We Just Wanted It to Stop!'
When management refused to take action to end sexual harassment, 20 AFSCME women took action and won.
ONTARIO, OREGON
Teri Blankenbaker had been uncomfortable for some time with the sexual innuendoes and sexist comments at work. Then words turned into action: a co-worker "ran a pen up my leg." She asked her supervisor to do something about the situation. Soon Blankenbaker, a corrections counselor and member of Local 2376-5 (Council 75), was told that her co-workers were complaining about her job performance.
"I was taken aback because I had never had any questions about that," she said. The supervisor refused to give Blankenbaker specific information about the problems. Then the superintendent told her that she had "mental health issues" and wasn't a "team player."
Corrections Officer Meridith Hickman was also having problems. "A captain called me in and said I wasn't getting the respect that I needed from the staff and inmates because of the size of my breasts. He said they were 'distracting.'"
Hickman, a member of Local 3940 (Council 75), had been trained in preventing sexual harassment. So she complained to management — and was ignored.
Women who take jobs at Snake River Correctional Institution are prepared to work hard under stressful conditions. But they hadn't counted on the pervasive culture of sexual discrimination and harassment that was perpetrated and condoned by management.
CO Toni Hensley ran into problems after she wrote up an inmate who had acted out sexually in front of her. When he countercharged her, "Management held me under investigation for three months," she says, although male COs in similar situations were not investigated. Finally, says Hensley, "I refused to work that unit until management cleared my name." Hensley's husband is also a CO, and when she became the subject of sexually explicit rumors, the tension spilled over to her home life.
"The ongoing atmosphere here created a culture of disrespect," says Local 3940 Pres. Leonard Messersmith. "Management impeded all our attempts to change the environment."
TAKING A STAND. When these women couldn't get any help from prison management, they went to their union. Kevin Jackson, Local 3940's president at the time, took them seriously and put the local's resources to work.
In the end, 20 women from the two locals filed sexual harassment and gender discrimination charges against their supervisors. The issue was complicated, and Messersmith sought help from his council and the International.
To alleviate the women's anxiety and fear of retaliation — and to provide group assistance — they held regular weekly meetings at the union hall. "There was a lot of stress, a lot of crying and a lot of support. But we stood together," says Hensley.
SOLIDARITY & SUCCESS. Having fought for justice in solidarity, the AFSCME women negotiated the settlement together. The results: Snake River's top managers were transferred to other facilities; policies against sexual harassment and gender discrimination are being strengthened; and a monitor will be appointed to investigate claims and help develop a new, respectful environment.
An $885,000 fund to compensate the claimants was established. But, says Hickman, "We weren't in this for the money. We just wanted it to stop!"
