of the SFPD shooting of Luis Gongora Pat
OccupyForum presents…
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
The Inevitability of Systemic Corruption in our Regulatory Agencies in a Capitalist System
With Steve Zeltzer and George Wright
Our Bay Area Air Quality Under Threat and The Fired Whistleblowers at the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD)
The recent revelations from two BAAQMD employees, (Michael Bachmann, who was the manager of records, and Sarah Steele, an employee who protected records and documents), are very serious: they expose the deliberate destruction of critical pollution records, settlements and fines. Destroying pollution records and the history of these polluters is not only inexcusable, but criminal.
These two BAAQMD employees put their careers and jobs on the line to protect the public, and the health and safety of our environment, and top executives of the BAAQD illegally conspired to thwart these employees by firing them from this public agency. Unfortunately workplace bullying and retaliation against whistleblowers is a systemic problem, not just at this agency but at other public agencies as well. There have been continuing ongoing dangerous gas and oil leaks by Chevron, Tesoro, Shell, Philips 66 and other polluters, as well as the deaths of the workers, and serious health problems, in many Bay Area communities where these refineries and toxic plants exist.
The epidemic of illegal retaliation of whistleblowers (like Quality Assurance Manager Michael Madry at Test America, and other whistleblowers at Tetra Tech — which the Navy had hired for tests at Hunters Point and Treasure Island), have all taken place without any accountability by government agencies like OSHA WPP, District Attorneys, or the State Attorney General.
The regional independent agency BAAQMD is responsible to protect the air quality of the over 12 million people in Northern California. This forum will discuss the continuing contamination issues facing people in the Bay Area and the role of the BAAQMD management in the bullying and discharge of workers. It will also address how people can defend these whistleblowers, and force the California Attorney General and District Attorneys to protect public workers criminally retaliated against for doing their job and protecting the interests of the public.
Steve Zeltzer and George Wright will lead discussion on the inevitability of systemic corruption in the Capitalist system.
Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.