A well-known union and LGBT activist in San Francisco is claiming he has endured bullying and harassment at work.

Robert Haaland, who is transgender, is political coordinator for Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

In a February complaint e-mailed to Seth Schapiro, whom Haaland said is the local union's human resources person, Haaland wrote that supervisor Andre Spearman has "unlawfully harassed and bullied me because of my gender identity and created a hostile work environment for me."

Haaland, who has also filed a complaint with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, provided a copy of the e-mail to Schapiro to the Bay Area Reporter. In it, Haaland, 45, wrote that Spearman has "interfered with and made it difficult, if not sometimes impossible, for me to perform my duties by attacking me during meetings ... constantly bullying me, unreasonably interfering with my ability to perform my duties, and creating [a] hostile and offensive work environment."

Spearman is "very confrontational and abusive in his style in all the meetings I've been in," Haaland told the B.A.R ., but he said that Spearman hadn't said anything to him directly related to his transgender status.

But at one point, Haaland was told by a co-worker that at a staff meeting he did not attend, every time Spearman said "he" in reference to Haaland, "he said it in a sneering, derogatory way, as if I'm not 'he.'" Haaland said.

The co-worker, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, confirmed the account.

Neither Spearman nor Schapiro responded to interview requests.

"I had no idea why he was so confrontational with me," said Haaland, but Spearman "went out of his way" to "smack me down."

Haaland heard from another co-worker who said that at a December rally, Spearman had been "very sneering and derogatory" when referring to a transgender city worker by their gender pronoun, and he had also used the wrong gender pronoun.

During one discussion in December, Haaland said, Spearman was "very dismissive" about Haaland's opinion on something, so Haaland got up and started walking away, mumbling something under his breath (he doesn't remember exactly what).

Spearman got up and said, "What'd you say?" and followed Haaland through the office screaming at him to come back, according to Haaland, who left the office. Haaland said that Ulysses Madison, director of public government at SEIU Local 1021, saw Spearman continue to follow him.

Madison told the B.A.R., "I don't recall the situation but I really don't want to comment on anything that has to deal with any personal issues that are going on with Robert. There are a lot of confidential issues that are involved in everything. I don't want to comment on any staffing issues."

Haaland said the atmosphere has been "abusive and oppressive" for the last six months. He said that with internal elections, which were just completed, union management wanted to "rein in" the San Francisco office and sent Spearman "to get things in shape." Management actively encourages Spearman to be a bully, said Haaland.

Spearman has faced a "no confidence" vote from staff and in November, Haaland and others, as a class, filed a grievance against him.

Haaland indicated he's going to ask that someone from outside the union handle the investigation into his individual complaint, because he fears retaliation against his co-workers and he doesn't think the union can be neutral.

He said previous complaints haven't yielded anything. Union management has been "looking the other way while this guy is bullying the staff," said Haaland.

According to Haaland, there was a "massive change in leadership" at the union last week, after a new CEO was elected and more than two-dozen new people were elected to the executive board.

Haaland said in terms of his complaint, "I'm hopeful that the new leadership at my union will be much more responsive to the problems around discrimination and the hostile work environment and the bullying behavior of this supervisor."

Haaland is a former president of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and a current member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee. A February 23 letter to Schapiro signed by current Milk Club Co-Presidents Denise D'Anne and David Waggoner said Haaland "has been an outstanding leader in multiple communities in San Francisco. ... We call on SEIU 1021 to immediately investigate Robert's grievances and send a clear message that SEIU 1021 will not tolerate transphobia in any form, now or ever."

Waggoner provided the B.A.R. with a copy of the letter, which also said, "As a key partner in the Milk Club's coalition, we simply cannot stress enough how important it is that this be addressed and remedied by SEIU 1021. We are dedicated to working together, and therefore, issues that threaten our partnership must be prioritized for the good of all our communities and the important progress we achieve together."

Haaland previously sued the San Francisco Police Department for mistreatment he allegedly endured during an arrest after a demonstration in 1999. The original case, Homes Not Jails v. the City of San Francisco , maintained that Haaland was assaulted in jail when police officers discovered he was transgender. That case was settled in 2003 for about $100,000.