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City Commissioner Dan Saltzman today reacted forcefully to a WW story published Wednesday that described violence, hazing and other abuses in a Portland Bureau of Transportation maintenance operations shop.
Initially, Saltzman's office declined to comment on an investigation into Jerry Munson, who ran a group called the "liner crew" within the maintenance operation, because it was a personnel matter.
After reading the story, however, Saltzman issued a statement yesterday.
"As Transportation Commissioner and member of this community, I want to express my disgust by the behavior and culture described in the report and the WW article," he said. "I have a zero tolerance policy for bullying and hazing of any kind and will be developing an updated HR policy for PBOT that makes that clear for both employees and supervisors. I will not tolerate this."
Today, in a telephone interview, Saltzman explained he had not been made aware of all the facts of the investigation initially and is now taking action.
"I am going to re-open the investigation with a view toward the termination of Mr. Munson," Saltzman tells WW. (A city investigator recommended in January that Munson be fired, but after his union Laborers Local 483 protested, Munson was instead demoted and transferred elsewhere with in the maintenance operation.)
Saltzman, who took charge of PBOT in January, after the alleged abuses occurred, says he will also re-examine the bureau's decision to terminate Russ Wilkinson, a probationary employee on the liner crew who cooperated with the investigation of Munson but was then fired two days before his probationary period ended. That firing raised the possibility of retaliation against Wilkinson.
"We're going to take look at Mr. Wilkinson's situation, as well," Saltzman says.