Re: [Marxism] A Nuclear Site Guard Accused Colleagues of Sexual Assault. Then She Was Fired.
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Sounds like "North Country" all over again . . . On Sat, Jan 26, 2019 at 3:54 AM Louis Proyect via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: > POSTING RULES & NOTES > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > * > > NY Times, Jan. 25, 2019 > A Nuclear Site Guard Accused Colleagues of Sexual Assault. Then She Was > Fired. > By Katie Benner > > Smoke blinded the security guards inside a warehouse at a nuclear > weapons facility in Nevada. Clangs and shouts filled the air. > > Amid the din, a guard named Jennifer Glover was thrown to the ground, > handcuffed and hit across the face with the butt of a gun. One man ran > his hands up her legs, she said, then grabbed her buttocks and groin. > Another flipped her over, reached into her top to grab her breasts and > ripped out her nipple ring. > > By the time the smoke cleared, they had disappeared. > > Ms. Glover could not identify her attackers. But she said she knew they > were her colleagues, fellow guards taking part in a training exercise at > the Energy Department’s highly classified Nevada National Security Site, > where researchers and scientists conduct top-secret nuclear experiments > and develop responses to chemical, biological and nuclear emergencies. > > The encounter in November 2017 followed months of sexual harassment that > she said began soon after she was hired. Her troubles worsened after she > reported the attack: Men continued to harass and intimidate her, she > said, and they accused her of informing on them. She was reprimanded for > calling out sick, which she said she did to avoid her attackers, and was > ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluations. > > “Work went from being so exciting to being a nightmare,” said Ms. > Glover, who described her experience in an interview with The New York > Times, as did three other current or former security guards, all of whom > she had confided in as the events unfolded. > > Ms. Glover accused her co-workers, called security police officers, or > SPOs, of repeated harassment. > > Her accusations highlighted an entrenched culture of discrimination and > retaliation on her team, known as the Proforce, that employees say > flourished under two government contractors, Centerra and SOC, according > to the interviews; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints > she filed against the contractors; and a review of internal documents, > including emails between Ms. Glover and human resources managers. > > “A significant portion of the Proforce do not believe they can raise a > safety issue without fear of reprisal,” officials wrote in a 2015 health > and safety report by the Energy Department. > > The attack on Ms. Glover underscores the difficulty of changing a > hypermasculine culture, even as accounts of workplace sexual harassment > and assault have drawn widespread condemnation and pledges to do better > in the #MeToo era. > > Ms. Glover was never told whether management identified or disciplined > her attackers. After the encounter, two guards were suspended for days > for “knowingly spreading false and malicious stories or rumors about > other employees,” according to letters between Centerra and their union > representative obtained by The Times. Their role in Ms. Glover’s attack, > if any, was unclear. > > Ultimately, after The Times began asking about the attack, Ms. Glover > was fired for scheduling infractions and taking a photo of her schedule, > which SOC called “company documents.” Her use of profanity also placed > “the safety of the site in jeopardy,” according to her termination > letter from SOC, which began managing the security force last spring. > > Ms. Glover’s termination letter cited her use of profanity and “general > disrespect.” > > Centerra, the nuclear site’s security contractor at the time of the > assault, declined to comment beyond saying that it creates “work > environments free from all forms of harassment and retaliation.” A > spokeswoman for SOC, Holly Holt, said this article contained > “significant inaccuracies in the facts and premise” but declined to be > more specific. > > “We expect our contractors to address any allegations of inappropriate > behavior and hold employees accountable for any misconduct that occurs > following a full and timely investigation,” said Lindsey Geisler, a > spokeswoman for the Energy Department. > > Early Worries > > When a recruiter for Centerra reached
[Marxism] A Nuclear Site Guard Accused Colleagues of Sexual Assault. Then She Was Fired.
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * NY Times, Jan. 25, 2019 A Nuclear Site Guard Accused Colleagues of Sexual Assault. Then She Was Fired. By Katie Benner Smoke blinded the security guards inside a warehouse at a nuclear weapons facility in Nevada. Clangs and shouts filled the air. Amid the din, a guard named Jennifer Glover was thrown to the ground, handcuffed and hit across the face with the butt of a gun. One man ran his hands up her legs, she said, then grabbed her buttocks and groin. Another flipped her over, reached into her top to grab her breasts and ripped out her nipple ring. By the time the smoke cleared, they had disappeared. Ms. Glover could not identify her attackers. But she said she knew they were her colleagues, fellow guards taking part in a training exercise at the Energy Department’s highly classified Nevada National Security Site, where researchers and scientists conduct top-secret nuclear experiments and develop responses to chemical, biological and nuclear emergencies. The encounter in November 2017 followed months of sexual harassment that she said began soon after she was hired. Her troubles worsened after she reported the attack: Men continued to harass and intimidate her, she said, and they accused her of informing on them. She was reprimanded for calling out sick, which she said she did to avoid her attackers, and was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluations. “Work went from being so exciting to being a nightmare,” said Ms. Glover, who described her experience in an interview with The New York Times, as did three other current or former security guards, all of whom she had confided in as the events unfolded. Ms. Glover accused her co-workers, called security police officers, or SPOs, of repeated harassment. Her accusations highlighted an entrenched culture of discrimination and retaliation on her team, known as the Proforce, that employees say flourished under two government contractors, Centerra and SOC, according to the interviews; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints she filed against the contractors; and a review of internal documents, including emails between Ms. Glover and human resources managers. “A significant portion of the Proforce do not believe they can raise a safety issue without fear of reprisal,” officials wrote in a 2015 health and safety report by the Energy Department. The attack on Ms. Glover underscores the difficulty of changing a hypermasculine culture, even as accounts of workplace sexual harassment and assault have drawn widespread condemnation and pledges to do better in the #MeToo era. Ms. Glover was never told whether management identified or disciplined her attackers. After the encounter, two guards were suspended for days for “knowingly spreading false and malicious stories or rumors about other employees,” according to letters between Centerra and their union representative obtained by The Times. Their role in Ms. Glover’s attack, if any, was unclear. Ultimately, after The Times began asking about the attack, Ms. Glover was fired for scheduling infractions and taking a photo of her schedule, which SOC called “company documents.” Her use of profanity also placed “the safety of the site in jeopardy,” according to her termination letter from SOC, which began managing the security force last spring. Ms. Glover’s termination letter cited her use of profanity and “general disrespect.” Centerra, the nuclear site’s security contractor at the time of the assault, declined to comment beyond saying that it creates “work environments free from all forms of harassment and retaliation.” A spokeswoman for SOC, Holly Holt, said this article contained “significant inaccuracies in the facts and premise” but declined to be more specific. “We expect our contractors to address any allegations of inappropriate behavior and hold employees accountable for any misconduct that occurs following a full and timely investigation,” said Lindsey Geisler, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department. Early Worries When a recruiter for Centerra reached out to Ms. Glover in 2016 about a job, it “sounded too good to be true,” she said. She had been a gun range safety officer and owned her “own armory.” She was an amateur bodybuilder, a pursuit that prepared her for the job’s physical demands. Centerra offered $130,000 a year, a sizable salary that she could support her two children on as a single mother. “This job was everything I’d ever wanted,” she said. She eagerly applied and was hired. The Proforce members have little immediate supervision. Small groups of armed guards patrol the site, a tract
