Alaska Pipeline Chief CIO fired for harrassing workers who complained about persistent technical and management problems

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Harassment Complaints Lead Alaska Pipeline Operator to Fire Executive

Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Publication date: Jan 27, 2000

(By David Whitney, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska )

Jan. 27--WASHINGTON--Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. vice president David Laurence was fired last week after he refused to accept a reprimand for harassing and intimidating workers, an entrenched problem the company has been struggling to root out.

Laurence was chief information officer, the top person in charge of computers, for the company that operates the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

Company president Bob Malone said the reprimand followed an Employee Concerns Program investigation into harassment and intimidation complaints.

"A couple of employees raised an allegation," he said, adding that the investigation revealed a "pattern of conduct." He declined to reveal details about the complaints in an interview Tuesday.

Malone was in Washington for routine meetings with regulators and congressional overseers tracking the pipeline company's progress in overcoming persistent technical and management problems.

Laurence could not be located for comment Wednesday.

The Employee Concerns Program was created about five years ago in an effort to make workers more comfortable about bringing problems to the attention of management.

Its creation was the result of the pipeline company's efforts to overcome employee fears that upper management tolerated, if not condoned, harassment and intimidation of workers who reported safety and environmental problems.

Starting in the late 1980s, workers alarmed about construction problems and poor record-keeping began turning to federal regulators and Congress to bring attention to issues the company ignored.

Several of those whistle-blowers used former Virginia oil broker Chuck Hamel as a conduit to Congress, who funneled internal company documents to investigators and Capitol Hill.

In the end, many whistle-blower complaints proved to be true, and Alyeska launched a $500 million program to rewire, rebuild and redocument years' worth of work. Some of that work is still being completed.

But the most persistent problem was one of management, and Malone announced last fall after a new spate of whistle-blower concerns raised via Hamel that he was going to weed out anyone at the company who failed to meet company policy by properly following up on employee concerns.

Last fall, two quality assurance inspectors were terminated for not following company policy in the first evidence of Malone's new get-tough policy.

"I have said that if you cannot support these policies with the company, the direction set by your president, then you are no longer welcome in this company," Malone said at the time.

"I've got to be clear with my expectations because at this point forward, appropriate action is going to be taken, and I don't want there to be any doubt in any mind about how I feel," Malone declared. Though he wouldn't elaborate, Malone said he thought the complaints against Laurence were serious enough to deserve disciplinary action.

"He had two options: accept the findings or leave the company," said Alyeska spokeswoman Jennifer Ruys of Laurence. "He would not sign, so he was asked to leave."

Malone said Laurence's termination was especially difficult. "I had hand-picked him and recruited him," Malone said.

Hamel, who is still acting on behalf of Alyeska whistle-blowers, applauded Malone's action on Wednesday.

"I am sorry for Mr. Laurence," Hamel said. "I had heard he was capable, but I admire Mr. Malone for walking the talk on harassment and intimidation."

One of the areas of concern that Hamel has raised on behalf of the whistle-blowers is problems with a privately owned fiber-optics cable being installed along the pipeline to carry communications and help run the pipeline. Laurence was in charge of dealing with the cable's owners.

While in Washington this week, Malone informed regulators and congressional members and staff about a new internal employee survey showing that overall, employee confidence in Alyeska and its management is on the rise.

"We're really pleased with our progress," Malone said. "We improved in every category."

Malone said that 96 percent of those interviewed during the survey said they believed the pipeline system was being operated safely, up from 91 percent in 1998.

But trouble spots remain, Malone said.

He said that 34 percent of those surveyed felt there still are conditions under which they would be uncomfortable raising a concern, and of those, 21 percent cited a fear of some sort of retaliation.

Additionally, only 46 percent of those who had raised concerns were satisfied with the way it was resolved, Malone said. ----- To see more of the Anchorage Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.adn.com (c) 2000, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Publication date: Jan 27, 2000 ) 1999, NewsReal, Inc.

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 31, 2000

Answers

Thanks, Carl. A manager like that deserves to be fired. People die when management doesn't listen to employees--e.g., the Challenger disaster.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), January 31, 2000.

---this is great! this is what I've been talking about. No one should be afraid to raise their voice about problems they encounter, no one, anywhere, anytime. Not only should these management types get fired, they need to be fined and chucked in jail, too. Let it ber known that corporate or GOVERNMENT-malfeasance won't be tolerated anymore, and that people can be secure to speak their views without getting harrassed or have their jobs in jeopardy. Corporate entities are run by human beings, who should be held accountable for their actions. Excellent! I believe these and other examples will go to show people that they CAN win against these entities. it's possible, just takes determination, guts, and being right about your allegations.

-- zog (zzogy@yahoo.com), January 31, 2000.

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