---------- Forwarded message ---------From: richard sayre <ricsayrerun26@gmail.

com> Date: Tue, May 10, 2011 at 8:23 AM Subject: A Matter of Concern To: Gwyneth Bowman <gwsbowman@gmail.com> Cc: Elizabeth Robinson <elizabethp.t.robinson@gmail.com>, Glenn Hill <mtglen@laserharps.com>, Guy Nutter <GuyNutter@jeffnet.org>, Joanie Kintscher <pkjk@pacbell.net>, Peter Hoyt <cannon1861@charter.net> Dear fellow Board Members, It is with great consternation I am writing to inform you of the angst and heightened level of discomfort amongst a large number of Ashland Food Cooperative employees. Recently two employees working in the wellness department were terminated by the department manager. One person, Colin, had been working less than ninety days and therefore subject to termination for any reason. The second person, Joseph Tokarz ,was terminated for what I and many employees consider unworthy of such harsh action. Joseph was a fourteen year employee with a wealth of knowledge. Joseph's termination was based on a "he said. she said" over words said in a moment of frustration. It is my personal opinion that this manager did not like Joseph and found an excuse to get rid of him. I have sat in on at least two disciplinary procedures with Joseph and managers previous to this incident and I have observed at times a somewhat hostile attitude towards him from management. Colin's termination is not a point of contention. What was said to him prior to his termination by the department manager and what was said to him by Richard when Colin went to Richard to explain his side of his termination is of great concern. Yesterday I was threatened by Richard. Last Thursday, after Colin had spoken with Richard, Colin came to me to communicate what had transpired. I was working at a register at the time and Richard happened to be standing almost behind Colin. Richard said something to Colin and Colin left the building. While working today I noticed Richard and David (a front end employee) standing outside talking to Colin. A short time later Richard came to me (at the register) and asked what Colin had said to me last week. I mention that Colin was attempting explaining what had happened and Richard said "you should not be talking to Colin, if you know what's best" ! It may not have been exactly what Richard said but it's pretty close. I was stunned and shocked to say much of anything but agree. After a few minutes I realized what had happened. Richard's behavior is disrespectful to me as the Staff Director and as an employee. I understand that I can not be carrying on conversations with people while doing my job and had Richard said something at the time Colin had spoke to me I would have been in complete agreement. I would have cut Colin off myself had things continued and suggested he contact me later. Something is wrong and it has nothing to do with employees or what we say to one another. This is a managerial problem. I am enclosing correspondence given to me by Colin and Joseph so you can read there own words what had occurred in their interactions with management. From Joseph Tokarz: Yesterday, when I was reading

about Colin being let go, in our dept. log, Sari asked me how I was doing. I said, not so good reading about Colin being let go, it's because of people like you and others saying negative things about him, he gets let go. She went to Richard and said that I said "because of assholes like you and other assholes ect" The same theme of changing of words like E.D. did. I didn't use the word asshole and told Richard, E.D., and Sharon that. Richard said, "well I believe Sari" and when I tried to explain, E.D. would not let me, just like she wouldn't let me give my side of the story about the coat, even though our store employee manual says that they have to let the employee tell their side, during a written warning process. It wouldn't surprise me if they try to change the manual on the quick. When Richard was bringing up the coat incident and E.D's accusation of me saying I would kill her, I said look, last week Bobby was in the warehouse, holding up a small cart or some object, (in a kidding way, but loud) yelling at Gary that he would kill him. And then a few minutes later he was telling a group of guys that he would kill them all. (not sure why or what he was talking about) But nevertheless, once again, it seems other people can do or say whatever to others, or about others, such as the women in my dept. about Colin and get away with it. But if they have an agenda about you then they'll use anything they can to get rid of you, even if you're defending mistreatment of yourself or others by others. Of course the Mgrs. pointed out that I had not changed my behavior, referring to all the trumped up charges that I had addressed in our meetings that you so kindly sat in on. I wonder. How long can these injustices continue against hard working people who stand up for themselves and others against such dysfunctional people. It's such a shame to see this happening, especially to people who care about their job and their co-workers. Such a tragedy. Fourteen years with the Co-op, and this is how you're treated, for just speaking the truth and your mind. From Colin: I began working at the Co-op on February 15th. It seems important to mention that a note was not written in the staff log about my arrival to the Wellness Department; welcome notes have been written about other staff members arriving to the Wellness team before and since. After roughly a month of being with the team, it came to my attention that some of the women in the department were expressing complaints they had about me to Elaine, the manager. At this time, Elaine was the only person to express any of these concerns directly to me. She said, in short, that certain staff members did not feel respected. Again, no one ever said anything directly about this to me. Around this time it was becoming clear that we would benefit from changing the way by which we process invoices. Specifically, the "10" for bodycare was often not written properly on invoices. Eventually, there was a big change in how the invoices were processed, and there were no further issue.

What's more, around this time, it was undeniably clear to me that certain women in the department were feeling uncomfortable around me. No one ever said anything directly on the matter. At the end of the first week after the earthquake in Japan, I had my first meeting with the whole Wellness Staff. Part of the meeting was focused on sharing very personal information. At first, I did not feel comfortable doing so. After everyone else spoke, I felt more able to be myself, and it occurred to me that I could say the following: that Tracy, my Son's Mother, and I were not married, and not in a relationship. We did, however, live together. People had been referring to her as my wife, and in the interest of sharing more about who I am, I felt inspired to tell the truth. During this period where the discomfort was becoming increasingly evident, I was made aware that something I had done in the warehouse concerned a staff member. In short, I did not use a ladder to reach something above my height; I stepped on a stool, with wheels. This occurrence marked the first time that another staff member spoke directly to me about an issue, and the issue seemed resolved. I learned later that the staff member had complained to the manager again, supposedly suggesting that I was not being careful enough in the warehouse. This concern showed up once more with regard to shoes. I ran to work in shoes that are referred to as "Vibram 5 Fingers". They are very soft shoes, allowing for your foot to become strong, as if you are walking barefoot. At work, I would change into shoes that were deemed acceptable by the manager. In general, it did not seem like the shoe topic was a big concern. One day, instead of changing, I left the shoes on. Another staff member, when seeing me with them, immediately said, "You can't wear those". She then explained why, saying that it was a risk for everyone because I could get hurt. Although I did not agree, I changed my shoes. She seemed very afraid about losing money. Later that week, I forgot to bring my change of shoes, and for roughly 15 minutes, I waited until my neighbor brought me the more suitable ones. I learned later that the staff member had complained to the manager. It came to my attention roughly a week before being let go that the manager had been asking Wellness Staff Members what they thought of me, and of working with me. Apparently, the two men said very positive things, while the women were not convinced about being able to work with me. No one ever said anything directly to me. On the Tuesday or Wednesday before being let go, Elaine called me into her office to discuss how things were going. She mentioned that there had still been some complaints, mostly related to the shoes and "safety". The issues had been taken care of, however. Before parting ways with her, I asked her the following question: "Is there something that I am not seeing, or is there some way by which I am being here, that is contributing to people feeling threatened or intimidated?" Her response, verbatim, was as follows: "Colin, it's probably just because you are too damn good looking." On Friday, Elaine called me into her office and said, "I have to let you go." She told me that it just felt like certain issues came up too often. On Monday, I asked Richard, the general manager, if he and I could speak for 5 minutes. He did not seem like he wanted to, but he was willing. The conversation went more or less as follows: I opened the conversation by saying that I was here, first and foremost, to create harmony between myself and the co-op, and that it seemed like speaking with him was a good way to do that. What's more, I said, I am committed to truth, and that I felt it was important to share a few things with regard to what I saw had happened. I then explained the conversation I had with Elaine, and mentioned what she had said, expecting him to better understand why I had come to him. From my point of view, Richard became almost immediately defensive, and he seemed to some extent scared. He quickly began to say how, from the moment I arrived, people had been turning their heads and whispering about that guy (me), with regard to my looks. He told me that he figured that that had probably effected the way I was being here, the way I was working. It seemed like he was suggesting that it would have gone to my head to be seen as good looking. I replied that I have

payed close attention to how I was reacting to other people's perceptions; he made a very strange face, and, in a seemingly rude way, expressed his disbelief on the matter. He then immediately described how, ever since I've been here, I've been making people feel awkward. He said, there's something about the way I am being, which I'm not seeing, which is causing people to feel really uncomfortable. I asked if he could be more specific. He said that it was clear in how I related to staff and customers that it was just awkward. I again asked for more specificity. He then said the following: "You know, whenever you walked past my office, you always made eye contact and nodded. That's weird, Colin, no one does that. It was fine when you started here, but to do it every time is just weird. No one else nods and makes eye contact when they walk past my office. That's really weird. Why would you do that?" I answered by saying that it seems appropriate to acknowledge people when I see them. He said once more, your just not getting it, your not getting how awkward you make people feel. I'm even feeling uncomfortable right now, as we are talking. At this time, I had been in his office for over 5 minutes, and I was prepared to leave. Richard seemed obviously uncomfortable, and continued to say, "You aren't a bad person, you just aren't seeing how you are with people, and the way you're being makes them very uncomfortable. I then said that I was ready to go, I just wanted to make sure that he heard why I had first come in, which was to see what he thought about Elaine's words. He asked what I thought they meant, and I said that it seemed to me that they could represent something that seems out of integrity here, that these women were essentially not willing to work through the feelings that came up when I was around, and that they were potentially projecting upon me certain issues and insecurities they had. He then said more about how I am not a bad person, and that I am just not getting it. He specifically said, "You know, you are not even in a relationship with your Son's mother..." I never told this to Richard. He then said, it's obvious that you are very deep, and that you think a lot, and you know, that just makes some people really uncomfortable.... I left a few moments later, saying that I trusted he would enjoy the rest of his lunch. I know this is a lot of material to digest on such short notice but I believe the board needs to be made aware of these issues. Therefore, I am requesting an executive session at tomorrow's meeting. Thank you, Ric