Inappropriate reference

[drummadrums]

Hello,
I am an African American USPS employee and was at work beside a coworker and the supervisor (who is Caucasian) came up to inform her that she was to only have an eight hour day on this particular day. After telling her this , he proceeded to say "we will work (my name) like a slave." I told him that comment was inappropriate and that he was way out of line. He later left for the day and when the shock of his statement to me turned into the most uncomfortable and threatening feeling. I wanted to see what recourse was available to me. Does anyone have experience with this sort of situation?

 

[Zigner]

Was this a one-time incident? Have you reported it to a supervisor and/or HR?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

1. You should report this to HR.

2. That said, you do realize that African Americans aren't the only group in history that were subject to slavery in the past? In fact, the definition of the verb "Slave" is "to work like a slave".

slave
verb
slaved; slaving
Definition of slave (Entry 2 of 4)
intransitive verb
1: to work like a slave : DRUDGE

P.S. Whatever happened to no using the word being defined within the definition.

 

[quincy]

Some words have been corrupted over the years. I find it sad that some people react to words said in all innocence as if there was some evil intent behind the use.

 

[NeilTheCop]

A friend of mine is an African American. He's white, about 6'4" with blue eyes and blond hair.
He's a naturalized US citizen who was born in Pretoria, South Africa, making him the genuine article.
He can tell a story or two about his heritage being ridiculed, as can I when I'm refered to as a Brit or a Limey
If you are going to be offended at every mention of a word that you perceive to be an insult, or if you believe it refers to the injustice done to your ancestors, you have a hard road ahead of you.

 

[TheGeekess]

Everybody's a Victim...

 

[Just Blue]

Everybody's a Victim...

There is something just...wrong...with country music sung with a Scottish accent...Don'cha think?

 

[adjusterjack]

Slave is also a noun:

"A person held in servitude as the chattel of another"

 

[quincy]

“Slave” is a word that is best to avoid in the workplace because of its history ... but I wish people would look past the words that are used by a speaker to the intent of the speaker who is using them.

That said, some sensitivity training might be in order for the supervisor.

 

[cbg]

The bottom line here is that there is no legal action to be taken, but you can report the incident to HR. You WILL NOT be told what action they take.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Hello,
I am an African American USPS employee and was at work beside a coworker and the supervisor (who is Caucasian) came up to inform her that she was to only have an eight hour day on this particular day. After telling her this , he proceeded to say "we will work (my name) like a slave." I told him that comment was inappropriate and that he was way out of line. He later left for the day and when the shock of his statement to me turned into the most uncomfortable and threatening feeling. I wanted to see what recourse was available to me. Does anyone have experience with this sort of situation?

It was an unfortunate comment. Whether he intended it as a racial comment or not I don't know. Some white folks are simply clueless about the extent to which casual references to slavery offend African-Americans because they don't have the experience of being Black in America. So it might have been a comment he'd have made about overworking any employee regardless of race and thus he may have simply said it thoughtlessly. That does not excuse it. He should not have said it. And giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was not intended the best thing to do is what you already did — tell him that it was inappropriate and why (without getting angry, if possible, you still want your relationship with the supervisor to be civil). A little awareness can go a long way. Hopefully that will end it. You can also inform HR (if your company has one) or some other official that supervises your supervisor and let them know of the exchange too. Note that the responsibility of the employer is to simply make it stop. It doesn't have to fire the guy or whatever. If just talking to him does the job then the company has met its duty to make it stop.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

You can also inform HR (if your company has one)

USPS employee

 

[quincy]

Employees of the USPS who are in a supervisory position should know better. A refresher course for the supervisor seems warranted.

 

[Zigner]

@PayrollHRGuy
USPS has an HR department: https://liteblue.usps.gov/humanresources/home.shtml

EDIT: Unless you were pointing out that it was the USPS, so it naturally has an HR Department

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

EDIT: Unless you were pointing out that it was the USPS, so it naturally has an HR Department

That is exactly what I was pointing out.