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on John Blomander | Workers
rights | Thomas Brown: Regina
advocate |
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On October 8, 1997,
G. Van Eaton submitted his report on the meeting with John Blomander
on behalf of the two-member WCB panel. Blomander feels this report
truthfully reflects his situation. It is posted here. Van Eaton Report: Page
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
The Leader Post carried John
Blomander's story in 1997. Newsclippings are also posted. August
26, 1997: 1
| 2 | Dec. 19, 1997
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John Blomander, Estevan letter
carrier
John passed away March
2, 2005 at the age of 47. He had not yet cleared his name.. We
do not know the circumstances of his death but we do know that
the slanders against him had put him under extraordinary stress.
We keep his story here.
"Where's the
justice?"
Citizens call Canada Post to
account - WATCH DOG
By Delila Hesketh, Sasklifestyles,
Estevan, Autumn, 2005
John Blomander's longstanding
dispute with his employer, Canada Post Corporation (CPC), is
documented in the Leader Post, on CBC and CKRM Radio and the
internet site: Injustice Busters. Volumes of evidence back Blomander
but CPC won't address his concerns.
After years of harassment in
which the Estevan letter carrier was publicly berated for being
'too slow' on his route, his health failed. He went on sick leave
and later filed for workers' compensation, diagnosed with post-traumatic
stress disorder. Though Blomander attempted to prove his route
was over-assessed by at least 3 hours daily (too long), CPC insisted
the letter carrier was wrong.
Via access to information,
Blomander learned that CPC superior, Ian Irvine had asked Corporate
Security to contact the Estevan Police Service, requesting protection
against this "unusual individual."
"I told him that John
would be getting some bad news shortly regarding his WCB (Worker's
Compensation Board) and SunLife claim and that we were concerned
about how he may react to this," wrote Bruce Lindsay in
a September 20, 1995 memo. The WCB decision (not released until
February of 1996) confirmed that Blomander's route was over assessed,
but denied assistance, citing a "history of pre-existing
psychological illness."
"I work for an insurance
company," says John Blomander's brother, Dwight, "you
don't have to make accusations . . . to get the client to sign
an authorization . . .if they did that they'd find out pretty
quickly [there is] no medical history. Worker's comp tended to
base a lot of their decisions on this hearsay, which is kind
of strange for an insurance company."
The false 'mental' allegations
were damaging to John Blomander, who says he's still countering
perceptions of those who have 'heard about' him. It took him
a while to figure out where the rumors started.
Estevan resident Denise Wright
accompanied Blomander when he viewed his access to information
documents, "You could see where the rumors were based,"
she commented. Both Denise and her husband Darcy have been long
time friends of Blomander, who once carried their mail. Like
many other residents, they wrote letters in his support. Hundreds
of residents signed a petition confirming his work habits and
strict observance of CPC rules between 1985-1994. Blomander gathered
evidence carefully, but his supervisors continued to make false
statements about him.
"It's just like Hitler
said years ago; if you tell a lie long enough and hard enough
and convincing enough, people will believe it's the truth This
is what Canada Post has done," comments former international
representative and worker's advocate Greg Zaba, who has also
supported Blomander. Supervisor, Abe Wolvers wrote to Blomander,
stating the letter carrier was such a threat at work that he
had no choice but to change the locks "on all the doors
to which you may have had keys." This claim is disputed
by four (4) letters written by witnesses, stating the locks were
changed for Manpower - who shared the building and had a security
problem unrelated to Blomander.
Supervisors put their allegations
into writing and a record remains even today representing Blomander's
family as riddled with problems related to alcoholism, drug addiction,
suicide, and criminal insanity.
"I would have hired a
lawyer and taken them to court for defamation of character,"
states Bill Mooney, who has lived most of his life in the Estevan
area. "I knew his Mom and Dad and his brother. I was totally
surprised that people were allowed to say things and they did
and not get taken to task for it." Like many who know the
postal worker personally, Mooney describes Blomander as a "gentle
person" who never raised his voice or got mad. "I never
heard him say a bad word about anybody. I have never found that
many that are as principled as he is. I admire those qualities.
He's a very honest person. Maybe that's why he got picked on,"
Mooney concludes.
Randell Ploughman, former co-worker
who personally witnessed harassment, says he highly respected
John Blomander. "I seen somebody that was put into a position
that he was mentally and psychologically abused by management.
He had a legitimate grievance. When he went to one of the union
guys, he started talking to him about Jesus when all he wanted
was a legitimate measurement of the route. The union wasn't very
cooperative at all. Estevan was a backwater. Winnipeg was the
headquarters of the union." Ploughman still works for CPC
in Regina and says route measurement grievances are ongoing there.
According to access to information
documents, one Estevan postmaster was under pressure from management
in Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon about overtime issues. Could
the alleged harassment possibly be connected to CPC errors in
route structuring? Blomander has provided Lifestyles with a file
of Canadian newspaper clippings proving he is not alone. The
Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) printed a story dated
Fall, 1998 stating: "Many letter carriers are reporting
working ten or twelve hour days . . . when they claim overtime.
Management threatens to suspend letter carriers." The CPC
system is supposed to automatically detect and correct over assessed
routes but for some reason, it failed to detect three routes
assigned to Blomander. CUPW was no help, he says; fellow workers
routinely finished their routes early while he was harassed for
being unable to finish on time. To find out why, Blomander hired
a private investigator in August of 1999, who videotaped letter
carriers breaking CPC rules by criss-crossing their routes and
using taxis, thus finishing work several hours early. Blomander
says a union representative advised him not to show the evidence
to CPC. In 1997 the WCB issued a scathing report which acknowledged
injustices Blomander had been claiming all along, including "disciplinary
action to attempt to put a stop to the worker's continuing use
of overtime" on a route that was finally agreed by CPC to
be over assessed. Furthermore, "the union did not assist
Mr. Blomander to what the Board would expect to be the best of
their ability."
Local CUPW president Tony Peters
admits: "I think the union fell down on some issues that
came up with John here. . . . If I was to go back now I think
I'd probably make different decisions." He also confirms
that taxi use and criss crossing are tolerated by CPC "unless
somebody starts to complain or gets hurt . . . then the person
knows they probably won't be covered under compensation."
It's a gamble that postal workers take. Peters was one of many
fellow employees who wrote letters of support in 1995 confirming
the "intense" and ongoing harassment he witnessed.
Grievances filed by Estevan postal workers are dealt with in
the Winnipeg regional office, says Peters.
Although disciplinary letters
on Blomander's employment record were removed, the WCB report
stated, "Acknowledgement of the need to work overtime was
never provided by the employer."
Though CPC spoke badly of Blomander's
work, the report says: "statements provided by co-workers(and)
performance reviewsshowed that Mr. Blomanderwas a steady and
reliable worker."
As a result of this report,
Blomander, his union and CPC were to work out a settlement. In
1998 CPC was ordered by an arbitrator to pay Blomander more than
$50,000 damages to repay SunLife. By this time, Blomander had
been cut off by WCB. Knowing he couldn't 'double dip,' Blomander
offered to pay back the money he'd already received but was told
not to do so, assured by both the arbitrator and his union that
if CPC didn't live up to its obligation stated in the ruling,
contempt of court charges would be filed on his behalf. CPC didn't
pay. No one filed the promised charges. The arbitrator was contacted
several times but took no action.
Instead, SunLife repeatedly
sought their money from Blomander. "To top it off,"
alleges Blomander, "They kept the $50 000 from SunLife and
then the WCB paid them $50,000." If Blomander had done so,
he says he'd have been charged with fraud and criminally prosecuted.
"They [SunLife] said to me: we're trying to find a way to
get it. I said: change the letter head from John to Canada Post."
That hiding of funds left Blomander without [income] for about
3 years.
The WCB had the legislative
power and should have fought CPC, says Zaba. "They didn't
use it because here's an insignificant little guy from Estevan,
who gives a sh--? They saw what Canada Post did, the remarks
they made, the sneaking around, all the conversations telling
everybody he was going to go postal on them - it's all documented.
The human rights people should have picked up on it and ran with
that side of it."
The WCB act states that prevention
of benefits can result in criminal prosecution. "If CPC
prevented benefits and were not criminally prosecuted, what does
that say about justice?" Blomander wants to know.
"I think it shows that
the guys who've got the gold still make the rules," opines
Zaba, "No matter how bad you're off if you're properly connected
you can get whatever you want. It's not a fair system in that
regard."
Local residents like Darcy
Wright remain very concerned. "If this is the way the system
works, then we're all in trouble. With the shielding that goes
on to protect the corporations . . . if John can be labeled mentally
unstable - and they keep picking at him then none of us are safe!"
Zaba is even more critical of CPC and CUPW: "Any decent
employer would have checked the route right away. . . . When
you got the union and the employer playing footsie, the member's
got a real problem because he doesn't have anybody to go to.
Your union is supposed to back you up 100% and they weren't doing
that."
Blomander believes CPC should
be charged with: "libel, slander, defamation, contempt of
court, uttering threats, destroying evidence, falsifying documents,
collusion and fraud." He has used up his RRSP's, paid tens
of thousands of dollars in legal fees and continues to suffer
panic attacks, chest pains, nightmares, depression and other
anxiety related illnesses. He wants "the record set straight
and to be properly compensated for the way they've destroyed
my life over the last 15 years: physically, psychologically,
emotionally and financially. I've even gone so far as to say
if they can prove me wrong with respect to this, I'd walk away,"
states Blomander.
"As far as I'm concerned,
truth shouldn't get you into trouble. John has the truth,"
states Estevan resident Isabel Asbenlieder. "Where's the
justice? It's been terrible what they've done to him," Asbenlieder
typed documents for Blomander and accompanied him to meetings.
"From what I can see, they're trying everything they can
to get rid of him."
Blomander has been urged to
drop his fight because of timeliness, and any defense offered
by CPC has generally been based on such technicalities. Ironically,
CPC has recently notified him that he was overpaid in 2001 (three
years ago) by $5,700. CPC has already taken over $1,300 from
Blomander.
"They have given him no
proof," argues Asbenlieder, "Judy Swanson (CPC) said
'Oh, well, we will look into this for you and we will get you
an answer right away.' Yeah, right. That was July and it is now
the end of November . . . he has received nothing!"
Commenting on the lack of reply,
CUPW local president Peters says, "If the corporation is
going to stone wall you, it's going to stone wall you, no matter
who you are. I have asked but haven't received anything. Where
do you turn after a while?"
Financial constraints have
forced Blomander back to work at CPC this month, but he is not
optimistic. Experience has taught him not to trust his employer.
He says he's held on so long because he was raised to live by
the Golden Rule. For him, that's the way the world works, despite
his experience with CPC. He followed CPC rules. Unfortunately,
according to his doctor, Donald MacRae, "The work situation
resulted in his anxiety and depression" and, adds MacRae,
"Canada Post has never addressed John's concerns - and John's
concerns are genuine."
"It's pretty incredible
that he's survived," Zaba comments, "I think that's
what they were figuring, that he'd just fold up and blow away.
But he perseveres and I have to give him credit for that."
Canada Post Corporation
was contacted but refused to comment.
John Blomander, letter carrier
Dwight Blomander resides
in Regina.
Tony Peters, CUPW union
president, Estevan
Darcy and Denise Wright,
concerned citizens of Estevan
Isabel Asbenlieder, Estevan
resident
Bill Mooney currently resides
in Victoria, BC.
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
