Donahogue, she was never available to meet with me. I would have to wait at least a
day. A lot can happen in a
day. Pat would then call Michael
DiNovi and he would the emotionally beat me up and control and manipulate
me.
Michael
DiNovi also stated that if I continued to go to Human Resources, I was painting
a bull’s eye on my back and I might not have a future with UPS as a result of
it. He was right.
I went to
Bob Eichhorn (Labor Relations) for help.
What a mistake. In a meeting
with Bob and Michael DiNovi, “I was told I was the problem and the company did
not have any more money to pay for my job and I was going to have to do
something else”. In another meeting
with Bob Eichhorn and John Howard, I was threatened again and told, “Who do you
think you are? You are going to do
as you are told”. Bob Eichhorn also
told me, “You weren’t physically injured, you aren’t bleeding, -- what are you
complaining about?”
Michael
DiNovi and Bob Eichhorn later asked me “If you were white would Lisa treat
you the way she had treated you?” I
responded as I had to Michael before.
I did not understand why this question kept coming up from top management
in UPS.
I went to
several upper level managers within the district and corporate, for help and
relief but they would not get involved. The harassment was
continuous and ongoing. UPS
condoned and fostered it.
I went
back to Human Resources so many times and Pat Donoghue refused to get
involved. She would not acknowledge
anything I was saying nor was I informed of any rights I had or outlets for
grievances.
To shut me
up I was subsequently transferred to a sales team headed by an African American
female sales manager, the only one in the entire district. (With whom I had achieved a good
report.)
I
requested on several occasions from Bob Eichhorn, my company right to file an
internal complaint against Michael DiNovi and the others and was turned down
with no explanation. Bob Eichhorn
later retired and Michael DiNovi hired Bob’s daughter Peggy Eichhorn to the same
sales position I had held.
What a coincidence.
The entire
ordeal destroyed my health and almost destroyed my marriage and family. I went on a leave per my doctor’s
orders. Management employees are
supposed to receive STD and LTD. UPS by way of Kemper fought me on every single
detail. Kemper serves only as an
advisory role in these matters and UPS has the final say.
The
harassment continued with Kemper/UPS.
I am told it is normal for an insurance company to deny benefits but
Kemper was unbelievable. Kemper did
not have my correct address after I had repeatedly given it to them and after I
had brought it to UPS’ attention. I
often received late night phone calls (as late as 10 pm) from Kemper
representatives demanding information I had already provided them but somehow
they never seemed to have. Kemper sent correspondence to me with addresses that
did not resemble my own. Some of
these correspondences contained deadlines for response. I have no way to know what I didn’t
receive. On one occasion, I
was told I was denied benefits because I did not get my claim in on time, when I
documented that I indeed did and had time to spare. For this I proved otherwise but the
result was the same. I was six
months into my leave before UPS provided me with the manual regarding their
policies for leaves etc. after I made numerous requests. Shelia Higgins (Occupational Health
Manager) kept ignoring me. To this
point I am not sure why I bothered to try to get a copy of their policies
because in my experience UPS never followed them anyway. Kemper did not honor their duty to
deal in good faith and UPS condoned it.
After 12 full months of fighting UPS over my disability benefits and
having them denied UPS’ status of my employment remained that I was on a
personal medical leave. I was told
by the new HR manager, Greg Barr that if I wanted my job I had to return to
work. I was still on leave under my
doctor’s care. So I had to make the
choice of returning to work ill, and attempt to perform a job for which I was
not physically fit or allow UPS to fire me according to their policies. UPS manipulated the system to force me
in a category for which they could terminate me in accordance with their
policies. You see there was this
clause in their manual that said I could be terminated after 12 months on
personal leave. Greg Barr said it
was to protect UPS.
The second
level appeal went directly to UPS and was at their discretion. Again it was denied without ever
requesting my current medical information.
And it wasn’t done within the time parameters they (UPS) set per their
manual.
UPS
refused to acknowledge that I was warranted disability payments for which my
benefits were to provide nor did they request I see any of their doctors. My primary doctor thought it odd
UPS never contacted them to get my medical records. How can UPS honestly make an
accurate assessment with none of my current medical records and what are they
basing it on?
During my medical leave, I asked Greg Barr to honor my right to file a company complaint against Michael DiNovi, Bob Eichhorn, Lisa Squirewell and John Howard. He said we could “talk” about my “concerns”. New person, same old song.
In my orientation as a
new hire I was told by Michael DiNovi, “We treat our people fairly”, “We take
people from the cradle to the grave”.
The image presented was not the reality. The tactics
and methods used against me were the same as those used by slave owners as
recorded in history including hiding behind an old uncle tom. White slave masters used such tactics to
keep slaves in their place and powerless.
Bob Eichhorn told me I was going to do as I was told (translation: get back in your place and your place is
where we put you and if you fight, you will suffer). I became the example for
the rest of the African Americans in that office.
UPS’ actions put me
under extreme financial distress.
They made sure I had no STD, LTD payments, no income, no unemployment,
absolutely nothing. The only way to
avoid bankruptcy was to deplete my entire retirement savings. Now I have no job, no savings but the
medical bills are still there.
Again UPS was putting me under such financial pressure as to attempt to
force me to quit. I guess we’ll
either starve that n***** to submission or death and it don’t really matter
which one.
I went to the EEOC for
help but my case was mismanaged. I
went to the NAACP for help and my case has been reopened.