Pennsylvania post office clerk forced to go back home for wearing Trump attire to work, ‘Felt that I was violated’
Michelle Albert, 57, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said the situation at the distribution centre in Warrendale made her feel “violated and embarrassed.”
A United States Post Office clerk said she was asked to change clothes after she went into work wearing Donald Trump attire the day after the 2024 presidential election. 57-year-old Michelle Albert from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said the situation at the distribution centre in Warrendale made her feel “violated and embarrassed.”
“It’s the day after he won,” she said, according to New York Post. “You should be able to wear what you want.”
“At 3:00 PM, I clocked in and I was staying there waiting for our pre-sort,” she recalled. “My MDO [manager, distribution operations] walked up to me. She came charging out of the office and she came right up to me and pointed at me. And she said, ‘You can’t wear that here.’ I said, ‘Why can’t I? The election is over. Trump won.’”
Albert’s explanation did not work for her manager, who said, “You have to turn your shirt inside out.”
However, Albert was unwilling to comply. “No, I’m not turning my shirt inside out,” she said.
Her manager responded, “Well then you can’t be here.” Albert then “clocked out, and left.”
‘I just felt that I was violated and embarrassed’
Albert said her manager wrongly referenced the Hatch Act, which is a US federal law that limits civil-service employees in the executive branch, except for the president and vice president, from being involved in certain political activities. Albert, a Trump supporter, said she felt discriminated against. “I was celebrating Trump, and other people, after Biden became president, they wore Biden shirts, and nothing was said to them. There’s a guy that used to wear Obama shirts there, and nothing gets said to them,” she explained.
“I just felt that I was violated and embarrassed because she did it in front of everybody,” she added.
Albert further said, “There were a whole bunch of coworkers that backed me up. She is crazy. I didn’t go to work the next day. I didn’t sleep at all that night. I don’t know if I’m going back to work there.”
Many in Albert’s family support Trump as they believe the president-elect represents a hopeful path forward. “I’m definitely happy Trump won the election. My son and daughter-in-law were standing right in front of him at the rally when he got shot up in Butler,” she said.
“We support Trump because he makes America great. We had a very wonderful four years when he was president, and I just believe in him,” she added.
Albert believes Trump’s leadership offers a solution to the problems her community is facing. “I want him to get rid of the people that are coming over here illegally and make it so we can live — not paycheck to paycheck,” she said.
Albert also believes Trump will be able to address the drug crisis, which has affected her family personally. “I lost a niece to a drug overdose, and it’s got to stop,” she said. “It’s scary that you can’t even go to the grocery or to the store anymore. We’ve got to get rid of these people coming over the border.”
Albert is still deciding her next steps about her job, but she stands by her decision to support Trump, no matter what. “He’s a wonderful person, that’s all I can say,” Albert said of Trump.