When a Baltimore County government cabinetmaker burned his workplace and shot himself to death, his colleagues were saddened but not completely surprised.
Although Aubrey "Skip" Wainwright suffered from emotional problems and alcoholism, they say, an atmosphere of tension, harassment and intimidation in their shop helped push him over the edge.
Colleagues say his suicide and the destruction of the shop Nov. 3 symbolize deep morale problems in the county's Building Services Division -- and that their complaints have gone unheeded for months.
"There was nobody surprised that something like this happened. We all saw what he did as a statement," said Robert "Butch" Ford, 50, a carpenter who worked beside Mr. Wainwright at the county's Texas shop complex in Cockeysville.
Workers recite a litany of complaints ranging from "punishment" repair details at the county Detention Center to the case of a radio dispatcher who was reprimanded for greeting work crews with a cheerful "good morning."
County officials concede that management has been heavy-handed at times, but they say they are working on improvements. In any case, they argue that the problems are neither as serious nor widespread as some workers say.
"If you boil it down, it's no more than a dozen people. I don't think it's a serious problem," said John R. Miller, head of the Department of Central Services, which oversees the Building Services Division. "I don't think it's a dangerous problem."
The division's 200 employees are responsible for maintaining all of the county's 776 nonschool buildings, a mission that includes remodeling, constructing custom furniture and painting.
The disgruntled workers lay most of the blame on B. Wayne Eicholtz, who has run the division since 1988. Mr. Eicholtz refused to discuss the issues they raise.
"I really don't have anything to say about it," he said.
Sought county action
Edward M. Pedrick Jr., president of Local 921 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said he had been trying to get the county administration to take action on the workers' complaints since April, but had seen no real changes.
"I was concerned about the safety of the employees," Mr. Pedrick said. "I went through the chain of command."
County executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III, who was sworn in Dec. 5, has asked for a performance audit of the division. But Stephen Kirchner, Mr. Ruppersberger's top financial officer, said the audit will take months to complete because county budget analysts are focusing on preparing next year's budget.
The violent episode that brought the complaints to light occurred Nov. 3, when firefighters responding to a roaring blaze at the cinder-block shop in Cockeysville found Mr. Wainwright's body outside. Mr. Wainwright, who had worked at the shop for five years and had a history of emotional turmoil and alcohol abuse, apparently set the fire and then shot himself in the head with a 9-mm pistol, police said. He left a wife and two young sons.
The carpentry and paint shops in the building were destroyed, along with the county's specialized cabinetmaking tools and two county vehicles.
County officials say they may not replace the tools and are considering contracting with private firms for custom-built furniture.
Problems remain
While officials say the county may buy another warehouse nearby to replace the burned building, some workers say the problems remain. Among their complaints:
* Assignments to the county Detention Center, where the employees must often mix with inmates and have minimal protection. Workers complain that assignments to the jail often have been used as punishment, although county officials deny it.
* Stifling of complaints by arbitrary punishments and equally arbitrary management actions. For example, employees complained that Mr. Eicholtz removed an air conditioner from their shop June 17, when temperatures were above 90 degrees, for no apparent reason. The unit was returned two days later after union protests.
* A long-running dispute over promotions for carpenters who are also skilled cabinetmakers, a slightly higher-paying and more prestigious job classification. Colleagues said Mr. Wainwright had been particularly upset over his failure to win the promotion.
* The county's lack of response to the complaints workers filed.
Although he said the problems aren't serious, Mr. Miller confirmed that a "climate" survey based on summer interviews with a quarter of the division's 200 workers showed that 80 percent were unhappy.
The survey was completed in August, but county administrative officer Merreen E. Kelly said he never
had a chance to discuss the results with former County #i Executive Roger B. Hayden before Mr. Hayden's election defeat Nov. 8.
Mr. Miller conceded that the county's practice of promoting people from the ranks without providing management training should change.
"We want to get rid of the 'check your brain at the door' mind-set. Everybody doesn't need a kick . . . ," he said.
And though he denied that maintenance workers were assigned to the county detention center as punishment, he agreed that they should be trained for working under those stressful conditions.
Afraid at jail
Marlyn Ebanks, 42, said she was an assistant to mechanic Robert Sullivan for six months at the detention center several years ago. She said the two sometimes had to work inside the jail pods, surrounded by as many as 40 unrestrained male inmates, with only one guard watching from the booth.
"I always tried to work with my back to the wall," she said, adding that she was frightened.
Mr. Sullivan agreed that it was not pleasant. "Guys yell at you, spit at you. You've got to talk your way out. It's a powder keg over there," he said.
Detention Center administrator James Dean said four maintenance workers now are permanently assigned to the Detention Center, requiring fewer emergency visits and no temporary assignments. He confirmed that maintenance workers were assigned to the jail as a "punishment detail" several years ago.
Three central services welders were suspended for several days in October for refusing to work at the jail, and Mr. Miller said employees' distaste for working at the Detention Center is "something we do have to address."
Disgruntled workers also cited the recent case of Helen Armstrong, 54, a 10-year veteran who dispatches repair crews by radio each day from the division's headquarters in Ruxton.
'Good morning'
Ms. Armstrong said she was called into Mr. Eicholtz's office and reprimanded two weeks ago for greeting repair crews with "good morning" each day.
She charged that the reprimand and what followed were part of a campaign of harassment to force her out of her job.
Mr. Miller disagreed, saying she was reprimanded for frequently chatting with crews on the radio, and not just for saying "good morning." Other workers back her version.
Angry about being reprimanded, she said she exclaimed, "Does somebody have to get slapped in the mouth or blown away before those people in Towson do something?"
She said she was speaking rhetorically, but some co-workers and Mr. Eicholtz felt threatened, Mr. Miller said, and police were called to the office. No charges resulted.
"They got their own little group," Ms. Armstrong said. "They want me out."
Meanwhile, Deputy Central Services Director F. Douglas Johnson said he has been working hard to open lines of communication and persuade managers to respect workers' complaints and suggestions.
"You can't just be finding what's wrong. You need to find what's right, too. They [the complaining employees] are all good workers," he said.