AFSCME Across the Nation

Not Just Whistling in the Dark

AFSCME members stand up for the good of members and citizens alike by setting up a whistleblower hotline.

Louisville, Kentucky

The home of the Kentucky Derby has always placed its bet on whistleblowers. After all, Louisville is the town that produced Jeffrey Wigand, the man who blew the whistle on Brown & Williamson Tobacco, Shannon Sandusky reminded a reporter between phone calls.

Sandusky, who is chapter chair of AFSCME Local 2629D, was one of several trained volunteers who staffed the phones when the first calls came in to an AFSCME-sponsored whistleblower hotline on Dec. 11. The one-day hotline was set up to receive anonymous complaints of waste, fraud and abuse in the government of Jefferson County which encompasses the city of Louisville.

The union, which represents some 900 county and housing authority employees, was right about the need for the hotline -- tips started coming in even before it opened. And although the local only had notified workers in the County's Department of Human Services (DHS) about the hotline, some half-dozen phone calls came from the Planning and Zoning Department and the Department of Public Works and from private citizens.

Callers reported numerous abuses, including a manager who ordered workers to repair his private driveway on county time and another who had employees work on political campaigns against their will while on the job. During its follow-up meeting, the hotline steering committee reviewed all calls and determined that these two warranted further action. At press time, union staff and members were gathering more testimony before turning the cases over to the state attorney general.

The hotline is still a pilot project, available about once a month, with two dedicated lines and a post office box. Organizers believe it may be the first of its kind in the state.

Gaining Respect. Local 2629 Pres. David Hochstrausser explains that while the hotline is intended to expose wrongs and make management accountable to the public, it has another goal as well: It is one of a number of actions taken by this local to demand respect from increasingly belligerent management at DHS.

When DHS underwent a dramatic reorganization last year, the union repeatedly expressed interest in working with the department on the changes. Not only did management continually rebuff the union's offers, but it began ignoring the contract and disciplining those who spoke out, according to members. Management "flat out disrespected us," Hochstrausser says.

But since the hotline's inception, management has begun accepting proposals -- like attending labor-management training at the state Department of Labor -- that it had previously refused.

The county executive's office did not respond to several requests for comment.

The hotline and other actions have energized members, says Local 2629 member Sherrell Ealy: "There's safety in numbers, and we're not going to take it anymore."

Local 2629 plans on giving management a run for its money.

By Alison S. Lebwohl