Fwd: lesa donnelly letter tro michelle obama, 27 june 2011

The White House

First Lady Michelle Obama

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC   20500

June 27, 2011

Dear Madam First Lady:

My name is Lesa Donnelly. I am a former USDA employee and currently Vice President of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees (The Coalition). We are an organization that addresses civil rights issues in the USDA. I have attached a letter I wrote to President Obama in May 2011. In that letter I describe incidents of harassment, workplace violence, discrimination, and retaliation happening to women and minorities at USDA. I asked President Obama to speak with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack about these issues and request that he set up a meeting with The Coalition. It has been a month and no one at USDA has contacted The Coalition. This letter is to ask you to speak with President Obama and relay our concerns.

It is widely known that you are an advocate for women’s health, safety, and equal opportunities around the globe. Just recently I viewed your June 22^nd discussion with young women in Soweto, South Africa (at the White House Council on Women and Girls website). I found it inspiring and applicable to the women in the USDA who fight everyday to maintain their dignity and safety while being sexually harassed, physically assaulted, intimidated and retaliated against for reporting it. I felt like you were also speaking to us when you said, “Continue to work fiercely and be impatient. But don’t let the struggle discourage you.”  I wrote those words on a post-it note and stuck it to my computer.

It is difficult to keep from being discouraged when so many egregious civil rights violations occur and the USDA refuses to acknowledge them or hold perpetrators accountable. I often wonder how USDA officials sleep at night, knowing they are allowing employees to be terrorized, humiliated, demeaned and demoralized.  I have had many sleepless nights from watching women have nervous breakdowns or hearing them speak of suicide.

The following incidents may be difficult to believe, but they happened – and are happening still. A woman’s nose was broken when she was punched in the face by a male coworker. The man was not fired or moved from her unit. She lived in fear and actually carried a gun to work for protection. A woman who was sexually harassed and removed from her job for reporting it has had a very hard time emotionally and financially. One Native American woman has been off work for over a year because she could not bear the harassment. She had a repossession of her vehicle and is close to foreclosure on her home. She has a three-year old child. Another Native American woman, a firefighter, endured racial slurs, was falsely accused of sleeping with men on her crew, was forced to urinate in front of male firefighters, and most humiliating of all – was ordered to tell her male captain when she started menstruation every month. A Hispanic female firefighter suffered racial slurs and her supervisor physically assaulted her. The USDA not only did not fire the man, they forced her to continue working with him. The list goes on and on. Many more women and minorities have less outrageous civil rights violations, but they withstand daily humiliations and a lack of job opportunities. Most all of these folks endure physical, emotional or financial harm, and often all three impact their lives and the lives of their families.

The Coalition has been trying to meet with Secretary Vilsack since the beginning of the administration. We want to discuss these issues and work in collaboration to resolve them. We are no closer to that now than we were when he took office in January 2009.

President Obama said, “With passion and courage women have taught us that when we band together to advocate for our highest ideals, we can advance our common well-being and strengthen the fabric of our nation.”

I am enclosing letters I sent to Valerie Jarrett, Kathleen Merrigan, and Christie Vilsack. The message is the same – we need your help to speak with Secretary Vilsack and to address the civil rights violations. Many women and minorities at USDA have exhibited great courage. They have banded together, stepped forward to tell their stories, and endured retaliation for it. Mrs. Obama, I am asking you, and Ms. Jarrett, Ms. Merrigan, and Mrs. Vilsack to help them.

Please contact me at 530-365-3456 or Coalition President Lawrence Lucas at 856-910-2399. We eagerly await a reply.

Sincerely,

/s/Lesa L. Donnelly

Lesa L. Donnelly

Vice President, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

cc:  Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President

        Michael Blake, Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs

        Michael Strautmanis, Chief of Staff for Assistant to the President

        Senator Charles Grassley

        Bart Kempf, Senate Ag Committee

        Kathleen Merrigan, USDA Deputy Secretary

        Christie Vilsack

        USDA Assistant Secretary Joe Leonard

        Lawrence Lucas, President, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees

        Ron Cotton, Senior Advisor, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees