Silence is Complicity – If You See Something, Please Say Something
We will soon move to prohibit any city work rule that would punish or prohibit whistleblowing.
For four hours earlier this week, I and my colleagues on the Steering and Rules Committee took testimony and asked questions about the evident mismanagement of the Milwaukee Health Department and its failure to properly notify the families of children found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood.
We discussed work rules, procedures, testing protocols, and, it seemed, everything else under the sun.
In my mind, I kept coming back to the children.
These children probably do not know my name or anyone else’s involved in this terrible situation. They do not know the difference between the different types of blood tests used or the different levels of exposure. They are just children who want what my own children and everyone else’s want – a chance.
And that is what makes the culture of “see nothing/say nothing” that seems to have been fostered at the Health Department so dangerous.
The city has tried to afford “whistleblowers” protection from retaliation and has tried to provide a path for those who want to come forward with their concerns. Consider the following resources:
- The Fraud, Waste, and Abuse hotline: 414-286-3440 or hotline@milwaukee.gov
- Inappropriate Workplace Behavior: http://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/User/jkamme/Policies/EmplComplaintForm_New.docx
- The Workplace Grievance Procedure (For Safety Concerns): http://city.milwaukee.gov/der/csc/WSGP
We will soon move to prohibit any city work rule that would punish or prohibit whistleblowing.
None of these will be effective if unused. Silence is too often complicity and, if we have learned nothing else from this situation, it can have awful consequences.
Please: See something, say something.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Lead Crisis
- Baldwin Delivers Over $83 Million to Replace Lead Pipes, Expand Access to Safe Drinking Water - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - May 2nd, 2024
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Statement on Milwaukee Designation as Workforce Hub - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Apr 26th, 2024
- Biden Announces Milwaukee As New “Workforce Hub” For Lead Pipe Removal - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 25th, 2024
- Senator Baldwin Delivers Nearly $2 Million to Keep Wausau Families Safe from Lead Contamination - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Apr 12th, 2024
- IRS Rules that Homeowners Won’t Have to Pay Additional Taxes for Subsidized Replacement of Lead Pipes - Milwaukee Water Works - Feb 29th, 2024
- Milwaukee Makes It Far Easier To Replace Your Lead Service Line - Jeramey Jannene - Dec 18th, 2023
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Praises Biden Administration Effort to Remove Lead Pipes in 10 Years - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Nov 30th, 2023
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Partnership with 10 Wisconsin Communities to Accelerate Lead Service Line Replacement as Part of Investing in America Agenda - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Nov 2nd, 2023
- Evers, DNR Announce $402 Million Funding to Improve Local Drinking Water - Henry Redman - Oct 24th, 2023
- How EPA’s Proposed Lead Dust Rules Would Impact Wisconsin - Farrah Anderson - Aug 30th, 2023
Read more about Lead Crisis here