A cashier at Goodyear Hall has pressed charges against the Faculty Student Association (FSA) and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 621 for unfair labor practice.
Dorothy King, a resident of Tonawanda, claims that three different FSA managers harassed her over a period of several months beginning in November.
"I've been employed with FSA for 11 years and these managers at Goodyear are so terrible now, it's almost unbearable for me to work there," King said.
She claims that she was written up and suspended numerous times for such petty reasons as bumping into a fellow employee and eating a banana while on duty, an action that she has seen many other employees do without managerial reprisal.
King also alleges that CSEA Local 621 Union President Robert Caine was aware of the harassment but failed to take action, even after King submitted several grievances in regards to her treatment.
"I've had five suspensions, five write-ups and the union [president] is not doing anything about it," King said. "He would not submit my grievances."
According to King, she resigned from her position as union steward after facing the initial harassment but was later asked to be reinstated.
"Two [union] vice presidents contacted me asking me if I would be union steward again at Goodyear because I have [over] five years experience," King said. "I said I would only if the union would back me up and two days later I got five write-ups."
She believes that the FSA managers in Goodyear have specifically targeted her because of her blunt nature.
"I don't bite my tongue," King said. "If there's a break in the contract I will speak on it."
According to King, the treatment she faced at work has negatively impacted her health and contributed to her recent diagnosis of high blood pressure and a temporary loss of eyesight.
King took her issues to the United States National Labor Relations Board, where the organization launched an investigation and helped her formally press charges against the FSA and CSEA.
Despite all of her accusations, King continues to work as a cashier in Goodyear Hall.
"It's almost unbearable for me to work there, but I'm still trying to hold on to my job," King said.
FSA and Campus Dining & Shops were unavailable for comment.
See future issues of The Spectrum for continued coverage of the situation.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
