Alaska Whistleblower Resource Guide
Conclusion
The tragedy is that a resource guide for whistleblowers -- in Alaska or elsewhere -- is even necessary. The warnings and advice provided here by the Government Accountability Project and the Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility are drawn from the lessons learned by dedicated employees who told the truth and often paid a bitter price.
The good news is that lessons can be learned. Whistleblowing does not have to be the sound of professional suicide. And despite the high personal risk, whistleblowers across the nation can and do make a difference.
After reading this resource guide, we hope that your eyes are open to the full range of risks that come with the territory. If we have scared you from blowing the whistle, perhaps you weren't ready. If you are still determined to go ahead, we hope that our suggestions will empower you to do the right thing for the public while trying to protect your career and your personal life. Good luck.
Resources for Alaska Whistleblowers
Public Interest Organizations
Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility
Valdez Office:
P.O. Box 188
Valdez, AK 99686
Phone: 1-888-885-5460
Fax:
907-835-5460
E-mail: afervdz@alaskaforum.org
Fairbanks Office:
P.O. Box 82718
Fairbanks, AK
99708
Phone/Fax: 907-479-6946
Email: aferfbx@alaskaforum.org
The mission of the Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility (Alaska Forum) is to hold industry and government accountable to the laws designed to safeguard Alaska's environment, worker safety, and public health. We do so by:
The Alaska Forum was founded by Riki Ott, Stan Stephens, and Dan Lawn -- three Alaskans who took on big oil and won. Because of the leadership roles they played in citizen and government oversight of oil industry operations in Prince William Sound, Alyeska (the company that operates the Trans-Alaska Pipeline) conducted illegal surveillance to track their activities, suspecting (correctly) that they were in contact with Alyeska's conscientious employees. Riki, Stan, and Dan won a financial settlement against Alyeska for its illegal surveillance. They used the settlement funds to launch the Alaska Forum in September 1994.
Since then, the Alaska Forum has worked with numerous whistleblowers in Alaska's oil industry. The Alaska Forum provides confidential advice and support to concerned employees in Alaska and, when necessary, refers them on to attorneys experienced in whistleblower litigation. We work closely with the Government Accountability Project and serve as the Alaska chapter of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (see below).
Government Accountability Project
West Coast Office
1402 Third Avenue, Suite 1215
Seattle, WA,
98101
Phone: 1-206-292-2850
Fax: 206-292-0610 E-mail:
gap@whistleblower.org
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit, public interest organization based in Washington, DC, with a West Coast Office in Seattle, WA. GAP provides legal and advocacy assistance to concerned citizens who witness dangerous, illegal or environmentally-unsound practices in their workplace and communities and choose to "blow the whistle."
Since 1977, GAP has helped thousands of public and private employees and grassroots organizations expose threats to public health and safety and the environment. For example, GAP attorneys represented several concerned employees on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline who blew the whistle on environmental violations and reprisals against quality-control inspectors in the early 1990s.
In addition to providing legal services to individual whistleblowers, GAP also assists whistleblowers by collaborating with the news media, grassroots citizen organizations, other attorneys, and the broader public interest community to reveal, expose, and galvanize public response to whistleblower concerns. Over the last twenty years, GAP has developed in-house expertise in five broad areas. These are: strengthening the rights and protections of whistleblowers, ensuring a safe and cost-effective clean-up at nuclear weapons facilities, increasing food safety, enforcing environmental protection laws, and curtailing national security abuses.
Project on Government Oversight
1900 L Street, NW, Suite 314
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202)
466-5539
Fax: (202) 466-5596
www.pogo.org
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that has been working as a government watchdog since 1981. POGO's mission is to investigate, expose and remedy abuses of power, mismanagement and government subservience to special interests. The organization's methods include networking with government investigators and auditors whose findings have received little attention, working with whistleblowers inside the system who risk retaliation, and performing independent investigations into problematic issues.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
2001 "S" Street NW, Suite 570
Washington, DC 20009
Phone:
(202)265-7337 Fax: (202)265-4192
E-Mail: info@peer.org
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) works with public employees to advocate for the protection and enhancement of the environment. Organized in 1992 by Jeff DeBonis, a former U.S. Forest Service employee, PEER represents employees of state and federal resource management and environmental protection agencies. In particular, PEER supports employees who seek a higher standard of environmental ethics and scientific integrity within their agencies.
American Civil Liberties Union
National Taskforce on Civil Liberties in the Workplace
166 Wall
Street
Princeton, NJ 08540
Phone: (609) 683-0313
Fax: (609)
683-1787
The ACLU's Workplace Rights Taskforce seeks to advance civil rights and civil liberties for all employees, whether in the private or public sector. The Taskforce's primary strategies are to conduct public education and to pursue selected court cases. The Taskforce also guides the ACLU's state affiliates with respect to workplace issues. These issues range from drug testing and electronic monitoring to whistleblowing and lifestyle discrimination.
Internet Sites
The Alaska Forum for Environmental
Responsibility
http://www.alaskaforum.org
Government Accountability Project
http://www.whistleblower.org/gap
Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility
http://www.peer.org
Forest Service Employees for Environmental
Ethics
http://www.afseee.org
Integrity International
http://nicom.com/~helpline
Department of Labor Whistleblower
Decisions
http://www.oalj.dol.gov/libwhist.htm
The American Civil Liberties Union--National Taskforce on Civil
Liberties in the Workplace
http://www.aclu.org/issues/worker/hmwr.html
The Project on Government Oversight
http://www.pogo.org
LawMall: self-help pamphlets for dealing with legal
problems
http://www.lawmall.com/lm_pamph.html
Publications
Glazer, Myron and Glazer, Penina (1989) The Whistleblowers: Exposing Corruption in Government and Industry, New York: Basic Books.
Government Accountability Project (1997) A Survival Guide for Whistleblowers: Courage Without Martyrdom, Government Accountability Project, Washington. (See the order form on the back page.)
Holleman, Pamela (1997) "Matters of Public Concern: Recognizing a Whistleblower's Common Law Tort Cause of Action in Alaska," Northeast Environmental Law Forum, June.
Jos, Philip, Tompkins, Mark E., and Hays, Steven W. (1989) "In Praise of Difficult People: A Portrait of the Committed Whistleblower," Public Administration Review, November/December: 552-61.
Miceli, Marcia P. and Near, Janet P. (1992) Blowing the Whistle: The Organizational and Legal Implications for Companies and Employees, New York, NY: Lexington Books.
Credits
Principal authors and editors: Mike Riley, Alaska Forum; Eva Bertram and Joanne Royce, Government Accountability Project
Layout and Design: Deborah Taylor, Seattle, WA.
This guide was funded by contributions from Alaska Forum members and concerned workers in Alaska, as well as by generous grants from the Alaska Conservation Foundation, the Brainerd Foundation, the Rockefeller Family Fund, and the Tortuga Foundation.