FYI: If you want to read about Christy Lochrie's alleged complaints of on-the-job sexual harassment at the Record Searchlight, aka the "Record Sexlight", you can read them on her blog:Standing up to harassment, scarlett letter be damned
Posted on August 1, 2008 by Christy Lochrie
"A funny thing happens when a woman utters the words “sexual harassment.” It’s as if she’s suddenly donned a scarlet letter, which brands her as a troublemaker, complainer and, worst of all for corporate America, not a team player.
When I wrestled with taking my complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – forgive me for vagueness on that front; details will come later, although not necessarily in a blog form (It would be foolish of me to publish details that would help my employer’s sexual harassment attorney hurt me) – I was met with staunch, blue-collar, gotta-protect-your-career-and-livelihood-(is a $28,000 income really a livelihood these days?) wisdom from loved ones: Don’t do it.
But I did do it. I had no choice, I felt. To give in to the harassment – it appeared intended to silence me as a journalist, humiliate me as a human being, punish me as a woman and strike fear of sexual assault in my heart – would be unthinkable to me ethically and professionally. To give in would be a betrayal to myself as a woman and a journalist. Fighting back, career consequences be damned, was – and continues to be – my only option.
As far as career suicide goes, which my father cautioned me would be a result of my stance, I felt and feel that I not only can’t work with colleagues who engage in such vile behavior, but I most definitely don’t want to work in an environment in which my employer allows it. (That, by the way, is not a statement about my current employment status or desire. I have not quit, and I refuse to quit, my job.)
All of that leaves me with one choice as a journalist: dig in, document, fight back, provide resources for others who have been hurt in similar ways, shine the light and tell the painful truth: Some 83,000 people filed employment discrimination charges with the EEOC in 2007. That figure doesn’t include complaints filed with state commissions, such as the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. And it leaves out another painful truth: More employees ducked filing charges out of their own career suicide fears, figuring that to endure harassment or to move on in silence were better options.
I didn’t want this fight. It was thrust upon me. I didn’t want the depression. Didn’t want the anxiety. Didn’t want the stress. Didn’t want the fear. Didn’t want the sexual harassment and didn’t want the cyberstalking. And I don’t want it for any other woman, or any other person, who finds herself or himself the object of base, sexual, racial, religious, ethnic background or any other where-we-live characteristic. That, in a nutshell, is why I’ve taken this route, scarlet letter and all.
Garbage stinks more when it’s closed up and hidden away. I’m opening the lid. Stand up, ladies and gentlemen. It’s your right to work in a harassment-free environment. And if you’re worried about employment retaliation, know that it’s illegal – both to retaliate against an employee who complains and to refuse to hire an applicant based on her or his harassment complaint, which the EEOC dubs a “protected activity.” It’s not about being a corporate drone, who fears the loss of a paycheck and career advancement opportunity for speaking up. It’s about standing up for your rights and refusing to accept less-than-humane treatment while earning a living in this corporate-America work zone."
-Christy
It’s not OK
Posted on July 15, 2008 by Christy Lochrie
This entry is for my colleagues, those dedicated souls who create miracles on a daily basis. The journalists who track down the news, report it and take the heated phone calls when folks don’t want to read– or believe – the truth (or, perhaps, just squelch or influence what’s reported in a daily newspaper). The editors who drill the journalists, challenge them and then stand behind them and their work. The pressmen who keep the print churning. The Web editors who post the stories. The folks who sell ads, place classifieds and, generally, keep the process in motion. It’s a tough job, at any newspaper. And most do it with grace, diligence and dignity. They’re folks who have my admiration.
Don’t know the head count at my – present – employer nowadays, but a year or so ago there were more than 200 people on the rolls. My complaint is with a small percentage of them — like one percent – and a management team that let down women everywhere (especially women journalists) by creating and nurturing an environment that sowed the seeds of harassment — and allowed it to grow and flourish.
I’m already aggravated with corporations, which treat employees – read: people – as if they are expendable and replaceable objects to be used and then dumped. And it’s everywhere. A dear friend who lives in SoCal was stressed when her employer thrusts a three-year, six-figure contract at her. She’s an IT guru and, while she commands a good living, her employer seemed, to her, exceedingly generous. More: The contract insulated her from firing for its duration. It seemed too good to be true. She finally acquiesced, signed it and discovered her employer’s true motive: They expected her to continue managing her department while outsourcing it – unannounced to her charges – to a firm in India. Her boss’ secretary died, from, my friend believes, exhaustion and stress created by a take-it-or-leave-it-you’ll-work-as-much-as-I-demand work culture. The secretary was in her mid 30s, couple of kids and a husband. My friend works some 80 hours a week supporting this company, which looks at employees as bottom-line numbers on a spreadsheet.
It’s rampant. Everywhere. Employment loyalty is lost – and that’s a parallel street headed straight to hell. I don’t know what, if anything, will change that. But I do know what happens to people – good people – when they have to deal with it. I’ve seen it up close. Watched the layoffs. Ranted with others as they wiped away tears of frustration. And felt the hollow stings as emotionally jolting goodbyes punctuated Friday afternoons for some six months.
Again, I don’t know the answers. But what I do know: I feel and felt the pain – and wrote about it – along with my colleagues as we all experienced it. I’ve felt frustrated, angry and powerless. It’s hurt to see so many people hurt and, I believe, maltreated. But somewhere in this, groupthink (for a few) seemed to come to the conclusion that I was part of some sinister corporate plan or that I was in need of some good, old fashioned rough justice. And the response was to support, and contribute (again, for a couple), to a sexually harassing site which took aim at my female parts.
Forget naming names – at least here. And details will come later, if at all. As I’ve said before, however, I’ll be damned if sexual harassment will control or define me. No one deserves it. No one deserves harassment based on some where-I-live characteristic, such as race, ethnic background, religion, sexual preference or gender, to name a few. Not my friend who endured KKK scribbles at his SoCal workplace and a racially hostile environment (the EEOC stepped in; it was less than 10 years ago), not Tammy Blakey, an airline pilot who endured sexual harassment in both the cockpit and on the Internet, not anyone."
Posted on August 1, 2008 by Christy Lochrie
"A funny thing happens when a woman utters the words “sexual harassment.” It’s as if she’s suddenly donned a scarlet letter, which brands her as a troublemaker, complainer and, worst of all for corporate America, not a team player.
When I wrestled with taking my complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – forgive me for vagueness on that front; details will come later, although not necessarily in a blog form (It would be foolish of me to publish details that would help my employer’s sexual harassment attorney hurt me) – I was met with staunch, blue-collar, gotta-protect-your-career-and-livelihood-(is a $28,000 income really a livelihood these days?) wisdom from loved ones: Don’t do it.
But I did do it. I had no choice, I felt. To give in to the harassment – it appeared intended to silence me as a journalist, humiliate me as a human being, punish me as a woman and strike fear of sexual assault in my heart – would be unthinkable to me ethically and professionally. To give in would be a betrayal to myself as a woman and a journalist. Fighting back, career consequences be damned, was – and continues to be – my only option.
As far as career suicide goes, which my father cautioned me would be a result of my stance, I felt and feel that I not only can’t work with colleagues who engage in such vile behavior, but I most definitely don’t want to work in an environment in which my employer allows it. (That, by the way, is not a statement about my current employment status or desire. I have not quit, and I refuse to quit, my job.)
All of that leaves me with one choice as a journalist: dig in, document, fight back, provide resources for others who have been hurt in similar ways, shine the light and tell the painful truth: Some 83,000 people filed employment discrimination charges with the EEOC in 2007. That figure doesn’t include complaints filed with state commissions, such as the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. And it leaves out another painful truth: More employees ducked filing charges out of their own career suicide fears, figuring that to endure harassment or to move on in silence were better options.
I didn’t want this fight. It was thrust upon me. I didn’t want the depression. Didn’t want the anxiety. Didn’t want the stress. Didn’t want the fear. Didn’t want the sexual harassment and didn’t want the cyberstalking. And I don’t want it for any other woman, or any other person, who finds herself or himself the object of base, sexual, racial, religious, ethnic background or any other where-we-live characteristic. That, in a nutshell, is why I’ve taken this route, scarlet letter and all.
Garbage stinks more when it’s closed up and hidden away. I’m opening the lid. Stand up, ladies and gentlemen. It’s your right to work in a harassment-free environment. And if you’re worried about employment retaliation, know that it’s illegal – both to retaliate against an employee who complains and to refuse to hire an applicant based on her or his harassment complaint, which the EEOC dubs a “protected activity.” It’s not about being a corporate drone, who fears the loss of a paycheck and career advancement opportunity for speaking up. It’s about standing up for your rights and refusing to accept less-than-humane treatment while earning a living in this corporate-America work zone."
-Christy
It’s not OK
Posted on July 15, 2008 by Christy Lochrie
This entry is for my colleagues, those dedicated souls who create miracles on a daily basis. The journalists who track down the news, report it and take the heated phone calls when folks don’t want to read– or believe – the truth (or, perhaps, just squelch or influence what’s reported in a daily newspaper). The editors who drill the journalists, challenge them and then stand behind them and their work. The pressmen who keep the print churning. The Web editors who post the stories. The folks who sell ads, place classifieds and, generally, keep the process in motion. It’s a tough job, at any newspaper. And most do it with grace, diligence and dignity. They’re folks who have my admiration.
Don’t know the head count at my – present – employer nowadays, but a year or so ago there were more than 200 people on the rolls. My complaint is with a small percentage of them — like one percent – and a management team that let down women everywhere (especially women journalists) by creating and nurturing an environment that sowed the seeds of harassment — and allowed it to grow and flourish.
I’m already aggravated with corporations, which treat employees – read: people – as if they are expendable and replaceable objects to be used and then dumped. And it’s everywhere. A dear friend who lives in SoCal was stressed when her employer thrusts a three-year, six-figure contract at her. She’s an IT guru and, while she commands a good living, her employer seemed, to her, exceedingly generous. More: The contract insulated her from firing for its duration. It seemed too good to be true. She finally acquiesced, signed it and discovered her employer’s true motive: They expected her to continue managing her department while outsourcing it – unannounced to her charges – to a firm in India. Her boss’ secretary died, from, my friend believes, exhaustion and stress created by a take-it-or-leave-it-you’ll-work-as-much-as-I-demand work culture. The secretary was in her mid 30s, couple of kids and a husband. My friend works some 80 hours a week supporting this company, which looks at employees as bottom-line numbers on a spreadsheet.
It’s rampant. Everywhere. Employment loyalty is lost – and that’s a parallel street headed straight to hell. I don’t know what, if anything, will change that. But I do know what happens to people – good people – when they have to deal with it. I’ve seen it up close. Watched the layoffs. Ranted with others as they wiped away tears of frustration. And felt the hollow stings as emotionally jolting goodbyes punctuated Friday afternoons for some six months.
Again, I don’t know the answers. But what I do know: I feel and felt the pain – and wrote about it – along with my colleagues as we all experienced it. I’ve felt frustrated, angry and powerless. It’s hurt to see so many people hurt and, I believe, maltreated. But somewhere in this, groupthink (for a few) seemed to come to the conclusion that I was part of some sinister corporate plan or that I was in need of some good, old fashioned rough justice. And the response was to support, and contribute (again, for a couple), to a sexually harassing site which took aim at my female parts.
Forget naming names – at least here. And details will come later, if at all. As I’ve said before, however, I’ll be damned if sexual harassment will control or define me. No one deserves it. No one deserves harassment based on some where-I-live characteristic, such as race, ethnic background, religion, sexual preference or gender, to name a few. Not my friend who endured KKK scribbles at his SoCal workplace and a racially hostile environment (the EEOC stepped in; it was less than 10 years ago), not Tammy Blakey, an airline pilot who endured sexual harassment in both the cockpit and on the Internet, not anyone."
-Christy
Death of a Newspaper Image and Disclaimer: The photo above is of a woman dressed in an Office Tramp costume. It is a costume, and it is not real. Also, it is NOT A PICTURE OF CHRISTY LOCHRIE. If you, as a reader, would be interested in purchasing said costume, one is available in a plus size at 3Wishes.com. This blog, and this photo of an office tramp costume are protected free speech under the First Amendment. No further comment your honor.
Death of a Newspaper Image and Disclaimer: The photo above is of a woman dressed in an Office Tramp costume. It is a costume, and it is not real. Also, it is NOT A PICTURE OF CHRISTY LOCHRIE. If you, as a reader, would be interested in purchasing said costume, one is available in a plus size at 3Wishes.com. This blog, and this photo of an office tramp costume are protected free speech under the First Amendment. No further comment your honor.
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Please report to the office in Office Tramp costume or clear your desk....
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