Re: USDA Coalition of Minority Employees:Pursuit of Justics,Civility,Dignity...

 

 

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Subj: USDA Coalition of Minority Employees:Pursuit of Justics,Civility,Dignity,Respect
www.agcoalition.org

 

 

 

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                                 Our Pursuit of Justice, Civility, Dignity, & Respect

 

Press Conference

October 11, 2000 in front of White House

Our Pursuit for Justice, Civility, Dignity, & Respect, is gathering support. A number of civil rights organizations outside of USDA have come forward in support of our cause. We don’t have a mule or a tractor. However, we do have our voices and our shoes. For a demonstration, you only need one person.  

 

The Vilsack/Obama Administration have turned a deaf ear to our issues and concerns. Officials at USDA must understand….you are either part of the solution or part of the problem….there is no gray area”.

 

Lawrence Lucas, President, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, www.agcoalition.org

  

      Coalition Email to The White House, 24 February 2011

      24 February 2011 

 Ms. Jarrett:

 

Civil Rights at USDA have deteriorated under the Obama/Vilsack administration. Racism, sexual abuse/assault, reprisal, intimidation and denying employees the right of representation are daily occurrences at USDA. Our many appeals to Secretary Vilsack and his leadership team to meet to discuss solutions have fallen upon deaf ears. The USDA Coalition of Minority Employees requests to meet with you or your designee, to talk about this increased mistreatment of USDA employees, especially women and minority farmers nationwide.

 

When President Obama was elected, we expected that USDA’s dysfunctional civil rights administration and processes would be addressed and that there would be some accountability. Unfortunately we were treated with more dignity and respect under the Bush Administration. The Obama administration is demanding freedom and justice for nations around the globe, Bahrain, Libya, Egypt, but is continuing to ignore the plight of USDA employees and customers…and put an end to all the pain and suffering.

 

For more insight into the “plantation culture/mentality” at USDA, please contact Dr. John Boyd, President, National Black Farmers Association. Otherwise, USDA will continue to ignore or hastily retaliate against innocent people…similar to the treatment of Mrs. Shirley Sherrod. 

 

Thank you,

 

   Lawrence Lucas, President

   USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

   856/ 910-2399

    www.agcoalition.org

 cc: Coalition Members & Supporters Nationwide

A Pursuit for Civility, Dignity, and Respect

 

February 24, 2011

Secretary Vilsack:

  

Because of the importance and transparency your Administration places on civil rights, we are again requesting to meet with you to discuss the unfettered  racism, sexism, reprisal, intimidation, hostile work environment, bullying and other abuses perpetrated by USDA officials in Washington, DC and around the country. The fact that some of these abusers look like me does not exempt them from being held accountable for their egregious actions.  USDA has purposely chosen to neglect these widespread abuses and appears to be condoning the mistreatment of its customers and employees…”plantation mentality.” We are again, appealing to you, to bring some sense of sanity to the civil rights environment at USDA. Civil rights must be your priority. If not, USDA will continue to ignore or hastily retaliate against innocent people…similar to the treatment of Mrs. Shirley Sherrod. 

Because The Coalition continues being outspoken on behalf of USDA employees and minority farmers, it appears that members of your leadership team have taken it upon themselves to attack The Coalition and its Executive Board Members, for trying to make USDA a model workplace, where there is dignity and respect. The Coalition’s Board of Directors have recently and continue being the victims of USDA investigations and discriminated against. This is not a coincidence. There is an obvious widespread effort to marginalize and demonize our organization.

The Coalition (see documentation below), will not remain silent. Our history conveys the message that we will never run and hide, fearing attacks from within USDA.  The attachments illustrate the types of illegal actions your leadership team has taken, in an effort to silence our organization. We will continue to be vocal and stand whenever and wherever, necessary for minority farmers, USDA employees and the right of our organization to exist, free of retaliation/reprisal and other abuses.

We have a litany of information indicating that The Coalition has been trying to obtain a meeting with you for two years to help you fix USDA’s continued dysfunctional and tainted civil rights administration and processing. The reduced number of cases filed is not a true indicator that USDA civil rights are better off now than two years ago. I am sure those responsible for USDA civil rights, have advised you otherwise. The denying of employees right to file their complaints with the USDA agencies is incomprehensible and more widespread than you are being told. 

We as a Nation cannot serve as a model of democracy to the rest of the world, if civil and human rights abuses continue at USDA. The abusers are attempting to silence “freedom of speech, and expression,” including The Coalition’s effort to address racism, sexual abuse/assault, reprisal, intimidation, racial epithets (hangman’s noose, monkey dolls, Blacks referred to as “niggers”), and denying USDA employees the right of representation.  This is an attempt to intimidate and attack ideas they don’t comprehend or dislike. This is America…not Egypt, Bahrain or Libya. Civil rights abuse is National in scope….Iowa, Mississippi, California, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Washington DC, Colorado, New York, Kansas and Georgia and more.

To place our many issues and concerns (see attached documentation), in the hands of top Obama/Vilsack officials such as your Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Dr. Joe Leonard is unacceptable. During our last meeting he refused to discuss our issues and concerns. In addition, he was disrespectful and insulting. He seemed more concerned with keeping his job, than doing his job.

 

Thank You. 

 

   Lawrence Lucas, President

 

   USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

 856/ 910-2399

www.agcaolition.org

 

cc. Coalition Board & Members Nation-Wide

November 10, 2010

 

TO:                 Secretary Tom Vilsack and Staff

SUBJECT:      Issues and Solutions Regarding USDA Civil Rights

 

The USDA Coalition of Minority Employees has on numerous occasions requested to meet with Secretary Vilsack concerning violations of USDA employees’ and minority farmers civil rights by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  Only once during his first few months on the job did he agreed to meet with the Coalition.  His staff on occasion has met with the Coalition:

 

Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary; Karen Ross, Chief of Staff; Joe Leonard, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights; Harris Sherman, Under Secretary for Natural Resources; Edward Avalos; Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; Steve Silverman, Deputy General Counsel; Tom Tidwell, Chief, Forest Service.

 

Yet, significant and systemic civil rights violations continue at USDA; the issues require the Secretary’s immediate attention. The Secretary is responsible for the Department’s civil rights violations and abuses.

The Coalition has identified significant problems and proposes solutions for the following issues:

 

1.      Failure to process civil rights complaints.  Institute immediately a Departmental program to resolve/reduce the backlog of complaints for both employees and minority farmers, especially, Black farmers.  

 

2.      Implement programs that have already been successful. Use the Glickman/Clinton administration model to resolve complaints and implement the remaining recommendations from the Civil Rights Action Team (CRAT) and the Civil Rights Implementation Team (CRIT) Reports. 

 

3.      Make the CRAT & CRIT Reports an immediate priority for implementation throughout USDA & all of its agencies. Place each of these reports back on the USDA website.  Require each agency to develop an internal resolution program (utilizing a USDA prescribed process) for mediating all cases in the administrative process. This process should be offered to all employees having outstanding cases.

 

4.      Immediately begin final negotiations to settle remaining class actions. Specifically, the Herron African American, Wilson/Benton class and resolve all remaining cases in Spencer.

 

5.      Reinstate and process minority farmers, especially Black farmers, administrative complaints that were allowed to lapse during the ten years of the Bush and Obama Administrations.  

 

6.      Investigate farmers’ complaints. When a final decision is reached concerning allegations, send the farmers a letter to inform them of the decision made concerning the complaint.

 

7.      Fully implement recommendations in GAO Report of 2008 that contain remedies and viable options to address management deficiencies in the USDA Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.

 

8.      Implement all issues and concerns in Senator Chuck Grassley’s June 15, 2010, letter to Senator Blanche Lincoln, Chairperson Senate Agriculture Committee.

 

9.      Enforce USDA’s regulations on accountability. Hold management officials and employees accountable for discrimination. Include a civil rights critical element in performance evaluations for officials, managers and supervisors.

 

10.  Require the USDA Office of Civil Rights to work in cooperation and partnership with the Coalition of Minority Employees to improve civil rights, workforce diversity, and recruitment agency-wide.  Joe Leonard, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, has undermined progress and cooperation between the Office of Civil Rights and the Coalition. Only in a recent meeting with the Secretary’s top staff, has he shown a desire to meet with the Coalition.

 

11.  Report and process all reprisal complaints expeditiously via the USDA Office of Civil Rights so that employees do not languish and suffer in an abusive environment.  The process is already in place; USDA should follow existing policies. Claims and documentation of reprisal should be maintained, documented and reported by the USDA Office of Civil Rights.   

 

12.  The USDA Office of Civil Rights has failed in its management responsibilities to conduct proper civil rights oversight and compliance reviews of all its agencies. This is a requirement that must be corrected.

 

13.  No USDA employee should be forced to resign or retire as a condition for settling a complaint. The Secretary should take immediate action to prevent this double discrimination from continuing.  This is a direct violation of Title VII. 

 

14.  Settle the long standing Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) case of a Black female employee that was called the “N” word, “MF”, “You People” and other abuses. Top Obama officials at USDA refused to settle this egregious case. Also, settle another NRCS employee case who was wrongly discriminated against, now deceased. 

 

15.  The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Ames, Iowa laboratories has a long

history of racial epithets and hostile work environment that includes: reprisal, intimidation and bullying. There is no evidence that has been shared with the Coalition that top and lower management officials at those laboratories are being held accountable, for past and present abuses.

16.  The USDA tracking system and reporting process is an abysmal failure. Senator Grassley has said “A statutory mandate to publish reports on the participation of minority farmers and ranchers in USDA programs but those reports are riddled with unreliable data.”  The Coalition can only assume that the same applies to employment and record keeping as well since there are no published reports. This is not the civil rights transparency promised by the Secretary.

 

17.  Implement the GAO and 2008 Farm Bill Recommendation to hire an “Ombudsman”. 

 

18.  Apologize to the five Black women, in the USDA Office of Civil Rights who were falsely accused of wrong doing and subject to a humiliating investigation.  This is a clear case of abuse of power. Even though their stories did not make national news, these women deserve to be accorded the same level of justice afforded Shirley Sherrod.

 

19.  USDA Office of Civil Rights must publish accurate civil rights reports and data which are treated as confidential or classified. We need more accountability and transparency. 

 

20.  The USDA Forest Service remains the most abusive and discriminatory agency in all of USDA.  The claims predominantly from women include: hostile work environment, reprisal, intimidation, sexual harassment, bullying and other abuses. Few officials are being held accountable. Priority should be placed on resolving cases in Forest Service Region 5.

 

21.  The USDA Forest Service during recent years paid out 4.2 million taxpayer dollars to one       contract attorney to battle employees in ADR/mediation process.  This money is better spent improving the working conditions of employees instead of saving the jobs of some civil rights abusers.

 

22.  Process for employee complaints (including ADR and Mediation) should be handled expeditiously. There are too many instances where resolving officials have not shown up; came without the authority to settle; declined to sign the negotiated agreement; came in bad faith; or refused the employee the right to a representative of their choosing. These intentional violations of civil rights regulations undermine the integrity and the intent of the process and further violate the employees’ rights.

 

23.  Reinstate the USDA diversity recruitment programs at Iowa State University (Ames) and California Polytechnic University (Pomona).

 

24.  Hire employees in the Office of Civil Rights who know Title VI and VII.  Top management for USDA civil rights are not knowledgeable of the laws and the cases that interpret these and other civil rights statutes. 

 

25.  The Coalition has seen the Obama administration continue the abuses in the Office of Civil Rights. Unless there is an honest attempt to address these civil rights abuses, the Coalition recommends that the Office of Civil Rights be placed in “Receivership”.    

 

It is imperative that we meet with you to assist in identifying and eliminating the underlying causes of discrimination throughout USDA. Working together we can assist in putting together a plan for preventing future individual and class complaints.

 

Thank you.

           //s//

 Lawrence Lucas, President

 USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

 Phone: 856/ 910-2399 

Webpage: www.agcoaliton.org

 

Cc:   Coalition Representatives Nation-wide 

 

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