EASING MYSELF IN GENTLY

I have not dared allow myself thoughts of anything other than work for the past three days. If I distracted myself for the merest second, I felt I would sink without trace beneath a deep and dreadful lack of enthusiasm. While at work I busied myself with renewing old acquaintances, in particular some of the Union Reps, with whom I had spent more time than others; ST and RL from my own office, PSJ from Cardigan (who has resigned and is currently on leave), LW from Ammanford, (taking a career break so currently uncontactable) and SL from Llanelli. Stories came to me bit by bit through the work email system that a lot of shit seems to have been hitting a lot of fans in the year of my absence. I was asked by Sian, Rob and Sonia if I'd consider rejoining the BEC, and in the face of such overwhelming camaraderie, I was unable to refuse. Of three old-school Unionists who ran our branch like a little Mafia, only one remains. MK. My nemesis. I have loathed and despised this person from the very moment we met, and he's now Branch Vice Chair, currently bidding for the post of Chair. It was agreed between a few of us that I can be co-opted back onto the BEC at the next meeting in December as there are not enough Reps to cover our office adequately, so I sent a courtesy email to the reps in our office, MK included, informing them of my intentions. As I was leaving work I was collared on the stairs by MK, who first expressed some surprise at my decision, and then tried to tell me that it would not be possible for me to become a Rep. I gave a shrug, and told him he wasn't going to stop me and wandered off down the stairs, whereupon he started shouting at me, telling me I will need to watch my back from now on. I didn't stick around to find out the or-elses, I am after all a grown man and above such childishness. Instead I left the building and went home, where I sent an immediate email to our Ops manager raising a grievance. I then emailed our Branch Secretary (who has also been victim to his bombastic ways) to raise a grievance within the union. I'm not sure if there were witnesses to his behaviour, but his voice when shouting was loud enough to be heard from some distance, so hopefully someone will come forward. The bastard is a bully, holds extreme rightwing views, is a sexist, racist bigot and should not be allowed union membership, let alone a position of power. He is untrustworthy and a fervent licker of management arseholes. I have been victim to his (deliberate) indiscretions, when he discussed something I did at work which was totally unrelated to Union Activities with a senior manager. I would not trust him to represent me or anyone else on any matter whatsoever, and if it kills me in the process I'm going to bring that bastard down.
I've been back at work less than two weeks.