Whirlpool rewards Catoosa woman for humanitarian service
The following is the press release I sent to four of our local television affiliates who have news...
"In November 2006, Whirlpool Corporation started the annual Building Blocks program, designed to raise awareness and help eliminate substandard housing in the United States. Each year the program recognizes an outstanding U.S . Habitat for Humanity affiliate and its relationship with its local community by holding a week-long build in the affiliate's community. The program kicked off in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006 when Whirlpool united 100 local residents with 100 Whirlpool employees and volunteers from 100 Habitat affiliates. These 300 volunteers built 10 homes on one block from Nov. 5-10, 2006. Whirlpool will build nine homes near Phoenix, Arizona, in May 2007." -- Wikipedia
Both years, Catoosa resident Linda Carlton has participated in these events, even though the homes she helped build were all larger than the trailer she and her family lived in. Having two children with a rare congenital condition, Linda and her husband knew one parent would need to stay home, and since Linda got the job with insurance, she went to work while her husband stayed home, took care of their four children and tried to augment their income on the internet.
In recent years Linda has also made trips to Nicaragua to help deliver humanitarian aid to the impoverished in rural areas of the Central American nation. She has also volunteered her time to help rebuild after hurricane Katrina.
On May 23rd, Tulsa Whirlpool honored Linda's hard work and dedication by charging the 40 year-old mother of four with "sexual harassment" based on no more evidence than the word of her 50 year-old supervisor, a man who had already had an affair with a married subordinate (a woman willing to verify that fact) and who had also made inappropriate remarks to Linda of a romantic nature. Under such circumstances the Carlton family's insurance was shut off immediately, leaving their special needs children with no medical coverage, and urgent doctor visits looming in the very near future.
Both Linda and her husband are bloggers and in recent weeks have blogged about the tragedy that has hit their family. Danny's blog, JackLewis.net, is ranked in the top 250 blogs out of the 70,000 listed in the Blogging Ecosystem. It has been mentioned in the Washington Post, the LA Times, Fox News and AOL Online News. Linda's blog is at LindaCarlton.net. They are attempting to raise awareness of their plight via their blogs while they wade through the slow process of an Oklahoma Human Rights Commission investigation, which they have been warned may be fruitless since the Commission focuses specifically on cases that are clearly discrimination. As one lawyer told them, "Companies have the legal right to be jerks."
The internet however has allowed many people access to the public, previously denied, and incidences like this, once hidden, can be easily brought to the attention of a public that can then decide for themselves and respond accordingly.
The idea that supervisors who sexually harass their subordinate can simply accuse them, without evidence and have them fired, to prevent being accused themselves is an alarming trend. It is even more alarming given the image Whirlpool has worked hard to maintain of caring for the needs of minorities. Whirlpool recently settled a lawsuit claiming they had discriminated against African-Americans in their hiring process. Also, in 2002 a group of Muslims sued Whirlpool alleging that managers at their Nashville plant yanked the headscarves off Muslim women and followed other Muslims to the bathroom to make sure they weren't praying.
Posted by Danny Carlton at June 6, 2007 10:20 AM