Mike Vogiatzakis for Mayor?
UPDATE: Mike published an article with Winnipeg free press, and in that article he claimed that he fired me because I was an awful worker, I have proof on my government record of employment form that I quit as well as screenshots of my resignation to the manager stating why I was quitting and the incidents that happened. How do you forget that I quit because of your abuse but on public record in the paper, you state that you fired me because I was an awful worker. He can’t get his story straight.
I never thought I’d publicly speak about this, but after seeing Mike Vogiatzakis from Voyage Funeral Home running for mayor, I feel like I can’t stay quiet anymore.
I worked for him for a few months and experienced repeated sexual harassment, intimidation, and physical aggression while employed there. This included inappropriate comments about my sex life, unwanted touching, being pinned against walls, and an incident during a funeral service where I physically had to defend myself from him trying by to get on top of me and choke me which he called the next day and made a joke “don’t make me choke you again”. Not to mention threats with his gang affiliation also being mentioned when I spoke back to him after him trying to put his hands around my neck in the waiting room of a funeral service in a church taking place in the next room. After everything, I quit because I no longer felt safe working there and my income was not a priority over my safety. Also mind you all of this was caught on his video cameras which unfortunately I had no access to.
I reported my experiences at the time to police and the Funeral Board, but nothing came of it due to lack of evidence available to me. I scared, financially dependent on the job, and afraid to speak publicly. I also have had previous experiences lien this through life so when these incidents happened I would feel frozen and not know how to react. How does one react to there “hello” to you being a slap in the face? He always mentioned how he loved that he was able to do this because I wouldn’t say anything.
I also personally witnessed treatment toward grieving families that I found deeply disturbing and unprofessional, including a situation where the wrong body was brought in for a family viewing and the family was falsely told their loved one had already been cremated while staff searched for the body. Not to mention him having cameras in the embalming room which is a privacy act and goes against the Funeral Board regulations. Something they failed to take into account with my report.
I am deeply upset with the Funeral Board of Manitoba as I knew a police report would be hard to get through because of lack of evidence, but the funeral Board of Manitoba failed not only me but the families we get to honour and the loved ones that have passed. We are supposed to have the upmost respect for the decedents and their, families, and they failed to recognize any of the information I was putting out that went against the regulations and respect of the deceased. As a funeral professional of 6 years I am disappointed and disgusted by Mike and the Failure of the Funeral Board.
I know posting this publicly opens me up to criticism, but seeing someone I experienced as abusive and intimidating attempt to move into public office genuinely scares me. People deserve to make informed decisions about who they support.
FYI I can 100% say he does have gang affiliation, I will not say which one for safety reasons but I am sure it isn’t that hard to guess. This is why he would use this threat as a way to keep me quiet for how he treated me. Also is it a good idea to put someone in power with strong gang affiliation that also has access to their own crematorium? 🤔 (I have no issues with this gang my issue is he uses them as a crutch to threaten and excuse his behaviour) not to mention countless charges on his criminal record of fraud, which can be easily looked up or just by his name.