His name’s Mike Beatie. He was fired from his job as a cop because of his unprofessional behavior. As in hanging out in strip clubs and forcing his way into strippers’ homes. Being the prime suspect in the murder of two strippers didn’t help.
Eventually, Beatie was fired, but he soon found a new job in the corporate sector.
When new evidence was discovered in his partner’s home years later, there was a new trial, and Beatie was once again on the hot seat. (See “Defense in cold case killings may try to shift suspicion to fired deputies,” Scott North, Everett Herald, Feb. 22, 2014.)
One day, I visited the courthouse in Everett and printed out some information on Beatie. All I have to say is “Wow!” I don’t want to call him a serial rapist and get sued for defamation, so let’s just say he visited strippers’ homes so he could talk about the weather with them. I’m convinced he murdered both of those women and another man was framed. However, a judge and jury didn’t agree with me. But why am I so obsessed with Mike Beatie?
We both worked for UPS, and he was my supervisor.
I knew Beatie was an asshole even before we had our showdown. One day, he told me to unload a truck. When I walked into the truck, I was immediately hit with a strong chemical smell. A guy who was already unloading was wearing a mask, and he told me he had a headache. So, I left the truck and told Beatie about the situation.
Beatie immediately went postal. He repeatedly asked me if I was disobeying a direct order. He challenged, “David, are you a doctor?” I shot back, “No, are you?”
That was when I decided to start investigating Beatie. The first thing I learned is that lots of UPS employees had filed grievances against him. Curiously, no one ever seemed to win their grievance, and the Teamsters didn’t seem to care.
Then I learned about the sex stuff. Beatie was a sex predator, and a group of women were desperately seeking help. They talked to UPS management, Human Resources, the safety committee, and the Teamsters. Everyone gave them the middle finger.
I had worked with Beatie at the Seattle hub before our shift was terminated. People told me he used to be a cop before he got fired. They were afraid of him. One day, the most amazing article popped up in the Everett Herald. It told Beatie’s story!
Beatie hung out at some strip club called the Kodiak Club, or something like that. He forced his way into strippers’ homes. And he was the prime suspect in the murder of two strippers.
Needless to say, the rumors spread fast. Soon, people were gossiping about Beatie, though many people in the building were still in the dark. I thought the situation a little strange. When you have a supervisor who is a hard core asshole and sex predator and very likely a serial rapist and murderer to boot, doesn’t a union have some responsibility to make sure its dues-paying members are informed as they seek a way to get him removed from the building?
Bear in mind, I’m not talking about some run of the mill jerk supervisor. Mike Beatie was as bad as it could possibly get. His case was off the chart.
So, what did the Teamsters do to protect us from Beatie?
Nothing. I never saw one communication about Beatie from the union. The shop steward I sat near in the break room almost never mentioned Beatie. He was too busy trash-talking a worker who he and his union whore friends thought was lazy, Ken Hamil. The irony lie in the fact that this shop steward and his friends were among the laziest people in the building. They were assholes to boot.
Hamil was slow. That point was driven home when I saw him leave the building after work. He could only walk 20 or 30 yards before he was forced to stop. He was obviously in pain. One day, he didn’t show up at work. A few days later, we learned that he had died of diabetes.
The Teamsters never shed any tears over Hamil. To them, he was a deadbeat. Good riddance. As for Mike Beatie, well, why should the Teamsters care about some rogue cop when they’re to busy looking for scams to funnel more money into their greedy pockets?
Mike Beatie remained at my hub for a while. It was a tense situation, because he discovered I was investigating him. What would I do if it came down to a moment of truth? What if he tried to get me fired or physically assaulted me? Would I just go like all the other sheep, or would I break his legs and jump up and down on his head? I decided on the latter.
Fortunately, it never came to that. Beatie was eventually transferred to another hub where he was eventually fired for sexually harassing one of the employees.
Mike Beatie speaks volumes about UPS and the Teamsters both. He also speaks volumes about the rank and file, many of whom remained buddies with him till the end. At least one shop steward was his Facebook friend. And I was the only person in the building who cared enough to investigate the bastard.
So, when I hear the Teamsters talk about solidarity, all I have to say is “Fuck you.” As for the UPS employees who get screwed by their own union, just as they get screwed by UPS, the Democrats, the Republicans, the media, and on and on . . . well, many of them deserve it.