PRESS RELEASE: Montgomery Rally Flyer

Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2014 07:56:47 -0500
Subject: Fwd: Montgomery Rally Flyer

see flyer attached

Farm News: AG: Farmers beware of litigation schemes - News - Dothan Eagle

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Subject: Check out AG: Farmers beware of litigation schemes - News - Dothan Eagle

Click here: AG: Farmers beware of litigation schemes - News - Dothan Eagle

FW: Tahoe Hotshots, Alcohol, Death

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To: Oscar.Gonzales@osec.usda.gov; Arthur.Blazer@osec.usda.gov; meryl.harrell@osec.usda.gov; Krysta.Harden@osec.usda.gov; Secretary.Vilsack@osec.usda.gov; valerie_jarrett@who.eop.gov;
Subject: Re: Tahoe Hotshots, Alcohol, Death

  When the Hotshots were driving back from an "end of season party."Were there  incidents of alcohol, drugs, assault, sexual assault, driving under the influence and other incidents from these parties that are condoned and even encouraged by FS management starting with the managers and instructors at Wildland Apprentice Academy at McClellan? Will  managers be held accountable for these improper and unprofessional behaviors and attitudes  or will these incidents  continue?


Some of the same unprofessional behaviors and attitudes are thrown down to
all branches of the USDA including the way that Customer Farmer's are Targeted and have been targeted even before they become customer/farmers, they are trapped into bogus loans to steal property that has been in American Farm Families for generations, the Bonus for foreclosure at the USDA has led to fraud waste and abuse and much wasted tax payer dollars, non compliance in the unlawful and unethical treatment  of the American Farmers and USDA Employees in the unprofessional manner that USDA Management, civil rights office , OIG, and a whole host of collaborative agency players have unlawfully, fraudulently gainfully benefited
by these horrendous practices they have collutioned  against anyone who wasnt partaking in the Legacy practices of coveting or stealing what thy neighbor(s) have.

In loo of the above an automatic investigation into all previous allegations should be
started as soon as possible so that the accountability and transparency.
-melissa
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On 11/22/13 12:33 AM, Lesa Donnelly wrote:

How many people have to die before the agency gets serious about changing the culture of drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence as acceptable firefighter behaviors?

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 18, 2013 - 10:01 pm EST

CAMPTONVILLE, California — A forest firefighter lying in a road was run over and killed by a colleague in a sparely populated stretch of Northern California in a bizarre early morning traffic incident involving alcohol, authorities said Monday.
California Highway Patrol investigators said a driver in Yuba County early Saturday spotted a man, Michael Patrick Kelly, 32, lying in the road about 3 miles from Camptonville, California, which is about 80 miles north of Sacramento.
The unidentified driver flashed his high beams in a failed attempt to warn an approaching vehicle that it was on a collision course with the man in the road.
The small car with six passengers, driven by Andrew Gruenberg, 26, struck Kelly, who was pronounced dead at the scene with head and torso injuries, the CHP said.
After hitting Kelly, Gruenberg traveled another 2 miles to his destination, telling investigators later that he believed he ran over an animal. A passenger called 911 and reported the collision and a "hazard in the roadway."
After arriving at his destination, two of Kelly's passengers got into another car and drove back to the accident site, where they encountered emergency crews.
"Alcohol appears to be a factor in the collision," CHP officer Greg Tassone. Tassone declined to release any further details, saying the investigation is still active. He did not say who authorities think was drinking.
The U.S. Forest Service said Kelly was a full-time employee and squad boss for the Tahoe Hotshots Crew, which is based in Camptonville.
Gruenberg is a member of the same crew.

--
Lesa L. Donnelly

We have lost our sense of shame. — Colin Powell

--
Lesa L. Donnelly

We have lost our sense of shame. — Colin Powell

Joe Leonard's Failed Report Card From OPM

Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 15:46:52 -0500
Subject: Joe Leonard's Failed Report Card From OPM

FOR THE WEB SIGHTS

Office Personnel Management (OPM) Assessment of the USDA Assistant
>> Secretary for Civil Rights....Dr.Joe Leonard
>>
>> 19 November 2013
>>
>>
>>
>> Please read the below regarding the OPM Human Capital Assessment and
>> Accountability Framework (CHAAF).
>>
>> The below rating let the world know how poorly USDA Office of Civil Rights
>> is being managed under the leadership of Joe Leonard. Worst of all is the
>> Obama administration does little to hold anyone *accountable* for the
>> civil rights mess. This is just another measurable indicator of what the
>> coalition has been saying all along. This living proof/documentation
>> by a US government oversight agency...OPM.
>>
>> The reports states that USDA Asst. for Civil Rights, Joe Leonard received
>> the following rating on a scale....the max. being 100%:
>>
>> 1. *Leadership & knowledge management, rating of 45%*
>>
>> *2. Talent management, rating of 34%*
>>
>> * 3. Results-oriented performance culture, rating of 42%*
>>
>> *4. Job satisfaction, rating of 52%*
>>
>> *The USDA Office of the Chief Aconomist received OPM rating in the same
>> categories, as follows: 87%, 83%, 73%, 81%. *
>>
>> The above is a true example in a real sense, in the lack of "
>> *accountability"*.....as i have been discussing with you all along.
>>
>> How can USDA's Office of Civil Rights fix civil rights....when they can't
>> fix themselves*. This is the "fox watching the hen house".*
>>
>> So where do we go from here....up, down, or nowhere? I am extremely
>> frustration with the slow....to no, progress (as we see it) after almost
>> more than 9 months of discussions.
>>
>> The above OPM* assessment* requires a response.....real and meaningful
>> discussion.
>>
>> www.agcoalition.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>

WoW Ag Sec admits that the fraud did occur :THE INSIDERS: Tom Vilsack

THE INSIDERS: Tom Vilsack

USDA Civil Rights in 2013

 February 19, 2013

USDA Civil Rights in 2013

There are serious problems with the leadership of USDA Office of Civil Rights under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack & Dr. Joe Leonard. 

Quid Pro Quo Contracting

The USDA Office of Civil Rights (OCR) uses millions of American tax payer dollars to fund a quid pro quo scheme with multiple contractors.  Their friends run the Procurement Division and are pushing through multi-million dollar contracts for friends. It is being said that these friends include Innovative Management Strategists, Management Solutions Consulting Group, Inc., US Postal Service, and other contracts.  They fund these groups to ensure that the reports of investigation and the final agency decisions are developed in a way that no discrimination will be reported. They pay off friends outside USDA in exchange for their support.  It is being said that there are illegal contracts being awarded.

Unreported Backlog of Complaints 

The backlog of EEO complaints is not counted in the numbers and reports issued by Dr. Leonard.  Findings of discrimination are not processed and some investigations have stalled for 1000 days or more.   Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) complaints where the statute of limitations (SOL) for compensatory damage claims have expired; have remained unprocessed during the Vilsack/Leonard administration.  There are a number of cases over 180 days just sitting, because these cases are not being counted in totals --- violation of the civil rights laws, rules and regulations. There are only a few program FADs that have been written under this Administration, because hardly any program investigations have been conducted.

The Chief of the Employment Complaints Division is safe under Joe Leonard because she has consistently maintained a secret and separate database in iComplaints; of all of the Joe Leonard and other ASCR management complaints.  The complaints in this "secret database" are not counted in the 462 Report, the Farm Bill Report, or any other reports. In addition, these complaints remain unprocessed.

The Lean Six Sigma Project reports show the way data is manipulated to hide the truth about processing times and to reinforce the false claims regarding reducing processing time.  USDA OCR wasted tax dollars to pay contractors for the lean Six Sigma Project which lasted three years. Where is the final report?

USDA Civil Rights performance standards state that in order to successfully maintain a position in the office of civil rights you are not supposed to have more than two valid complaints filed against you.  Because these complaints are hidden in the system by the Chief of the Employment Complaints Division, they are not counted and the perpetrators of a variety of civil rights violations are not held accountable. 

African American Farmer's Land Loss

Under this Administration the number of African American Farmers that lost their land to foreclosure has increased.  USDA is calling in loans too soon, causing farmers to lose their land and go out of business, like Black farmer Harry Young, Kentucky.

GS-15 and SES Black females and males maligned, harassed, displaced and marginalized by political appointees

The USDA OCR has seriously abused the competent, educated Black women under its supervision.  They smear, lash out, humiliate, and constantly move the women who will not lie to help them.  As soon as they file complaints to seek relief, they are maligned and moved out of their positions in retaliation.  Careers are ruined and families are destroyed because of the terror and tyranny suffered.  Resolution is not an option under Dr. Leonard's abusive leadership. If you want to be treated well, you must be willing (to go along to get along) by helping the ASCR misrepresent the true numbers (of complaints), the processing times, and engage in other prohibited personnel and EEO practices.

Sent: 12/11/2012 2:48:53 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Dysfunctional Civil Rights Under Tom Vilsack & Dr. Joe Leonard's Leasdership

Respectfully submitted is background information regarding the dysfunctional civil rights process at the US Department of Agriculture under the leadership of Tom Vilsack and Dr. Joe Leonard. What must be remembered is that it was Secretary Vilsack that fired Shirley Sherrod.

Lawrence Lucas, President

USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

856/ 910-2399

www.agcoalition.org

Subject: Dysfunctional Civil Rights Under Tom Vilsack & Dr. Joe Leonard's Leasdership

THE TRUTH ABOUT JOE LEONARD

The time has come for those outside of USDA to learn what those inside of USDA already know. Joe Leonard was sent to the Office of Civil Rights (USDA) to clean up the civil rights mess, and the problems still exists. He has failed to meet this challenge. The chaos that has been the cornerstone of USDA Civil Rights still exists, and he as the leader. along with Secretary Tom Vilsack, has only made it worst.

Background

To be successful in the civil rights arena, one has to have a background in civil rights. Joe Leonard's background is as a History major at Howard University. Receiving a passing mark in history requires merely memorizing facts, data and other information and regurgitating what you have memorized onto a test. He has no other concrete civil rights background except for working with Jesse Jackson in Push and the Rainbow Coalition. That is not enough. The job of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights requires the ability to analyze facts, the issues and the laws and make solid determinations – on a daily basis. He has relied on his favored staff to advise him, often times incorrectly and his decisions have sometimes been colored based on his personal preferences. The position of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights also requires the ability to get along with others, reach across party lines and to be a bridge for warring factions. Instead, Joe Leonard has been unable to broker deals and move civil rights along because he is rude, arrogant and argumentative and has made fierce enemies unnecessarily.

Falsifying Government Reports to Congress, Office of Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office and the Secretary

Joe Leonard from the beginning of his tenure has engaged in deception by falsifying federal government reports to show a reduction of the number of complaints filed during his tenure, and to show faster processing time of the complaints than actually exists. He has accomplished this by on the program side, enlisting the aid of those managers who were willing to lie about the numbers. The numbers have been greatly exaggerated on the program side from the very beginning of his tenure. There was never the amount of program complaints in the tracking system as he has reported.

On the employment side, Joe Leonard has very loyal contractors whose job it is to enter complaints into the employment tracking system, and they have not. Especially the complaints where Joe Leonard is named as the responding management official. Joe Leonard has also allegedly convinced his two employment managers (Vi Hall and Kirk Perry) to report down the number of complaints on the employment side.

Mishandling of the Budget

Joe Leonard hired a contractor named Rob Desaultels to conduct a Lean Six Sigma review of program and employment complaints. Mr. Desaultels was supposed to be at Civil Rights no longer than six months. Mr. Desaultels has been at the OASCR for almost three years now, with no visible results. The contract cost is currently in excess of $300,000, and is still continuing, which only further drains resources and money away from the areas of civil rights where it is sorely needed.

Civil Rights Complaints Resolution

Joe Leonard refuses to enforce the civil rights laws pertaining to sexual harassment, and by continuously turning a blind eye to the sexually charged environment that exists in USDA, he has kept this sexually charged atmosphere alive. He was tasked with resolving the cases of the numerous female Forest Service employees after the White House ordered an investigation. Joe Leonard sent a group of employees with no investigative experience to investigate: Jeff Knishkowy, (former advisor to Joe Leonard), David King, (Special Advisor to Joe Leonard), and Geraldine Herring (Chief, Compliance Division) among others. No investigative report or compliance review report was ever prepared for this "investigation". These long standing Forest Service cases have not been resolved and this has resulted in the complainants filing a law suit in Federal Court against Tom Vilsack (who is equally as inept as Joe Leonard) and President Obama. Just as surprisingly, in addition, for whatever reason, Joe Leonard has also refused to resolve several program and employment complaints where there is obvious, clear cut, smoking gun sexual discrimination.

Treatment of Civil Rights Staff

Joe Leonard has surrounded himself with "YES" men and women, who will only tell him what he wants to hear and not the facts. The staff learned early on that trying to educate or reason with Joe Leonard would get you sidelined – which is where the true civil rights professionals in the OASCR are. The management team that are flourishing under Joe Leonard are marginal employees (GS-15s) who have historically been failures at their jobs in civil rights. His job was to move them out, and instead they have soared under Joe Leonard's leadership. This management team will do and say anything to curry his favor and operates under a quid pro quo system. Joe Leonard "manages" a $20 million budget and spends an inordinate amount of time steering USDA Office of Civil Rights contracts to his family and friends.

Severe Character Flaws

Joe Leonard has terrible character flaws. He is arrogant, rude, argumentative and sexist. Joe Leonard has no problem yelling at the top of his lungs at his staff and employees, complainants, and farmers. There is no one in the office that does not fear his wrath. He will not listen to reason and employees avoid him since it is impossible to have a calm conversation with him. During his last All Employees meeting, July 31, 2012, Joe Leonard instructed everybody to, "Move up to the front of the auditorium!" When employees did not move up fast enough, he said, "Why do we have to go through this every time we come here?I am beginning to believe what people are saying about you all is true – that you are stupid! How many times do I have to tell you to move up to the front of the auditorium?" In another staff meeting, Joe Leonard announced that he had determined that all employees over 60 needed to be moved out to other parts of the USDA because he had no more use for them.

FW: Check out USDA opens 180 day claims period for Hispanic and women farmers who

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Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 23:16:50 -0400
Subject: Check out USDA opens 180 day claims period for Hispanic and women farmers who
Press Release

Click here: USDA opens 180 day claims period for Hispanic and women farmers who suffered discrimination

LEANING

There are many Truths in What is said here, we should all take a lesson or two, for you never know when one of life's storms will blow in and change everything!

Prop Me Up on My Leaning Side Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old fellow who always prayed, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side.' After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently. He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this...I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time; it's withstood a lot of weather; it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years. It's still standing. But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit. So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall. Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time. I've withstood a lot of life's storms. I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing, too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times. Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't. So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side, so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.' If you stare at this barn for a second you will see who will help us stand straight and tall again. Do you see HIM? Pass this on to others who might need Proppin Up. "In God we trust!" __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: Visit Your Group The information in this email does not necessarily reflect the views of Americans for Constitutional Enforcement (http://www.A4CE.org). Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . __,_._,___

Re: Check out Study: USDA still plagued by civil rights problems - Forbes.com

On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 4:14 PM, <LawrLCL@aol.com> wrote:

this is the second story released today.

Click here: Study: USDA still plagued by civil rights problems - Forbes.com

FW: Letter to editor: or guest column "Open Letter to Congress"

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Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:00:46 -0800
From: davis4000_2000@yahoo.com
Subject: Letter to editor: or guest column "Open Letter to Congress"
To: muckracker1@gmail.com

 

Open letter to Congress--It's time for weed cleaning in USDA
By Monica Davis
In response to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's 2009 letter claiming
that it was a "new era at USDA", and before he shoved his boot in his mouth with
the premature firing of Shirley Sherrord over a highly edited clip showing her
"racist ways," Lesa Donnelly, a former USDA Forest Service fire fighter who is
now an activist/mediator, wrote:
I am experiencing déjà vu from your 14 action items. While they sound like a
good start, excuse me if I am somewhat skeptical of your plan to bring in a new
era of civil rights at USDA - I've heard it before. And while past "new
approaches" took years to implement, employees continued to lose their
financial, emotional and physical well-being from harassment and retaliation.
The number one reason for this is that many of the employees you will task to
implement your action items are the same employees who worked under Espy,
Glickman, and so on. They were obstacles to positive change in civil rights then
and they will be obstacles to change now. I would like to take this opportunity
to recommend that you pay close attention to the current employees in your OGC
and inspector general offices, civil rights office, human resources office,
mediation cadre, and your directors and regional foresters because these
employees have been the biggest obstacle to making positive changes in civil
rights. I would like to suggest that you seriously reconsider contracting with
attorneys to represent the agency. I've observed they have little vested
interest in settling EEO cases and much interest in receiving thousands of
taxpayer dollars as they extend cases to oblivion. Action item one should be -
Weed Out Obstructionists.
Donnelly, a current Vice-President of the Coalition of Minority Employees, noted
massive problems with USDA and the Forest Service (FS), where substantial
bigotry remains in the "Last Plantation" after more than three decades of
litigation and congressional hearings and legislation.
·         In 2007, a woman in Region 4 was brutally assaulted by a male
coworker. The coworker was not held properly accountable. The woman believes she
is at risk for additional violence. FS management has been nonresponsive and she
has been retaliated against in 2008 and 2009 for filing a complaint.

·         In 2008, an African American woman in Region 5 was threatened and
intimidated by her white male supervisor who told another man that he wanted to
shoot her with his gun. There was no accountability and the woman, who had been
complaining about harassment from this man for years was retaliated against for
reporting the incident.
·         In 2009, there are continual Region 5 incidents of female employees
and employees of color being discriminated against in hiring, promotion and
assignments. This is occurring despite 30 years of litigation for gender and
race discrimination.
·         Women in law enforcement and firefighting are harassed and
discriminated against throughout the Forest Service, particularly in Regions 4,
5 and 6.
·         In 2008, a Region 6 female firefighter (Helicopter Rappel Manager) was
terminated as a result of whistle blowing on her crew for drinking on the job
and other unsafe practices. Former Under Secretary Mark Rey personally assured
me an OIG investigation was initiated but key witnesses have yet to be
interviewed. As we move into fire season I am concerned that personnel and the
public are still at risk.
·         A former female employee in Region 10 (Alaska) who has a serious
disability and physical deformity was harassed, isolated and shunned by her male
supervisor and coworkers. They would make fun of her, humiliate her and treat
her as if she was mentally incompetent due to her physical disability. She quit
due to emotional stress.
·         Recently two African American employees in APHIS were publicly
humiliated when they were presented with monkey dolls as awards.  (Donnelly
letter)


Donnelly is right: USDA is in need of a major weed cleaning. If Congress does
not clean out the obstructionist weeds in the agency, they will strangle and
impede this Settlement, just like they strangled the last one, and other civil
rights class actions over the last 15 years.


It will be business as usual. USDA has made sure of that, beginning with its
failure to make it its mission to add a statement of future compliance and
efforts to ensure compliance with civil rights laws and federal statutes:

Judge Friedman also declared that he was "surprised and disappoint[ed]" that the
USDA did not want to include in the consent decree a sentence that in the future
the USDA would exert "best efforts to ensure compliance with all applicable
statutes and regulations prohibiting discrimination."(CRS report for Congress,
The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a Discrimination Suit by Black Farmers,
2010)

In fact, it has been business as usual for the past 14 years, from the filing of
the Donnely female firefighter class action in 1995 against the US Forest
Service (USDA), to the first Black Farmer Lawsuit in 1997, to  the current 2008
Pigford II case.

Lawrence Lucas, Coalition President said, "The blatant discrimination in USDA
and especially the Forest Service is allowing wide-spread abuse of women and
others in California.  We thought the Donnelly Settlement would have a positive
impact but the Forest Service refuses to implement it and USDA refuses to hold
managers accountable.

The 14 year of litigation--Pigford and the current Black Farmer Agreement shows
that it will take more than mere funding of a settlement to eliminate the
institutional bigotry and criminal collusion which necessitated the Black Farmer
Settlement, and other class action suits for women farmers, Native American
Farmers and disadvantaged white farmers in the first place.


Litigation against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for discrimination
against African- American farmers began in August 1997 with two discrimination
suits brought by black farmers—Pigford v. Glickman, No. 97-1978 (D.D.C. 1997)
and Brewington v. Glickman, No. 98-1693 (D.D.C. 1997)—but its origins go back
much further.1 For many years, black farmers had complained that they were not
receiving fair treatment when they applied to local county committees (which
make the decisions) for farm loans or assistance. These farmers alleged that
they were being denied USDA farm loans or forced to wait longer for loan
approval than were non-minority farmers. Many black farmers contended that they
were facing foreclosureand financial ruin because the USDA denied them timely
loans and debt restructuring. Moreover, many claimed that the USDA was not
responsive to discrimination complaints. A huge agency backlog of unresolved
complaints began to build after the USDA's Civil Rights Office was closed in
1983. (CRS report for Congress, The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a
Discrimination Suit by Black Farmers, 2010)

Moreover, researchers note that the latest Black Farmer Settlement, "Pigford II"
is "terminal" in the sense that it can not be appealed:

The Pigford II settlement is final and may not be appealed. A provision of the
settlement permitted the claimants to void the settlement should Congress not
make the $1.15 billion appropriation by March 31, 2010. While Congress did not
make this deadline, the settlement is clearly a priority of both the USDA and
the White House, suggesting that the plaintiffs are unlikely to exercise the
right to void the settlement in the near term. Unlike the original Pigford
decision, the Pigford II settlement does not include a suggested settlement
amount for individual claimants, although it does provide for higher payments to
claimants who go through a more rigorous review process. Claimants can seek
fast-track payments of up to $50,000 plus debt relief, or choose a longer
process for damages of up to $250,000. Payments to successful claimants could
begin in the middle of 2011 if the funds are appropriated. (CRS report for
Congress, The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a Discrimination Suit by Black
Farmers, 2010)
The "late filers" who missed out on Pigford I have the opportunity to fast-track
their claims and receive up to $50,000 and debt relief, or they can choose a
more rigorous process which is longer, and could result in damages of up to
$250,000.  Either way, it is a bittersweet pill for farmers who have lost farm,
property and income worth millions.
When the average tractor costs more than $50,000 and land goes for as much as
$2500/acre, or more, many of these farmers have lost years of income, and
property worth as much as $500,000, or more.  The  black farmer whose land
contains more than $100,000,000 in coal and oil reserves, the cotton farmer who
produced more than $250,000 in cotton annually, or the would be chicken farmer
who was driven out of business, looks with bitterness at the $250,000 ceiling,
but half a loaf is better than none.
While half a loaf is better than none, many of these farmers would like to see
these institutional thieves, abusers and rapists jailed and prosecuted.  That
will only happen if Congress grows a spine and cleans the weeds out of USDA.
Civil rights laws, federal law and the Constitution apply to USDA, and
everywhere else.

Many farmers are saying thanks, but they'd like to see some house cleaning

at USDA.
Monica Davis is an author/editor/activist who has written and reported for
print, Internet and radio outlets for  more than a decade.  Her book, Land,
Legacy, and Lynching: Building the Future for Black America profiles the
atrocity of economic terrorism in the nation's cities and in farm country.

FW: Open Letter: To Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary of Agriculture,Feb 4, 2011

---

From: LawrLCL@aol.com
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2011 01:22:02 -0500
Subject: Fwd: Open Letter: To Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary of Agriculture,Feb 4, 2011
To: angusfarms@hotmail.com

Sent: 2/4/2011 6:41:49 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Open Letter: To Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary of Agriculture,Feb 4, 2011

 

The Honorable Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack

United States Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC  20250

 

February 4, 2011

 

 

AN OPEN LETTER TO SECRETARY VILSACK

 

 

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

 

     In May 2008, Lawrence Lucas, President of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees (The Coalition) and I testified before congress for the Committee of Government Oversight and Reform, Adolphus Towns, Chairman. Our testimonies addressed egregious civil rights violations of women and others, especially in the Forest Service. In April 2009, I sent you a letter advising of serious and pervasive civil rights violations occurring in the Forest Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). I shared my concern about the long-term obstructionist officials that would undermine your new Civil Rights Initiative. In July 26, 2010, I sent you a similar letter also discussing the dysfunctional USDA civil rights program. During that time, I've sent dozens of emails to your staff advising of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, work place violence and other abuses. Little-to-no action has been taken to address these issues.

 

     From September 2010, through December 2010, The Coalition participated in several meetings with your staff, including Chief of Staff Karen Ross; Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan; Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Joe Leonard; Under Secretary Harris Sherman; Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary Doug O'Brien; HR Deputy Director Billy Milton; Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell; Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Edward Avalos, and others, to discuss civil rights problems and solutions. In addition, in October 2010, Lawrence Lucas provided your staff a letter with twenty-five civil rights issues and a formal request to jointly develop solutions and resolve the identified problems. In November, 2010, I provided Karen Ross a letter identifying incidents of harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, stalking, threats, intimidation, retaliation, and workplace bullying, in addition to matters of high level officials engaging in waste, fraud, and abuse.  

 

     I think it is evident that the Coalition has diligently attempted to communicate issues, concerns, and solutions to USDA during your tenure as Secretary of Agriculture. And yet, to this date we have seen little-to-no correction of these problems. Employees we identified in 2008, 2009, and 2010, are still being harassed and retaliated against. Not one offender has been held properly accountable. Repeat offenders continue the abuse. Many employees have still not been allowed mediation of EEO complaints. ADR resolving officials use retaliation tactics such as demotions and coerced retirements. Policies and procedures are used to the benefit of favored sons and daughters, and the detriment of others. High level officials abuse their authority for personal gain. There has been no visible "Transformation" that you have promised us.

 

     The Coalition has appreciated your staff meeting with us to discuss issues. Yet, there has been no visible action as a result of the meetings. Of particular concern has been the Coalition's discussions with Joe Leonard. The past two meetings were unproductive and actually quite disturbing due to Dr. Leonard's unprofessional behavior. The January 2010 meeting had been predetermined to be a discussion of the twenty-five action items prepared by The Coalition. Lawrence Lucas, Ron Cotton, and I attended. The meeting was reduced to raised voices and insults from Dr. Leonard. He started the meeting by stating he would not discuss our issues and concerns, flatly refusing to speak with us if I participated in the meeting via tele-conferencing. He focused on why The Coalition would not give him credit for "his" accomplishments. Our few meetings with Dr. Leonard have been non-productive and lacked substance. We do not believe this behavior is representative of your desire to work in cooperation and partnership with The Coalition. Unfortunately, Karen Ross insisted that we continue to work with Dr. Leonard despite the inability to have a productive meeting. I believe intervention is necessary to correct this matter.

 

     Of greatest concern, and one of the main reasons for writing this letter is the recent alleged investigation conducted by your staff and the Forest Service. In December, Billy Milton advised Lawrence Lucas, Ron Cotton, and I, that you, Mr. Secretary had directed him, via Pearlie Reed to conduct an investigation based on my allegations of serious Forest Service civil rights violations. I was asked to speak with an investigator. I agreed and gave a sworn, signed affidavit discussing multiple incidents, employee names, and examples of dysfunctional personnel/civil rights processes. In my affidavit I stated that there were numerous other employees waiting to speak with an investigator, yet I was the only person interviewed. The investigator said he was told that my affidavit would be used to start a personnel misconduct investigation. During the week of January 10, 2011, new investigators interviewed some of the employees identified in my affidavit. However, an investigation was not conducted. It was an informal inquiry. Unlike myself, employees were not placed under oath and did not provide signed affidavits. Employees were not permitted to see or confirm the statements made to the investigator.  Many employees informed me that they were not allowed to provide information regarding their issues. Statements in my affidavit were read to the employees and they were asked to confirm whether my statement was true. This is highly unconventional. A few weeks before the inquiry, Mr. Milton told me the agency was waiting to complete the upcoming "investigation" to determine how to settle one woman's EEO case. He reiterated this during the December 20, 2010, meeting with Harris Sherman and Tom Tidwell. However, when the investigator interviewed the woman she was told it was, "just an inquiry" and she did not want specific details. It is readily apparent that there was little motivation by your staff to gather substantial and factual information about the alleged  Forest Service civil rights violations.

 

     On more than one occasion Mr. Milton characterized the Forest Service investigation as being directed by you because you were serious about the Transformation, very concerned about the continual civil rights problems and complaints in the Forest Service, and you wanted an investigation based on my allegations as a first step to correcting the problem. If this is true, your staff did not follow this direction. Not permitting employees to provide statements undermines the entire investigative process. Reading my sworn statement to employees to check its veracity is an investigation of me, not the employees' complaints. This action is not unlike the situation that occurred in 2010, when top Obama officials in your administration (one, said to be Pearlie Reed) falsely charged five African American women in the Office of Civil Rights with divulging information regarding farmer cases. During the investigation, a substantial number of questions were asked about their relationship with Lawrence Lucas, i.e. an investigation of Mr. Lucas. These incidents are too similar to go unnoticed. It is not unreasonable to question why I, a non-employee was asked to provide a sworn statement with hearsay information, but the complainants themselves were not permitted to give sworn statements or discuss the civil rights violations they incurred or observed first-hand.

 

     Prior to the inquiry, Billy Milton had been amiable, communicative, and told me I could call him with any questions or concerns. So I contacted Mr. Milton on February 1, 2011, to gain insight on the inquiry matter. Unfortunately, Mr. Milton was hostile and rude from the beginning. He implied I was lying when I told him employees were not permitted to discuss their issues and were instead asked to verify my statement. He told me the investigation was not my concern and abruptly hung up. His attitude convinced me that little good will come of the inquiry.

 

     Mr. Secretary, I am now compelled to insure you are provided with accurate information regarding the civil rights violations of USDA employees, and the waste, fraud, and abuse committed by some of your officials. We will provide you a substantial number of notarized affidavits from Forest Service employees. It is my hope that someone in the Obama administration will understand the disturbing situation  and see that action must be taken to address USDA's widespread civil rights problems.

 

     While we have been coming to the meetings with your staff in good faith to discuss problems and identify solutions, it is evident that some of your staff's intentions have been nefarious. Apparently, their goal is to undermine our attempts to assist you with your Transformation to make the USDA a place of respect, dignity, and equal opportunity for all employees. Mr. Secretary, as I stated in my 2009 letter, officials who are obstructionist make your work harder. They create Shirley Sherrod scenarios. If the Forest Service situation is not addressed, it is quite possible you will have another Sherrod situation on your hands in the near future. In fact, at this point it seems inevitable.

 

     On a more positive note, I have seen a glimmer of action occurring in Region 5. Mr. Moore has recently taken steps (albeit baby steps) to correct a couple of egregious situations. He has also requested our assistance to work with him on some important issues. I am hopeful he will receive your support to continue in this direction. My reasonable concern is that certain personnel may undermine our efforts. I ask for your oversight on this situation.

 

     Secretary Vilsack, for almost two years The Coalition has been requesting a meeting with you. I think it has become more important than ever to meet and resolve the identified problems.  Please feel free to contact either Lawrence or me if you wish to discuss matters in this letter.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

/s/Lesa L. Donnelly

Vice-President, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

 

cc: The White House

       President Barack Obama

       Valerie Jarrett

     Senator Charles Grassley

     Lawrence Lucas, President, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees    

     Ron Cotton, Senior Advisor, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

     Kathleen Merrigan

     Krysta Harden

     Pearlie Reed

     Harris Sherman

     Dr. Joe Leonard

     Edward Avalos

     Tom Tidwell

     Coalition Membership