From gap-general-list@whistleblower.org  Fri May  9 21:15:00 2003
From: gap-general-list@whistleblower.org (gap-general-list@whistleblower.org)
Date: 9 May 2003 20:15:00 -0000
Subject: Latest News and Efforts from the Government Accountability ProjectFluor Kills Hanford Joint Council
Message-ID: <20030509201500.7969.qmail@waitak.pair.com>

<h1>Fluor Kills Hanford Joint Council</h1><br><br><b>Tom Carpenter</b><br><br><i>The Fluor Hanford Company has decided to pull the plug on the highly-successful Hanford Joint Council.  Here is the Council's official press release.</i><br><br><br><br></b>Hanford Joint Council Press Statement<b>
<br />May 7, 2003
<br />For immediate release</p>
<br />
<br />Successful Council for Resolving Whistleblower Issues Closes Doors</p>
<br />
<br /></p>The Hanford Joint Council, after 8.5 years of resolving employee concerns is closing its doors.  An organization that was formed through voluntary cooperation among nuclear safety interest groups, several Hanford contractor corporations, the US Department of Energy and the State of Washington, the Hanford Joint Council has had a successful record of resolving the most complex whistleblower concerns at the site.  The Council has handled over 40 cases for an average cost of $62,000 each, frequently restoring jobs or status to workers that had been fired or sidetracked for raising safety issues, and often causing changes in site safety and health practices as a result of worker concerns.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council was formed following an extended period of high profile and costly whistleblower cases that took place in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  Cases equivalent to those handled prior to the Council’s involvement usually cost the government several hundreds of thousands of dollars each and often over a million dollars each.  In addition, hundreds of hours of management and worker time were diverted from clean up in the resulting controversies.  Using a specially developed mediation approach, cases were resolved through a combination of factual assessment and mediation.  The participating corporations agreed to implement any Council recommendation that came as a result of consensus.  Despite the differences in perspective brought by nuclear safety interest groups and corporate officers to the Council table, all cases—100%--were resolved by consensus.  All Council recommendations were accepted by the participating companies.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council handled cases brought by workers from nearly every area of site operations and functions, and resolved most within six months or less, in contrast to the years taken to resolve cases in litigation or other formal filings. The Council’s resolutions, unlike litigation, addressed the safety questions and left the employee-employer relationship in a state that could be salvaged and productive working relations restored in many instances.  The dignity of those bringing concerns forward was preserved, and the career damage often typical to managers engaged in such controversies limited.  In all instances, time that would have been spent in needless conflict was saved and the managerial and worker time channeled back into site clean up.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council and Council members also provided training services that touched hundreds of managers on site regarding proper and constructive handling of whistleblower cases.   Along with other efforts by DOE and the contractors, this training is widely acknowledged to have played an important role in improving the safety culture on site.  Among several special projects, the Council used its independent status to ensure that workers affected by the 1997 explosion incident had access to medical testing after weeks of stalemate and conflict that precluded progress on assessing their situation.  At the direction of Secretary Pena and with the cooperation of the involved companies and the DOE Richland Operations Office, the Council worked to resolve the immediate fears and concerns of the employees and their families over health and job security.
<br />
<br /></p>The Council also produced the recent report on the site’s beryllium programs.  Outside of its normal case-specific mandate, the Council was invited by Fluor Hanford to evaluate the site’s programs related to beryllium monitoring and protection.  In a detailed and comprehensive study, the Council made over 100 recommendations, most of which have been  adopted by a site-wide task force, led by Fluor Hanford, formed to respond to the report.  The report was an example of the value of an independent and knowledgeable voice on safety issues.  The result of the study and the positive response by Fluor has already brought about a far more effective beryllium protection and monitoring program at the Hanford Site.  
<br />
<br /></p>The rate of case activity has been steady since the beginning of the Council’s work, bringing to conclusion an average of a half dozen cases per year.  The Council was able to bring high level and sophisticated resources to bear and to get the attention of senior company officials when necessary.  For example, the Council was able to hire independent medical and technical experts, and had normally had immediate access to the presidents of participating companies.  These resources and access allowed it to bypass the blockages often imposed upon such cases at other levels and functions on site and thereby bring to constructive closure otherwise irresolvable cases.  Less complex or less polarized cases were handled through the normal concerns programs at the contractors and DOE.   Those programs have improved significantly since the Council’s inception, although the number of cases not suited for those programs have continued to flow steadily to the Council at the same rates as in the early years.
<br />
<br /></p>The Council was formed in 1994, following a recommendation by the University of Washington submitted at the request of the Department of Ecology.  Westinghouse Hanford Company agreed to the recommendation, as did Heart of America Northwest, the Government Accountability Project and the Department of Energy.  Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary personally advocated the formation of the Council following a series of meetings with Hanford whistleblowers.  O’Leary once referred to the Council as “…a whistleblower “safe house.”
<br />
<br /></p>Fluor Hanford and the major subcontractors that came on site in 1996 inherited the contractual requirement to work with the Council.  Other companies outside the Fluor team were not required by DOE to participate.  Along with Fluor Hanford, other contractors at the site, including CH2MHill (CHG), continued to participate, as did Numatec, as well as subcontractor Roy F. Weston Company.  Since 1997, Fluor, CHG and other companies worked with the Council on some 26 cases, 24 of which were resolved with consensus recommendations that were accepted by the affected companies, and the remaining two through cooperative referrals.  Overall, the Council has accepted and resolved 31 cases using its complete process, as well as an additional 17 examined, but then referred to, or assisted with, other sources for resolution.  The Council also has, after review, rejected or referred an additional 48 cases that it found without apparent merit or were outside of its jurisdiction.   
<br />
<br /></p>Citing improvement in its internal processes and other factors, Fluor Hanford informed the Council in March that it had decided no longer to participate and would, instead, invest in internal and on-call resources.  In his message to the Council, David B. Van Leuven, Fluor president, said, in part, “…the HJC has produced much value …and assisted with many difficult issues.”  Edward S. Aromi, president of CH Group, said, 
<br />“This collaborative forum allowed everyone to “beat their swords into plowshares,” achieving amazing results in the personal lives of individuals, demonstrating corporate values, and assuring the safe execution the US Department of Energy’s mission at Hanford.”  
<br />
<br /></p>Upon learning of the Council’s dissolution, State Attorney General Christine O. Gregoire said, “The government has saved millions of dollars and thousands of hours of management, employee and oversight time that could be devoted to clean-up work.”  She also said that,  “The Council has ensured accountability for the site and dignity for workers that will be difficult to duplicate.”  She went on, “Further, the Council has given those of us in state government the comfort that no issues would be overlooked if an employee had the courage to come forward and that no individual would be discriminated against because they raised a concern…. we are now unsure about how this vital function will be performed.”   
<br />
<br /></p>The Chair of the Hanford Joint Council, Professor Jonathan Brock of the University of Washington, observed:  “The kinds of cases the Council handled included those that would never have come forward in the absence of an independent and confidential venue.   When they did come forward, the issues merited serious attention and all of us should be glad for the courage these employees displayed.”   He observed the reasons for the Council’s success:  “The Council was composed of people who prior to the Council’s inception would never have been in the same room, unless it was a court room.  Back then, they communicated through legal briefs and press releases. Under the Council system, they took the bold step of sitting  around the same table, examining all of the information together, and reaching an objective conclusion on what would ensure fairness and safety.””
<br />
<br /></p>Normally, the Council was made up of three senior contractor managers, two representatives of nuclear safety interest groups, a former whistle blower and two neutral members with experience in conflict resolution.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council is no longer taking cases and is closing its office in Kennewick.  
<br />
<br /></p>Attachment-Letter from Attorney General Christine O. Gregoire
<br />
<br /></p>Contact:  Jonathan Brock 206 714 6603 or brockjon@earthlink.net
<br /><br><br>If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please send an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To one of the addresses below.<br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-general-list-request@whistleblower.org>gap-general-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-media-request@whistleblower.org>gap-media-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><h1>Fluor Kills Hanford Joint Council</h1><br><br><b>Tom Carpenter</b><br><br><i>The Fluor Hanford Company has decided to pull the plug on the highly-successful Hanford Joint Council.  Here is the Council's official press release.</i><br><br><br><br></b>Hanford Joint Council Press Statement<b>
<br />May 7, 2003
<br />For immediate release</p>
<br />
<br />Successful Council for Resolving Whistleblower Issues Closes Doors</p>
<br />
<br /></p>The Hanford Joint Council, after 8.5 years of resolving employee concerns is closing its doors.  An organization that was formed through voluntary cooperation among nuclear safety interest groups, several Hanford contractor corporations, the US Department of Energy and the State of Washington, the Hanford Joint Council has had a successful record of resolving the most complex whistleblower concerns at the site.  The Council has handled over 40 cases for an average cost of $62,000 each, frequently restoring jobs or status to workers that had been fired or sidetracked for raising safety issues, and often causing changes in site safety and health practices as a result of worker concerns.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council was formed following an extended period of high profile and costly whistleblower cases that took place in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  Cases equivalent to those handled prior to the Council’s involvement usually cost the government several hundreds of thousands of dollars each and often over a million dollars each.  In addition, hundreds of hours of management and worker time were diverted from clean up in the resulting controversies.  Using a specially developed mediation approach, cases were resolved through a combination of factual assessment and mediation.  The participating corporations agreed to implement any Council recommendation that came as a result of consensus.  Despite the differences in perspective brought by nuclear safety interest groups and corporate officers to the Council table, all cases—100%--were resolved by consensus.  All Council recommendations were accepted by the participating companies.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council handled cases brought by workers from nearly every area of site operations and functions, and resolved most within six months or less, in contrast to the years taken to resolve cases in litigation or other formal filings. The Council’s resolutions, unlike litigation, addressed the safety questions and left the employee-employer relationship in a state that could be salvaged and productive working relations restored in many instances.  The dignity of those bringing concerns forward was preserved, and the career damage often typical to managers engaged in such controversies limited.  In all instances, time that would have been spent in needless conflict was saved and the managerial and worker time channeled back into site clean up.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council and Council members also provided training services that touched hundreds of managers on site regarding proper and constructive handling of whistleblower cases.   Along with other efforts by DOE and the contractors, this training is widely acknowledged to have played an important role in improving the safety culture on site.  Among several special projects, the Council used its independent status to ensure that workers affected by the 1997 explosion incident had access to medical testing after weeks of stalemate and conflict that precluded progress on assessing their situation.  At the direction of Secretary Pena and with the cooperation of the involved companies and the DOE Richland Operations Office, the Council worked to resolve the immediate fears and concerns of the employees and their families over health and job security.
<br />
<br /></p>The Council also produced the recent report on the site’s beryllium programs.  Outside of its normal case-specific mandate, the Council was invited by Fluor Hanford to evaluate the site’s programs related to beryllium monitoring and protection.  In a detailed and comprehensive study, the Council made over 100 recommendations, most of which have been  adopted by a site-wide task force, led by Fluor Hanford, formed to respond to the report.  The report was an example of the value of an independent and knowledgeable voice on safety issues.  The result of the study and the positive response by Fluor has already brought about a far more effective beryllium protection and monitoring program at the Hanford Site.  
<br />
<br /></p>The rate of case activity has been steady since the beginning of the Council’s work, bringing to conclusion an average of a half dozen cases per year.  The Council was able to bring high level and sophisticated resources to bear and to get the attention of senior company officials when necessary.  For example, the Council was able to hire independent medical and technical experts, and had normally had immediate access to the presidents of participating companies.  These resources and access allowed it to bypass the blockages often imposed upon such cases at other levels and functions on site and thereby bring to constructive closure otherwise irresolvable cases.  Less complex or less polarized cases were handled through the normal concerns programs at the contractors and DOE.   Those programs have improved significantly since the Council’s inception, although the number of cases not suited for those programs have continued to flow steadily to the Council at the same rates as in the early years.
<br />
<br /></p>The Council was formed in 1994, following a recommendation by the University of Washington submitted at the request of the Department of Ecology.  Westinghouse Hanford Company agreed to the recommendation, as did Heart of America Northwest, the Government Accountability Project and the Department of Energy.  Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary personally advocated the formation of the Council following a series of meetings with Hanford whistleblowers.  O’Leary once referred to the Council as “…a whistleblower “safe house.”
<br />
<br /></p>Fluor Hanford and the major subcontractors that came on site in 1996 inherited the contractual requirement to work with the Council.  Other companies outside the Fluor team were not required by DOE to participate.  Along with Fluor Hanford, other contractors at the site, including CH2MHill (CHG), continued to participate, as did Numatec, as well as subcontractor Roy F. Weston Company.  Since 1997, Fluor, CHG and other companies worked with the Council on some 26 cases, 24 of which were resolved with consensus recommendations that were accepted by the affected companies, and the remaining two through cooperative referrals.  Overall, the Council has accepted and resolved 31 cases using its complete process, as well as an additional 17 examined, but then referred to, or assisted with, other sources for resolution.  The Council also has, after review, rejected or referred an additional 48 cases that it found without apparent merit or were outside of its jurisdiction.   
<br />
<br /></p>Citing improvement in its internal processes and other factors, Fluor Hanford informed the Council in March that it had decided no longer to participate and would, instead, invest in internal and on-call resources.  In his message to the Council, David B. Van Leuven, Fluor president, said, in part, “…the HJC has produced much value …and assisted with many difficult issues.”  Edward S. Aromi, president of CH Group, said, 
<br />“This collaborative forum allowed everyone to “beat their swords into plowshares,” achieving amazing results in the personal lives of individuals, demonstrating corporate values, and assuring the safe execution the US Department of Energy’s mission at Hanford.”  
<br />
<br /></p>Upon learning of the Council’s dissolution, State Attorney General Christine O. Gregoire said, “The government has saved millions of dollars and thousands of hours of management, employee and oversight time that could be devoted to clean-up work.”  She also said that,  “The Council has ensured accountability for the site and dignity for workers that will be difficult to duplicate.”  She went on, “Further, the Council has given those of us in state government the comfort that no issues would be overlooked if an employee had the courage to come forward and that no individual would be discriminated against because they raised a concern…. we are now unsure about how this vital function will be performed.”   
<br />
<br /></p>The Chair of the Hanford Joint Council, Professor Jonathan Brock of the University of Washington, observed:  “The kinds of cases the Council handled included those that would never have come forward in the absence of an independent and confidential venue.   When they did come forward, the issues merited serious attention and all of us should be glad for the courage these employees displayed.”   He observed the reasons for the Council’s success:  “The Council was composed of people who prior to the Council’s inception would never have been in the same room, unless it was a court room.  Back then, they communicated through legal briefs and press releases. Under the Council system, they took the bold step of sitting  around the same table, examining all of the information together, and reaching an objective conclusion on what would ensure fairness and safety.””
<br />
<br /></p>Normally, the Council was made up of three senior contractor managers, two representatives of nuclear safety interest groups, a former whistle blower and two neutral members with experience in conflict resolution.  
<br />
<br /></p>The Council is no longer taking cases and is closing its office in Kennewick.  
<br />
<br /></p>Attachment-Letter from Attorney General Christine O. Gregoire
<br />
<br /></p>Contact:  Jonathan Brock 206 714 6603 or brockjon@earthlink.net
<br /><br><br>If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please send an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To one of the addresses below.<br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-general-list-request@whistleblower.org>gap-general-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-media-request@whistleblower.org>gap-media-list@whistleblower.org</a><br>

From gap-general-list@whistleblower.org  Tue May 27 16:30:01 2003
From: gap-general-list@whistleblower.org (gap-general-list@whistleblower.org)
Date: 27 May 2003 15:30:01 -0000
Subject: Latest News and Efforts from the Government Accountability ProjectDo Homeland Security Whistleblowers<br> Now Face Jail Time?
Message-ID: <20030527153001.53940.qmail@waitak.pair.com>

<h1>Do Homeland Security Whistleblowers<br> Now Face Jail Time?</h1><br><br><b>Martin Edwin Andersen</b><br><br><i><i>“What happened on 9/11 was not a failure of the system; it was a system designed for failure.” -- Vindicated FAA whistleblower Bogdan Dzakovic
<br></i>
<br>
<b><i>Airport Security Whistleblower Warns of 9/11 Repeat;<br>Says New Homeland Security Act<br> Would Have Meant His Jailing Rather Than Vindication</b></i><br>  

</i><br><br><br><br><i>Release date: May 27, 2003</i>
<br>
<br>						

Bogdan Dzakovic is the kind of guy you would want in the trenches with you on the war on terrorism.  As a team leader of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) elite Red Team, Dzakovic’s job was to lead mock undercover raids and other tests of airport security to see if airports at home and abroad could withstand threats from terrorists or hijackers.  During his seven years as its leader, the Red Team proved to be extraordinarily successful in destroying commercial aircraft and killing large numbers of innocent people in these simulated attacks. <br> 
<br>
Unfortunately, in doing his job well, and in refusing to stay silent in the face of official cover-ups of continued airport vulnerability to terrorist attack, Dzakovic was removed from his post and sent to bureaucratic Siberia—even as his claims are being upheld.  And now, he warns, with new Homeland Security legislation already in place, anyone seeking to protect Americans by “committing the truth,” as he did, risks not only his or her job, but may land in jail as well.<br>
<br>
As Dzakovic last week told an official inquiry into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in response to the Red Team’s successes, the FAA suppressed its warnings. It ordered Dzakovic and his subordinates not to write up their findings; nor retest airports with egregious security deficiencies to see if the problems had been fixed.  Rather the solving the problems detected by its own anti-terrorism experts, the FAA began providing airports with advance notice about when the Red Team would be conducting its undercover tests, and what they would be checking.  It was no surprise that even the sloppiest airport security teams—including that a Boston’s Logan Airport, from where the al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked two of their commandeered American commercial air carriers—received passing grades.  Then 9/11 occurred.<br>
<br>
Because Dzakovic blew the whistle on the government negligence that was apparent before, on and after September 11, 2001, he also was accusing the FAA’s bureaucratic empire builders of wearing no clothes.  “FAA very conscientiously and deliberately orchestrated a dangerous façade of security,” Dzakovic told the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, in testimony May 23.  “They knew how vulnerable aviation security was.  They knew the terrorist threat was rising, but gambled nothing would happen if we kept the vulnerability secret and didn’t disrupt the airline industry.  Our country lost that bet.”<br>
<br>
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency whose mission is to protect responsible whistleblowers, found a substantial likelihood Dzakovic’s charges were correct, and ordered an independent investigation by Secretary of Transportation Norman Minetta.  Sources close to the investigation, which is now nearing completion, say its findings are likely to be a near-total vindication of Dzakovic and the people who have come forward to support his charges.<br>    
<br>
“The bottom line of FAA’s response to its Red Team findings is that the Red Team was gradually working its way out of a job,” Dzakovic added.  “The more serious the problems in aviation security we identified, the more the FAA tied our hands behind our backs and restricted our activities.  All we were doing were doing in their eyes was identifying and ‘causing’ problems that they preferred not to know about.”<br>
<br>
Despite being transferred from the FAA to the new Transportation Security Agency, Dzakovic continues to suffer reprisal for his unwillingness to play bureaucratic games while American lives are at risk.  As Dzakovic himself said before the national commission investigating 9/11, “In a formal letter to the OSC, the current head of TSA has reported that I am and have been gainfully and productively employed by TSA and that I am fully contributing my talents to the TSA mission.  During most of 2002, my primary job was punching holes in paper and putting orientation binders together (and other menial work) for the hundreds of newly hired TSA employees.  My current job is even further removed from keeping bombs, weapons, and terrorists off planes.<br>     
<br>
As surreal as this retaliation may seem, at least Dzakovic has been able to receive a paycheck, pay his bills and walk the streets.  Future whistleblowers with equally important stories to tell may not be as lucky.  As the former Red Team leader told the 9/11 commission, “Secrecy enforced by repression is being institutionalized through another new concept of unclassified secrecy called ‘Critical Infrastructure Information (CII),’ which can be virtually anything provided by industry to the Department to assist in the ‘War on Terrorism.’ If an employee blows the whistle with this unclassified CII evidence, it is a criminal act subject to immediate termination from the government, and up to a year in jail. This new CII form of secrecy was passed as part of the Homeland Security Act. If it had been law when I blew the whistle, I could have been fired and be sitting in jail, instead of being vindicated and testifying today.<br> 
<br>
“Lack of personal accountability for ALL levels of government service; repression of government professionals exercising the freedom to warn of security breakdowns caused by mismanagement; and abuses of secrecy as an excuse to cover up the government's own misconduct are three strikes against public safety,” he added.<br> 
<br>
“If those patterns persist, we are doomed to suffer more and more 9/11 tragedies,” Dzakovic said. “It is only a matter of time.”<br>  
<br>


<b><i>More information about Dzakovic, his May 23, 2003 testimony before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and the threats to federal employee free speech rights can be found on GAP’s website (www.whistleblower.org).<br> 
<br>
For information about what can be done to protect whistleblowers’ rights, particularly those whose disclosures protect our country from possible terrorist attack, contact Tom Devine, GAP legal director. GAP is currently engaged in a extensive campaign to enlist support, including media attention, to the need to strengthen the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). Twice passed unanimously by Congress, the bipartisan legislative intent of the law has been riddled with loopholes due to decisions by an activist hostile federal court of appeals with sole jurisdiction on whistleblower cases.<br></b></i>
<br>
<b>(endit)</b>
<br>
		
		
		
		
		
		<br><br>If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please send an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To one of the addresses below.<br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-general-list-request@whistleblower.org>gap-general-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-media-request@whistleblower.org>gap-media-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><h1>Do Homeland Security Whistleblowers<br> Now Face Jail Time?</h1><br><br><b>Martin Edwin Andersen</b><br><br><i><i>“What happened on 9/11 was not a failure of the system; it was a system designed for failure.” -- Vindicated FAA whistleblower Bogdan Dzakovic
<br></i>
<br>
<b><i>Airport Security Whistleblower Warns of 9/11 Repeat;<br>Says New Homeland Security Act<br> Would Have Meant His Jailing Rather Than Vindication</b></i><br>  

</i><br><br><br><br><i>Release date: May 27, 2003</i>
<br>
<br>						

Bogdan Dzakovic is the kind of guy you would want in the trenches with you on the war on terrorism.  As a team leader of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) elite Red Team, Dzakovic’s job was to lead mock undercover raids and other tests of airport security to see if airports at home and abroad could withstand threats from terrorists or hijackers.  During his seven years as its leader, the Red Team proved to be extraordinarily successful in destroying commercial aircraft and killing large numbers of innocent people in these simulated attacks. <br> 
<br>
Unfortunately, in doing his job well, and in refusing to stay silent in the face of official cover-ups of continued airport vulnerability to terrorist attack, Dzakovic was removed from his post and sent to bureaucratic Siberia—even as his claims are being upheld.  And now, he warns, with new Homeland Security legislation already in place, anyone seeking to protect Americans by “committing the truth,” as he did, risks not only his or her job, but may land in jail as well.<br>
<br>
As Dzakovic last week told an official inquiry into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in response to the Red Team’s successes, the FAA suppressed its warnings. It ordered Dzakovic and his subordinates not to write up their findings; nor retest airports with egregious security deficiencies to see if the problems had been fixed.  Rather the solving the problems detected by its own anti-terrorism experts, the FAA began providing airports with advance notice about when the Red Team would be conducting its undercover tests, and what they would be checking.  It was no surprise that even the sloppiest airport security teams—including that a Boston’s Logan Airport, from where the al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked two of their commandeered American commercial air carriers—received passing grades.  Then 9/11 occurred.<br>
<br>
Because Dzakovic blew the whistle on the government negligence that was apparent before, on and after September 11, 2001, he also was accusing the FAA’s bureaucratic empire builders of wearing no clothes.  “FAA very conscientiously and deliberately orchestrated a dangerous façade of security,” Dzakovic told the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, in testimony May 23.  “They knew how vulnerable aviation security was.  They knew the terrorist threat was rising, but gambled nothing would happen if we kept the vulnerability secret and didn’t disrupt the airline industry.  Our country lost that bet.”<br>
<br>
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency whose mission is to protect responsible whistleblowers, found a substantial likelihood Dzakovic’s charges were correct, and ordered an independent investigation by Secretary of Transportation Norman Minetta.  Sources close to the investigation, which is now nearing completion, say its findings are likely to be a near-total vindication of Dzakovic and the people who have come forward to support his charges.<br>    
<br>
“The bottom line of FAA’s response to its Red Team findings is that the Red Team was gradually working its way out of a job,” Dzakovic added.  “The more serious the problems in aviation security we identified, the more the FAA tied our hands behind our backs and restricted our activities.  All we were doing were doing in their eyes was identifying and ‘causing’ problems that they preferred not to know about.”<br>
<br>
Despite being transferred from the FAA to the new Transportation Security Agency, Dzakovic continues to suffer reprisal for his unwillingness to play bureaucratic games while American lives are at risk.  As Dzakovic himself said before the national commission investigating 9/11, “In a formal letter to the OSC, the current head of TSA has reported that I am and have been gainfully and productively employed by TSA and that I am fully contributing my talents to the TSA mission.  During most of 2002, my primary job was punching holes in paper and putting orientation binders together (and other menial work) for the hundreds of newly hired TSA employees.  My current job is even further removed from keeping bombs, weapons, and terrorists off planes.<br>     
<br>
As surreal as this retaliation may seem, at least Dzakovic has been able to receive a paycheck, pay his bills and walk the streets.  Future whistleblowers with equally important stories to tell may not be as lucky.  As the former Red Team leader told the 9/11 commission, “Secrecy enforced by repression is being institutionalized through another new concept of unclassified secrecy called ‘Critical Infrastructure Information (CII),’ which can be virtually anything provided by industry to the Department to assist in the ‘War on Terrorism.’ If an employee blows the whistle with this unclassified CII evidence, it is a criminal act subject to immediate termination from the government, and up to a year in jail. This new CII form of secrecy was passed as part of the Homeland Security Act. If it had been law when I blew the whistle, I could have been fired and be sitting in jail, instead of being vindicated and testifying today.<br> 
<br>
“Lack of personal accountability for ALL levels of government service; repression of government professionals exercising the freedom to warn of security breakdowns caused by mismanagement; and abuses of secrecy as an excuse to cover up the government's own misconduct are three strikes against public safety,” he added.<br> 
<br>
“If those patterns persist, we are doomed to suffer more and more 9/11 tragedies,” Dzakovic said. “It is only a matter of time.”<br>  
<br>


<b><i>More information about Dzakovic, his May 23, 2003 testimony before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and the threats to federal employee free speech rights can be found on GAP’s website (www.whistleblower.org).<br> 
<br>
For information about what can be done to protect whistleblowers’ rights, particularly those whose disclosures protect our country from possible terrorist attack, contact Tom Devine, GAP legal director. GAP is currently engaged in a extensive campaign to enlist support, including media attention, to the need to strengthen the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). Twice passed unanimously by Congress, the bipartisan legislative intent of the law has been riddled with loopholes due to decisions by an activist hostile federal court of appeals with sole jurisdiction on whistleblower cases.<br></b></i>
<br>
<b>(endit)</b>
<br>
		
		
		
		
		
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From gap-general-list@whistleblower.org  Tue May 27 17:45:00 2003
From: gap-general-list@whistleblower.org (gap-general-list@whistleblower.org)
Date: 27 May 2003 16:45:00 -0000
Subject: Latest News and Efforts from the Government Accountability ProjectAn Inconvenient Woman
Message-ID: <20030527164500.68383.qmail@waitak.pair.com>

<h1>An Inconvenient Woman</h1><br><br><b><i>Craig Horowitz</i></b><br><br><i>     
 



News Feature<br><br>

An Inconvenient Woman<br><br>

Fired from her job as a U.S. customs agent, Diane Kleiman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer with explosive allegations of anti-semitic slurs, corruption, and possible theft. But it’s her charges of lax airport security that make it a case everyone should worry about.
 
</i><br><br><br><br>Read the article at <a href=" http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/n_8740/"target="new">httphttp://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/n_8740/</a>
<br />		
<br />		<br><br>If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please send an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To one of the addresses below.<br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-general-list-request@whistleblower.org>gap-general-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-media-request@whistleblower.org>gap-media-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><h1>An Inconvenient Woman</h1><br><br><b><i>Craig Horowitz</i></b><br><br><i>     
 



News Feature<br><br>

An Inconvenient Woman<br><br>

Fired from her job as a U.S. customs agent, Diane Kleiman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer with explosive allegations of anti-semitic slurs, corruption, and possible theft. But it’s her charges of lax airport security that make it a case everyone should worry about.
 
</i><br><br><br><br>Read the article at <a href=" http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/n_8740/"target="new">httphttp://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/n_8740/</a>
<br />		
<br />		<br><br>If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please send an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To one of the addresses below.<br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-general-list-request@whistleblower.org>gap-general-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-media-request@whistleblower.org>gap-media-list@whistleblower.org</a><br>

From gap-general-list@whistleblower.org  Thu May 29 16:00:00 2003
From: gap-general-list@whistleblower.org (gap-general-list@whistleblower.org)
Date: 29 May 2003 15:00:00 -0000
Subject: Latest News and Efforts from the Government Accountability ProjectMeet GAP's &#34;Talking Heads&#34;
Message-ID: <20030529150000.94909.qmail@waitak.pair.com>

<h1>Meet GAP's &#34;Talking Heads&#34;</h1><br><br><b>Martin Edwin Andersen</b><br><br><i><i><b>GAP staff roster is heavy with expertise on issues
of government and corporate accountability, oversight</i></b>
</i><br><br><br><br><i><b>Release date: May 29, 2003</b>
<p>
<p>
							   
For More Information:<p>
 									   Martin Edwin Andersen, 
Tel: (202) 408-0034, ext. 143<p></i>


The Government Accountability Project (GAP), the country's leading whistleblower protection organization with offices in Washington, D.C., and Seattle, Washington, does more than just provide state-of-the-art representation to some of the country's highest profile whistleblowers in government, industry and in the international arena.  GAP staff also include some of the most quotable, and often recognized, experts in areas ranging from nuclear and food safety, to homeland security and corporate accountability.<p>
<p>
In May alone, GAP spokespersons have been cited in major media outlets throughout the country.  The issues they addressed included government's flawed meat inspection system; security breakdowns at nuclear research laboratories, just miles from major population centers, and the National Forest Service's disastrous environmental policies. GAP also made a special plea to President George W. Bush to name genuine whistleblower advocates to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the independent federal agency that--in the absence of enforceable laws protecting federal workers--is the last and only hope for justice.<p>
<p>
In June, GAP plans to make major announcements about several of its public policy initiatives.  These include an effort designed to expand the "state of the art" whistleblower protections in the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability act of 2002 to private companies and federal government employees. (At a recent seminar on whistleblower rights given at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, GAP Executive Director Louis Clark noted the legislation offered protection for whistle-blowers in publicly traded companies who report violations of federal law, including securities and shareholder fraud. However, Clark noted, federal employees have little protection from retaliation.)<p> 
<p>
Other GAP initiatives include efforts to strengthen the rights of nuclear weapons whistleblowers and those in civil aviation; as well ensuring the safety of food fed to Washington, D.C. school children.  If you are interested in these or other issues, please contact us at our Washington, D.C. office (phone number listed above), or at our Seattle office (tel. 206-292-2850).<p>  
<p>
Below is a list of GAP staff currently working on issues that are sure to be of interest to your medium. Please feel free to contact them when you need the latest "scoop" or perspective on those matters of interest to your audience or readers.<p>
<p>
<p>
<i><b>STEPHANI AYERS</b></i>, litigation associate, holds a J.D. from George Washington University Law School and a B.A. from Harvard University. Ayers previously worked with Earthjustice and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), and has written "how to" manuals for using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and  the Federal Advisory Committee Act in the public interest. (Seattle office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>TOM CARPENTER,</b></i> GAP, nuclear program director, has for more than two decades been on the front lines of issues ranging from workplace safety to homeland security at nuclear power plants, research laboratories and other facilities both in the United States and overseas.  Most recently, Carpenter has successfully represented security guards at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore research facilities who blew the whistle on systematic vulnerabilities to terrorist attack and espionage.  He has also helped lead the fight to force the Department of Energy to clean up the Hanford Nuclear Site in southeastern Washington.  In addition, Carpenter has traveled several times to the former Soviet Union to help GAP partners there exercise greater oversight of those countries' nuclear facilities.(Seattle office.)<p>
<p>
<i><b>LOUIS CLARK</b></i> became GAP's chief in 1978, after having served previously as its legal counsel.  Clark received his J.D. from American University in 1977 and also holds a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.  In 1992, Clark received the Gleitsman Award for his life-long commitment to initiating, promoting and implementing positive forms of social change.  A frequent speaker on individual moral courage, ethics and whistleblower rights at major U.S. universities, most recently, Clark has been instrumental in the creation of GAP's corporate accountability project. He is a founding board member of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>TOM DEVINE</b></i>, GAP legal director, has worked been a whistleblower advocate for more than two decades.  Known as "Mr. Soundbite" in the NGO community, Devine regularly appears in major media coverage ranging from homeland security issues to food safety and environmental policy. Author of The Whistleblower's Survival Guide, Devine has served as counsel on every major whistleblower law passed at the federal level since the 1980s.  He is also the author of the whistleblower provisions of the Organization of American States' (OAS) model anti-corruption law. Devine regularly appears before international audiences to speak about whistleblower protection, occupational free speech and national security. (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>JOHN MACKNIGHT FITZGERALD</b></i>, GAP's acting international director, holds a J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law (1977) and has served both as the communications director for the National Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and as a senior advisor on environmental issues on Capitol Hill.   Before coming to GAP, Fitzgerald worked as an environmental policy analyst at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Due to his whistleblowing disclosures on the failure of the federal government to obey U.S. law concerning environmental policy and loans from U.S.-funded multilateral development banks (MDBs), Fitzgerald's government employment was terminated in 2002.  (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>THAD GUYER,</b></i>, GAP litigation director, holds a J.D. from the Antioch School of Law (1978) and has a long association with GAP, both as a private attorney or in his current position.  He has been an active practicioner in the U.S. Supreme Court, give U.S. Courts of Appeal, and the administrative law courts of the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) and the U.S. Department of Labor.  (Seattle office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>DOUG HARTNETT</b></i>, GAP's National Security Campaign Director, received his J.D. from the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia.  Over the past four years, Hartnett has developed special expertise in defending the most vulnerable of whistleblowers -- those who expose national security breakdowns.  Ironically, secrecy is often abused as a shield to hide security weaknesses.  In these cases, the whistleblower is silenced by management yanking his security clearance and thereby branding him or her as unfit to work with classified information. (Washington, DC office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>RICHARD MILLER</b></i>, a GAP policy analyst, is a recognized expert on compensation for Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons workers.  Formerly with the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union, Miller watchdogs DOE, and the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services in the implementation of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. Miller maintains constant contact with victims and tracks legislation.  He also tracks DOE ES&H issues. (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>FELICIA NESTOR</i></b>, GAP’s food safety project director and an attorney with a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, is a recognized expert on United States Department of Agriculture’s meat and poultry inspection system.  For eight years, Nestor has been analyzing government records and working with hundreds of federal inspectors nationwide to expose threats to the public from inadequate food safety regulations, lax government enforcement, inspection programs based on phony science, and Mad Cow Disease.  Repeatedly, her reports have created public pressure for oversight investigations and policy change, and help to explain the increasing number of recalls of dangerous meat and poultry products.  In 2001, she co-founded the Global Safe Food Alliance, a coalition of food safety, environmental, rural development and animal rights groups.  Recently she acquired and delivered to Congress inspection records which USDA was withholding,  She continues to investigate and expose USDA cover-ups. (Contact: 201-330-1618)<p>
<p>
<i><b>JOANNE ROYCE</i></b>, a GAP senior litigator, received her JD from the University of Florida Holland Law Center. She received a Master of Laws degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University. Ms. Royce has been with GAP for ten years and specializes in whistleblower litigation in connection with environmental, worker health and safety and corporate issues. (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>GREG WOLK</i></b>, staff attorney, has devoted the last 12 years to effecting accountability through governmental and corporate governance reform, having both practiced environmental law in Seattle and helping to establish an independent media center in Prague, the Czech Republic.  A graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Washington School of Law, Wolk’s academic background focused on the impact and utility of legal as well as domestic and international policy considerations concerning governance reform and accountability issues. Wolk currently handles appeals and litigates on behalf of whistleblowers at nuclear weapons facilities. (Seattle office)<p>
<p>


		
		
		
		<br><br>If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please send an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To one of the addresses below.<br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-general-list-request@whistleblower.org>gap-general-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-media-request@whistleblower.org>gap-media-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><h1>Meet GAP's &#34;Talking Heads&#34;</h1><br><br><b>Martin Edwin Andersen</b><br><br><i><i><b>GAP staff roster is heavy with expertise on issues
of government and corporate accountability, oversight</i></b>
</i><br><br><br><br><i><b>Release date: May 29, 2003</b>
<p>
<p>
							   
For More Information:<p>
 									   Martin Edwin Andersen, 
Tel: (202) 408-0034, ext. 143<p></i>


The Government Accountability Project (GAP), the country's leading whistleblower protection organization with offices in Washington, D.C., and Seattle, Washington, does more than just provide state-of-the-art representation to some of the country's highest profile whistleblowers in government, industry and in the international arena.  GAP staff also include some of the most quotable, and often recognized, experts in areas ranging from nuclear and food safety, to homeland security and corporate accountability.<p>
<p>
In May alone, GAP spokespersons have been cited in major media outlets throughout the country.  The issues they addressed included government's flawed meat inspection system; security breakdowns at nuclear research laboratories, just miles from major population centers, and the National Forest Service's disastrous environmental policies. GAP also made a special plea to President George W. Bush to name genuine whistleblower advocates to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the independent federal agency that--in the absence of enforceable laws protecting federal workers--is the last and only hope for justice.<p>
<p>
In June, GAP plans to make major announcements about several of its public policy initiatives.  These include an effort designed to expand the "state of the art" whistleblower protections in the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability act of 2002 to private companies and federal government employees. (At a recent seminar on whistleblower rights given at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, GAP Executive Director Louis Clark noted the legislation offered protection for whistle-blowers in publicly traded companies who report violations of federal law, including securities and shareholder fraud. However, Clark noted, federal employees have little protection from retaliation.)<p> 
<p>
Other GAP initiatives include efforts to strengthen the rights of nuclear weapons whistleblowers and those in civil aviation; as well ensuring the safety of food fed to Washington, D.C. school children.  If you are interested in these or other issues, please contact us at our Washington, D.C. office (phone number listed above), or at our Seattle office (tel. 206-292-2850).<p>  
<p>
Below is a list of GAP staff currently working on issues that are sure to be of interest to your medium. Please feel free to contact them when you need the latest "scoop" or perspective on those matters of interest to your audience or readers.<p>
<p>
<p>
<i><b>STEPHANI AYERS</b></i>, litigation associate, holds a J.D. from George Washington University Law School and a B.A. from Harvard University. Ayers previously worked with Earthjustice and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), and has written "how to" manuals for using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and  the Federal Advisory Committee Act in the public interest. (Seattle office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>TOM CARPENTER,</b></i> GAP, nuclear program director, has for more than two decades been on the front lines of issues ranging from workplace safety to homeland security at nuclear power plants, research laboratories and other facilities both in the United States and overseas.  Most recently, Carpenter has successfully represented security guards at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore research facilities who blew the whistle on systematic vulnerabilities to terrorist attack and espionage.  He has also helped lead the fight to force the Department of Energy to clean up the Hanford Nuclear Site in southeastern Washington.  In addition, Carpenter has traveled several times to the former Soviet Union to help GAP partners there exercise greater oversight of those countries' nuclear facilities.(Seattle office.)<p>
<p>
<i><b>LOUIS CLARK</b></i> became GAP's chief in 1978, after having served previously as its legal counsel.  Clark received his J.D. from American University in 1977 and also holds a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.  In 1992, Clark received the Gleitsman Award for his life-long commitment to initiating, promoting and implementing positive forms of social change.  A frequent speaker on individual moral courage, ethics and whistleblower rights at major U.S. universities, most recently, Clark has been instrumental in the creation of GAP's corporate accountability project. He is a founding board member of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>TOM DEVINE</b></i>, GAP legal director, has worked been a whistleblower advocate for more than two decades.  Known as "Mr. Soundbite" in the NGO community, Devine regularly appears in major media coverage ranging from homeland security issues to food safety and environmental policy. Author of The Whistleblower's Survival Guide, Devine has served as counsel on every major whistleblower law passed at the federal level since the 1980s.  He is also the author of the whistleblower provisions of the Organization of American States' (OAS) model anti-corruption law. Devine regularly appears before international audiences to speak about whistleblower protection, occupational free speech and national security. (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>JOHN MACKNIGHT FITZGERALD</b></i>, GAP's acting international director, holds a J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law (1977) and has served both as the communications director for the National Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and as a senior advisor on environmental issues on Capitol Hill.   Before coming to GAP, Fitzgerald worked as an environmental policy analyst at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Due to his whistleblowing disclosures on the failure of the federal government to obey U.S. law concerning environmental policy and loans from U.S.-funded multilateral development banks (MDBs), Fitzgerald's government employment was terminated in 2002.  (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>THAD GUYER,</b></i>, GAP litigation director, holds a J.D. from the Antioch School of Law (1978) and has a long association with GAP, both as a private attorney or in his current position.  He has been an active practicioner in the U.S. Supreme Court, give U.S. Courts of Appeal, and the administrative law courts of the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) and the U.S. Department of Labor.  (Seattle office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>DOUG HARTNETT</b></i>, GAP's National Security Campaign Director, received his J.D. from the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia.  Over the past four years, Hartnett has developed special expertise in defending the most vulnerable of whistleblowers -- those who expose national security breakdowns.  Ironically, secrecy is often abused as a shield to hide security weaknesses.  In these cases, the whistleblower is silenced by management yanking his security clearance and thereby branding him or her as unfit to work with classified information. (Washington, DC office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>RICHARD MILLER</b></i>, a GAP policy analyst, is a recognized expert on compensation for Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons workers.  Formerly with the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union, Miller watchdogs DOE, and the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services in the implementation of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. Miller maintains constant contact with victims and tracks legislation.  He also tracks DOE ES&H issues. (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>FELICIA NESTOR</i></b>, GAP’s food safety project director and an attorney with a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, is a recognized expert on United States Department of Agriculture’s meat and poultry inspection system.  For eight years, Nestor has been analyzing government records and working with hundreds of federal inspectors nationwide to expose threats to the public from inadequate food safety regulations, lax government enforcement, inspection programs based on phony science, and Mad Cow Disease.  Repeatedly, her reports have created public pressure for oversight investigations and policy change, and help to explain the increasing number of recalls of dangerous meat and poultry products.  In 2001, she co-founded the Global Safe Food Alliance, a coalition of food safety, environmental, rural development and animal rights groups.  Recently she acquired and delivered to Congress inspection records which USDA was withholding,  She continues to investigate and expose USDA cover-ups. (Contact: 201-330-1618)<p>
<p>
<i><b>JOANNE ROYCE</i></b>, a GAP senior litigator, received her JD from the University of Florida Holland Law Center. She received a Master of Laws degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University. Ms. Royce has been with GAP for ten years and specializes in whistleblower litigation in connection with environmental, worker health and safety and corporate issues. (Washington, D.C. office)<p>
<p>
<i><b>GREG WOLK</i></b>, staff attorney, has devoted the last 12 years to effecting accountability through governmental and corporate governance reform, having both practiced environmental law in Seattle and helping to establish an independent media center in Prague, the Czech Republic.  A graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Washington School of Law, Wolk’s academic background focused on the impact and utility of legal as well as domestic and international policy considerations concerning governance reform and accountability issues. Wolk currently handles appeals and litigates on behalf of whistleblowers at nuclear weapons facilities. (Seattle office)<p>
<p>


		
		
		
		<br><br>If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please send an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To one of the addresses below.<br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-general-list-request@whistleblower.org>gap-general-list@whistleblower.org</a><br><br>If you are recieving these emails from <a href=mailto:gap-media-request@whistleblower.org>gap-media-list@whistleblower.org</a><br>