Jewish woman blows whistle on discrimination by Dick Cheney’s company
San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, Sept. 22, 2000
With a bachelor’s degree and graduate degree in communications from Southern Illinois University, Katz had been hired in 1998 to serve as a human relations officer for Brown & Root Services. After touring the company’s facilities in Hungary and neighboring countries, she said, she wrote a 20-page report outlining areas where she believed work in human relations was needed.
She said although the report followed guidelines set down by Halliburton’s home office in Texas, it infuriated her superiors who said there was no time for such an ambitious program. She said a ranking superior in the company had the habit of sending e-mail jokes derogatory of women to colleagues on the office computer, in violation of various company policies. Her efforts to get the ranking superior to stop sending such e mails led to a pattern of retalliation, she said. Thereafter, the company progressively isolated her from more and more work assignments, and eventually demoted her.
Katz is one of two clients represented by Seattle attorney Patricia Buchanan who are claiming they were victims of sexual harrassment at Halliburton. The other, Tami Silicio, drove a truck for the company, which she noted is traditionally a male profession. When she refused sexual propositions from co-workers, they started calling her names like “bitch” and “whore,” according to a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Additionally, the coworkers told her “you should be at home pleasing a man and not at work trying to be one.” After reporting this to upper managment, she was fired in retalliation, according to the complaint.
A spokesperson for Cheney said that the former Secretary of Defense has a zero tolerance policy for sexual harrassment. Representatives of Brown and Root Services said they could not comment on sexual harrassment claims nor any similar private personnel matters.
‘Seattle Times’ Regrets Silico’s Firing, Doesn’t Regret Coffin Photo
Fitzsimmons was the first at the paper to view the picture, which was sent to him by Silicio’s friend Amy Katz.
“I knew immediately that it was something spectacular, but at the same time, I had great concern for Tami,” Fitzsimmons said. “She was fearful of losing her job but she felt she would come out OK.”
I’m posting this more as an update than any burning curiosity over what motivated these women.
The decision to photograph coffins/release them to the public should rest with the family, not the gov’t or a Maytag worker. I formed that opinion a long time ago but lost sight of it somewhere amid the ‘spectacular’ nature of the event.
If there are wounded or active duty soldiers that want to tell their stories, they should be given every opportunity to do so.
Is there a connection between my suing Halliburton for retaliation for reporting Sexual harrassment, and my forwarding Tami Silicio’s flag draped coffin photo to the Seattle Times? Yes, there is a connection. Me. My personality and values as an American citizen. I believe passionately in the constitution of the United States. That we should have the freedom to free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom from discrimination. I never imagined sending Tami’s photo to one newspaper would have such a reaction, and I was not trying to make a political statement — I thought it important to have others see what I was seeing, my friend who is very unique and a beautiful soul witnessing the death of other unique and beautiful souls. If I have done something wrong in my desire to share that, or my desire to stop the ethnic discrimination and gender harassment that was occuring at Dick Cheney’s former country — than I will face the consequences on judgement day. But why not question those who are trying to silence us and pretend that people are not being abused or hurt hundreds, even thousands of them?
Most sincerely,
Amy Katz
I’m curious what you hoped to accomplish through your employment with Brown & Root Services. The only public statements you’ve made that I’ve read center on an issue of discrimination that affected you personally and not their overall human rights record which is historically dismal and reprehensible.
Equally puzzling is why you would consider signing-on with yet another defence contractor, in this case Maytag Aircraft, the action of a uniquely beautiful soul.
All I meant to convey with this post is that death, at the very least, should end any contract a soldier might have with the military. Distribution of material related to their demise should be left to the sole discretion of their loved ones. To publish their photos and the like in the name of free speech robs the people who knew them best of that decision-making process and is no less egregious than the gov’t policy.
Peace,
Diane