Killing the Messenger
Union activists who exposed health problems at the county's Borax Building were disciplined, and one
At the close of 2004, Benita Belardes was going on five years as a social worker with the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). She had begun her job at about the time the old Borax Building at 3075 Wilshire Boulevard became the agency's Metro North office. She was a lead worker with foster children, on track to become a supervisor. She was nominated by her fellow social workers to be a steward for the department's union, SEIU 535. And in September, she became co-chair of the Borax Health and Safety Committee.
Then, in December, Belardes's job was terminated.
Belardes had only one explanation: She was a whistleblower.
The Health and Safety Committee, it seemed, had struck a nerve. The building had been plagued by health issues, including molds so pervasive that mushrooms were found growing out of the carpet in a third-floor cubicle. Several confirmed cases of Legionnaires Disease - covered at length in both the L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times - led to a lawsuit by 23 employees that is currently in the courts and set to be decided in early November. But what hasn't been mentioned is that immediately after these stories emerged, Belardes lost her job and several committee members were targeted for departmental discipline. Belardes and others contend that DCFS officials - or their landlords at the Borax Building, or some interested party - are working to silence them.
"I was either going to keep my job or speak up," Belardes said.
After founding the committee and organizing a rally in 2004, Belardes received 24 write-ups in one month - she had ´´ never received a negative write-up before. She arrived at work one day to discover she was locked out of her computer. She was on suspension for allegedly planning a walkout in response to the write-ups. Three weeks later, the suspension was lifted, as the walkout was regarded as hearsay. But on that same day, December 21, Belardes was given a discharge letter - just two days before she was to accompany building engineers, management, and Cal-OSHA on a walk-through inspection of the building. She was never told by her supervisor of the suspension or termination. Instead she received a letter from human resources. She has filed a grievance and a lawsuit for wrongful termination.
DCFS would not to comment on Belardes's accusations, citing issues of confidentiality.
As a social worker, Belardes said it's her nature to help those who cannot help themselves. She could not sit and watch as fellow employees got sick.
Belardes pulled out a photo of her best friend Gina Romano, whose death was ruled a complication from plastic surgery. Belardes said working in the Borax Building caused her friend's infection and, ultimately, her death. There have been over a dozen employee deaths since 2000. None of the bodies have been autopsied.
Concerns began in 2000 after Wanda Cherry was diagnosed with Legionnaires Disease, a sickness that has pneumonia-like symptoms and is caused by Legionella bacteria. A Cal-OSHA test that same year of the building's cooling tower revealed high concentrations of the bacteria. Currently, 23 plaintiffs from 3075 Wilshire Boulevard are involved in a court case against building managers Dr. David Lee and Claire Fung and Jamison Properties, Inc. for sicknesses they believe were caused by negligent maintenance.
Belardes said the health standards of the building are not only harmful to the employees, but abuse clients. The DCFS hosts family meetings, Red Cross blood drives, adoption sessions, and parents and children with positive toxicologies or HIV at birth, putting them at higher risk of infection.
"This is rich people gambling with people's lives for real estate," Belardes said.
For those still working at the Borax Building, the concern for their health continues. But many are afraid to speak up.
Not Richard Castro. As the steward of SEIU 660, Castro was approached by Belardes in October of 2004 to co-chair the health and safety committee. Belardes and Castro believed that uniting the two unions they represented would make their group stronger.
Castro had worked for DCFS since 1991 and received his first write-up the day before Belardes got one in October. Just prior to the write-up, Castro was questioned by his supervisor as to why he was talking with a reporter. Castro said someone must have been keeping tabs on his actions in the building, since his supervisor worked out in Covina.
"I put two and two together," he said. "This was orchestrated, not a coincidence."
Castro immediately filed a grievance with the union. While most are handled on the lower level, Castro's grievance has made it to the third level up; leading him to believe DCFS is serious about keeping its employees quiet.
"Their intent is to squash any voices we have," he said.
Castro agreed with Belardes that the building's maintenance and health standards have been guarded in secrecy, and both believed building owners were pressuring the county. But Castro said no one will ever admit it.
Castro continues to file staff grievances, meet with management, and provide employees with information about building health. He will also continue to ask for maintenance records of the building, which no employee has yet been able to see.
In the beginning, the health and safety committee had about 20 members. Since Belardes's termination, a core of about a dozen remain. Castro said many of his colleagues don't believe they can do anything to change the situation. "They're waiting for the court to resolve the issue," Castro said.
But Castro is optimistic. He is breathing new life into the committee and hoping that a grass roots campaign will regenerate internal interest. In an effort to provoke community awareness, a rally will be held October 12, exactly one year after the committee's first rally.
Hearing are set for December 9 and 13 before the Civil Service Commission to determine whether to reinstate Belardes in her job. A court date for her Wrongful Termination suit is still pending.
In the meantime, Belardes worries about her clients, whom she left without as much as a phone call. For some of the foster children she worked with, Belardes was the only stability in their lives. "I was the one and only social worker on a case for years," she said. "It was my career, I loved my job."
Recently in her neighborhood, Belardes ran into two foster parents she had worked with. The parents expressed concern because DCFS told them Belardes had left the department for health reasons.
"I know what's right and what's wrong and I believe that I will eventually get my job back," she said.
Published: 10/13/2005
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