Yesterday, my workplace had an “emergency meeting” which prompted me to write yesterday’s post. You can read it here.
Was there a repercussion for speaking my mind?
You tell me.
Every time there is a vote, the UTD steward has the voting take place at the cafeteria at one of the tables. Afterward, the votes are counted. I’ve been to the last three votes and witnessed the counting of the ballot.
Today, we were told to go to the media center to cast our votes.
When I got there, I saw the UTD Steward conducting the voting process at the top of a bookshelf. It’s over 4 feet high. For a person like myself in a manual wheelchair, this was absolutely wrong.
I pointed this out to the UTD Steward and he said there was no other place to hold the voting.
This is an absolute lie.
The voting took place after work. We have the entire school campus to hold this vote.
There were tables behind him. He could have found another place.
Instead, I had to ask him like a little kid because the steward is over 6 feet 2 inches tall to help me with the voting.
I didn’t get to put my own ballot in the envelope like the other teachers.
I went to the assistant principal who was there and told her that holding the voting there was unacceptable and wrong. She gave me some excuse about how it’s the UTD steward not her. Basically, passing the buck.
Could she have done something? YES.
I spoke to the principal and she told me she didn’t know why he did that when there were other places on school campus and even in the media center there were tables available.
So could the UTD steward have done something? YES.
He also told me by tapping with his hands on the bookshelf that the ballots would be counted there.
So now, I wouldn’t be able to see the counting of the ballots.
Is this bullying? Is this his way of telling me not to speak up at meetings?
Is this his way of silencing me?
Did he think that this would shame me? Or make me less of a person?
I’m three feet tall and in a manual wheelchair. He’s over six feet tall. If that’s not a form of bullying, I don’t know what is.