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jacksjewell
August 13, 2009
Punished for reporting abuse
I work as a stocker at toys r us. I've never had a problem with my fellow associates until last season. For two months i was continually on a daily basis humiliated, harassed, cursed at, stolen from, had my things destroyed or broken, and made fun of. I reported again and again to my manager what was going on. Others seeing what was happening reported the abuse as well. We were all told that the case was being reported and filed, and would be taken care of. Finally one night one of the seasonal crew threatened to rape and murder me and laughed as he walked away. At that point i was broken and asked to be let go. The manager begged me to stay and said she would see to it he was gone by the end of break, i agreed to stay for the managers sake only. At the end of break i was called into the office and told he was just joking around and since no one heard or saw a thing nothing could be done. Then the supervisor told me that "I had to admit with the kind of girl i am i deserved what i got." For a week none of the other seasonal crew bothered me, but the one who had threatened me. He would push my freight off the pallets. Dump my shelves onto the floor, throw cans at me at the bus stop as i waited for my bus, petty small things. He finally pushed my freight off the pallet in front of me, and i snapped and yelled not to touch my freight rapist. At which point i was reprimanded, and told that he was innocent of any wrong-doing, it was my fault and i could't say anything to him at all. I at that point left the building. When i returned as the store opened, i went to see our H.R. person. I was under the impression that the situation had been reported to her. I was wrong. She was stunned at what i told her was going on. She said this was the first she had heard of any problem among the over-night crew, and she could't believe this was happening to me, as i was crying, and i am known as the "happy" person in the store. Always smiling upbeat, get the job done kind of girl. After being assured that she would take care of everything and to just go home and take a day off i went to collect my things when i noticed my bag had been ransacked. Someone had stolen my DS and several games out of the Managers office. As the store had opened but minutes ago i knew it had to have been stolen by one of the over-night workers. When i asked to see the tape i was denied and told there was no concrete proof on who took it, neither would they ask the workers to turn there pockets out before the exited the store. Nothing came of my complaints. I was removed from over night. Losing the extra pay that comes with working over-night, half the hours i regularly work, and i was humiliated. The crew was told i was removed as the problem and it was all my fault. The ones who haressed me for months as well as the one who threatened me faced no repercussions at all. They retained there job, the money and the extra hours. I was teased by the mangers with the idea that they would replace my DS, which is all i really wanted, but finally a month ago i was told that wasn't going to happen. Since season ended my hours have not improved at all. I have regularly been ten hours under other employees with half the experience of me, which is a regular tatic og toy r' us to get rid of people insted of firing them as that looks bad. It got so bad i had to get a second job. Now with season almost upon us again it has been let slip that i am to continue to be punished, by not being allowed on the night shift, while new stockers who don't do there job right will be. Thus once more i will be losing money and hours, something i can't afford. Toys r us has gotten away with what happened to me. I was unfairly punished for defending myself. Put into a situation of a unsafe work place. I still have nightmares over what those guys did to me, and to this day i don't like being alone around men i dont know. I can only hope that this dosent happen to anyone else.
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