Transcripts For RT The 20240703 : vimarsana.com

But then in 2021, employees were found to have been exposed to poisonous fumes through cracks. And the floor actually filed complaints with the Environmental Protection agency and the National Labor Relations Board. She also filed a whistleblower, a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and with the u. S. Department of labor. And when she approached apple about correcting all of these problems, she was told her only option was simply to work from home. More whistle blowing was to follow, actually complained that some of the apples internal policies on employee privacy, on the privacy of the public, and on the retention of documents and user data were unethical. She even filed complaints in the u. K. With the Data Protection Information Commissioners Office in the counter part office in brussels. And in dublin with the Data Protection commissioner. Those complaints are still under investigation. Not only did actually not receive any help or satisfaction from apple. The Company Began to harass her. In response, she took the twitter to air her complaints. Consequently, she was retaliated against repeatedly and was transferred in the end. She was fired. Some of the complaints actually made are still being investigated on others. The National Labor Relations Board found that she had told the truth, and the apple head overstepped its bounds, had retaliated against her, and had deprived employees of their constitutional rights. I have one of the meet Ashley Gilbert for a long time and im very pleased to have her with us on the show. Actually welcome. Thats great having you. Thank you so much for having me. Im excited to meet you too. Oh, the pleasure is mine, and my goodness, there is so much to ask you when you decided to blow the whistle on wrong doing it, apple. You really decided to blow the whistle. Tell us about how this whole thing got started. It was all about Environmental Issues at the beginning. What made you initially decide to make that complaint . Yeah, it turned into something very, very complicated, but it started into something very simple, which was, i moved into a new apartment complex and i got very ill immediately. I was on short term disability. I thought i could be dying doctors or standing me forbid on this is i have 7 months later i discovered the apartment was built on a toxic waste split up site. And then 2 years later, i find out that my employer at that time apple was operating a secret, somebody, conductor manufacturing plant outside our windows mentoring a bunch of solve them into our windows. So there was solid exposure of that was the root cause of my illness. And through that experience, i learned about the split up sites. I learned about how to do that. And theres a lot of ways whether youre at work or just, you know, in your home that you can be so specific. Make you very ill. I assumed i was not the only one who did and i was not so i undertook to try to figure out what was going on and report it to never been easy to use. So we finally got to the bottom of it. It is being investigated what was implicated, but through this i kind of became when i call an armchair expert since the clean up site and environmental laws. So all of that was happening in 2020. I was not satisfied with the government responses, so i ended up publishing an extra jose, what happened to me and asking for more intervention. And the beginning of 2021. And right at that time, an email comes into my inbox with apple saying that they want to test her office for me for intrusion. And thats all it says. But i had become an expert at this point. So i knew exactly what that term and im and yeah, i had briefly been informed that my apple office was something called a super bowl sunday site by a friend who broke the are not at all. So i live in that office since 2017 and shes like, you know, thats a really bad super fun to site to kind of explain that it was about solution and toxic waste. But ive kind of put it aside. Um and, but that all, you know, the lights went off when i saw that email, that what theyre saying is they want to test and see if that toxic waste from superfund site in the ground water and slow was pushing up indoor, indoor air when we were at our dest, you are breathing it in. And through this experience, i also learned that in Silicon Valley to the most common chemicals are checked for o. S o n t, rush citizens and very, very dangerous. So from that email, i started looking through the documentation, start asking questions, im very dissatisfied with all the answers, im say, not just from my employers oversight of the office, but how the agent overseeing it, which is not at all, they kind of neglected it werent paying attention and then as soon as i start asking questions and identifying issues which the later confirmed, all my concerns were correct and they have the same concerns. Apple started just, you know, trying to shut me out, retaliated, told me not to tell anyone else. They didnt want me to tell the government what they were doing. Im so, hey, awesome, choose from there. Good lord, we should say to that a superfund site is a site that is so toxic. Its so dangerous that the Environmental Protection and ministration has to come in at a cost sometimes of billions of dollars to try to clean it up. But like any government bureaucracy, sometimes they do a great job. Sometimes they do a terrible job. And it sounds like in this case they did a terrible job. A very interesting you, what you said is correct. But like to add another angle which may appreciative someone that works in the federal government, theres a lot of politics about funding and to clean it up and especially considering a lot of these sites, even its not directly r d o d, right . Theres a lot of the stuff or is it was a lot of military operations. So how does the federal Government Force itself to clean up stuff when they dont want to . How do they force corporations do when corporations ultimately, if theyre big enough to just say no, im not going to do anything. So its a lot of compromise influence. Some funding, some tax, their dollars goes into trying to help clean this up, which is very demoralizing. When you will be these Huge Companies with so much money made a mass that should just clean it up. And it seems like the rest of your whistle blowing happened in very rapid succession after your initial revelations about the Environmental Issues and the fact that apple was literally sitting on this toxic superfund site. What then led to your decision to make additional disclosures . Yeah, so i wonder this experience, even starting the apartment and seeing the response to the government, you know what i just said . Now im kind of thing of stockholm syndrome. Of like, let me explain why they tolerate companies to not clean this stuff, but when it is all started, it was shocking to me that you could have this kind of pollution that science and Medicine Show can cause cancer until people dont even tell people they do the very bare minimum of cleaning it up. And then when you raise concerns, even when you are very ill and all my symptoms turned out to be solvent exposure, all of them were diagnosed by an occupational exposure doctor is like all that is solid research. You dont have a mask, you dont cancer, you dont have an aneurism without, you know, all the other stuff as before. But even then the responses were very clear to me that these companies and even the government didnt really care if i lived or died. It was just kind of business and as i start looking into that more, this is a huge issue, especially for folks who dont have a lot of resources for me or refer me to just from a nation along toxic hotspots, or in areas with black and native people with People Living in poverty, but even what is it . So its kind of like a big own sacrifice done for the use of property or just to let some people that i asked me that was so jarling and upsetting and fundamentally changed me in the way that i knew that my relationship with these companies, including my employer, so when my employers response to my questions about my office, especially after everything ive just gone through and they knew it was Chemical Exposure to uh, it showed me they dont care if i live or die either. And in fact, they want to cover it up and make sure i dont tell any of my co workers that are housed to be a risk just because a liability. So for me, you shifted somebody of find me where i lost any of that, you know, assume good intent or cognitive dissonance you have at work when you dont necessarily align with your employer. So use they see something kind of upset to you leave it to the side. And i was just done because they were, they saw me completely disposable. I am working, you know, 80 hour weeks for nearly 7 years. This company i did everything i could to try to help them with their products and problems in teams and make things better. And they literally are just like, dont tell other people that theyre gonna be cancelled to. So as they started retaliating, i really, i had no rose colored glasses left and id love to know what, what was the reaction from your colleagues. Youd been at up at apple for almost 6 years. Were people supportive . After all this, this directly impacted them where they helpful to you. Did they pull you aside privately and offer support or did they just put their heads down and walk away and try to protect themselves . So i was a very unique and st culture guy. Theres not a problem comparable to many other companies. If any, they find themselves with extreme secrecy. They brag about all their x, t, i a and say theyre like the private sector, c i a. And so they really, the culture is based on not sure information, probably not turn information with each other, not doing things. Im pretty sure they are using the id control system for our disclosures when they were coughing in a row, you know, so its very departmental eyes, and that just means that most of our friends are coworkers, right . When youre told anything about your work and they started giving this service to jail for basically we can see you just kinda keep it internal. So most of my friends were my co workers and the ones that were along with all of this are very supportive to they were outraged just along with me as everything that were seeing. But then apples telling me not to talk to my co workers to not tony want to know whats going on. And i go along with it for a little while because i was terrified of them. Sure. Here. But then i kind of break when theyre retaliating more clearly covering up the Environmental Issues really probably not until a day. And so i kind of the 1st taking a public was taking a public just to the communication tools with the company. And its also on top of a, for apple that was public because theyre so secretive and they were just an outpouring. The people who also have used your stories of trying to raise real concerns and just being immediately reevaluated upon and being covered up. So many people dont to tell anyone. So there is a huge response there that was positive, but then there was also backlash from a lot of people. That for some reason are used to or rely on the system of secrecy saying youre leaving your concerns about work conditions. Dont tell anyone theres already backlash there. And then when i was ordered to go in public in august when i went on twitter and just start sharing stuff. So it was clear, my employer was doing nothing helpful. And just mostly in this area. Yes. So i said no document and time you know the code, whats going on i, theres also a mix. There were more co workers, the team ford probably as well, and also share their stories. But then a lot of backlash, a lot of smears, wanted division, and apples and fueling that, of course, for the last couple years to try to get everyone to find each other. Because if we have any hope of actually improving things as workers, we need to organize. So they seem to be doing everything they can to not have us do that and all of their sectors. Disney retail, isnt it . Im sorry to interrupt you in, in the intern between your revelations and the corporate decision to try to push you out. What was it like for you inside apple . Were you kept at arms length . Did the company try to implement any changes based on your revelations or did they want to fight from the beginning human resources, for example, which was supposed to protect you . Certainly didnt protect you. Ill also point out that apple ceo, tim cook, sent out a company wide email about you, that at least to my eyes seemed like a friend. Yes. So much about one of the reasons i think i didnt even think that my installations would go anywhere. So it was immediately just documenting everything kind of gone and this would be lost to them. Probably have to take the public because they raise real concerns about face the, my bosses only, not the telling one of my safety concerns. I go to h r and this is like the bare minimum of what a sharp should do is like explain labor laws to executive. But in fact, she were telling me its against me openly and refuses to explain the safety productions to him that employees can talk about safety in when shes doing that. It just, it kind of showed me, okay, everythings set up now to push me out. There not seem, it doesnt matter what my position was, what i complex, what my now you know is network to months. So your doctors and the fees didnt matter. They were going to, its near me, destroying me, push me out, find ways to fire me. Im so they kept doing that and thats, you know, its come out. Thats a very strong pattern from them. Um and yeah, i closer to me getting fired. I, the bosses, did it 2 boxes. One of them was giving me a bunch of projects that were set up a little. Lets make everyone upset of me. And then the other ones are moving me from projects and emails and not responding to my emails, which are 2 of the things that they love to do and they situations. So yeah, i be removed from even my actual responsibilities. Im being repeatedly told not to talk to co workers not to organize. And then as im pushed out on leave within a couple of days, im here and there is meetings about me across your organization saying theyre gonna like talk about me in the next all him, which was clear to me that i was gonna be fired. They already knew they were gonna fire me, otherwise theyre not talking about me while im at all hands. So you know, theyre already showing everyone. Okay. Were pretending ashleys out on this. We, that were cleaning is not tentative. So were clearly gonna fire her. Were in for it. So at that point, a lot of people pull away. I start losing a lot of friends. Theyre scared, i dont blame them because of apple sit culture. Its a real fear of retaliation. And ive had to deal with that said last, most of my friends, they were co workers, the ones are still there. Some of them even left the country. Right . Yes. So this is what i want to. I kind of says in addition to the relation to the environment still issues the end, the age and the culture of secrecy, i felt charges about that, that email that tim hooks that which i think definitely reference me. I think at least one other person and was definitely a threat to his entire staff. He said, but anything internally confidential and they will fire anyone who shares anything internal. And he was referencing a meeting where he talked about pay equity and benefits. So i mean, not, you know, its only out to about 50, so have many very clear, like we are standing behind our culture. So i about church, you know, or be agreed with me. That email is a violation of federal law. Most of apples and the asian Employment Policy is also violate federal law. I sent them like 20 different documents, including the employment agreement i signed when i joined. And so theyre working on it sounds like a complaint. Now lets, if apple doesnt settle, it wouldnt go to court. An apple i expect is gonna be used on dozens of charges against these policies because theyre basically illegal. And so im hoping starts to help a see change at apple where employees can try to speed up a little bit. I think it was a very long time. No, because everyone, im so used to secrecy and intimidation and feel ashley, thank you very much. Hold on to we are going to continue our conversation with apple whistleblower Ashley Gilbert about her experience with a wide variety of whistle blowing at the tech giant. Were going to take a short break and then come back to talk about life after whistle blowing state to. 2 the russian states never as one of the most sense community was all sense and the in the system must be the one else holes. Question about this, even though we will ben in the european union, the kremlin machine, the state on russia to day and split the smooth neck, given our video agency, roughly all the band on youtube, the Tenant Services for the question, did you say they requested the soon as 2016 numerous monuments to serve you as soldiers in poland, ukraine and the Baltic States have been destroyed all vandalized fish this the body must be the most certainly within. Yeah. Unless or even some others could. I ask if i dont think so. Thats the most on whether its its flash or almost 3 of the Police Government denies the rule of soviet sonya is in the victory of a naziism. And is it raising historical memories of world war 2 . Because that is the new story. Although it did seem to notice the regimes of trustees would remain, thinks in peoples consciousness forever. But as long as the rest of the b a is profitable and brings dividends, you are willing to have a to rewrite the cost. If you dont speak up the, ill provide i need the seats in the car to talk. So i need to release the welcome back to the whistle blowers. Im john kerry onto were speaking with Ashley Gilbert. A whistleblower from apple who called attention to environmental dangers at the worlds Biggest Company as well as privacy concerns and other issues. And as you might expect, she paid for her whistle blowing with her career. Actually good to have you with us. Thanks again for joining us. You john. Actually tell us about some of the legal issues involved in your whistle blowing. It seems to me that here you were making protected whistleblower disclosures at the very least the company should have been investigating your complaints. But as often happens they attack the messenger. Apple is represented by one of the most powerful law firms in the world of melvin and myers. Did you have any representation . Was there anybody out there to protect your interests . Or were you on your own . As i was on my own in every way possible. Obviously, i think the other issue would be huge, that corporations that have way too much control. And so for lawyers, they were all intimidated by how complicated the case was. And then apples notoriously very difficult and poor. So they didnt want to go to work. They want to get an end, the federal and i did not want to do that. I wanted to make sure that what they did was known as they have to fix the issues. So i ended up, i was halfway through law school, so im just taking it on representing myself. Which allows me to be a bit more at dial 2 because there are a number of issues from environmental, the retaliation dose. Ok, so whats the lowercase . So i can Just Research and learn, instead of having to have like 7 firms, which is what actually apple has. Now, the firm you mention was the one of the 1st ones they were saying who sent me harassing emails about privacy concerns. But theyve sense iron or, and m, w, e and morgan lewis and probably more firms. I dont even know about a best partners. I 60 huge team, but i was fortunate enough, but i will violated a number of laws agreed justly with a ton of documentation and evidence. And i was able to get that in hand. Why things can be the bottom, mary, im going to in every case i am currently 5. 015. They look. They lost 5. Incredible, incredible. As only you know, i know, im sorry, please go right ahead. Oh i was going to say its really david and goliath and it shows like the why so here, because these companies the lower be charge for that same cook email. You mentioned they last in january of this year and or be set up i like that or why they hired in our me and morgan lewis attorneys, including a previous, at our b board member. So an executive for the agency and somehow tried to do this like a p o outside of a normal appeal process. So i had the not only respond to those of some arguments of you still lose, but also say if youre violating the constitution and industry the procedures that we stop and i want, but its like why im not even a licensed attorney. And i have to say, previous, easy to read. So i, you know, i think theres just shows why these Companies Get away with this stuff. Theres not a lot of people who are equipped to try to do this and mostly, or was an embryo. Most of them are captured by Companies Like apple, whether its funding advertising or they need an hour and an app store and they need their pod cast uh, be able to go to. Theres always influences that just make people not want to challenge apple or who. Right. And as i mentioned a few minutes ago, whenever the government investigated your allegations, they found that you were telling the truth. Several of the things that you revealed are still being investigated, but in the end, apple threw you out. Was there anything at all that you could do about that . I know that you have a lawsuit pending. You have multiple law suits pending. But as best as youre able, can you tell us a little bit about the personal impact on you and how you become recovering or so i want to say like, not only was i right, i was more right than i knew. So as ive been doing player class and trying to figure out what actually happened, i wasnt spend it just a couple of days after the a informed awful. They would be inspecting my office due to my disclosures about apples circle. Now, why . And that was the state of justification was actually told us what youre doing. We need to come see they got a bunch of issues. I got in trouble. And then i was fired, an apple kid, that inspection and all the issues from me trying to. But i found out i lose a number of those type of stories where it was already really bad and it was far worse even than i knew. So as im digging, im pressing these agencies and really trying to make sure the issues are addressed. I have retaliation cases, the Us Department of labor and, and ill be in California Department of labor, but its taking a very long time. And i kinda see these bottles as a primary, secondary and tertiary where the primary was. All the environmental stuff. Secondary was seeing all the retaliation and reporting the retaliation and trying to organize with people to get that address and try to get them to stop by at least a little bit. And then the tertiary is just realizing how you protections whistleblower is actually out of this country i, i would not actually use the word protection for any of our law, right . You have a chance maybe of a remedy. Youre after. The fact if you go during adjudication process that will be traumatizing on it. So in what youre doing, but im trying to bring to life just how i, you know, its working. Its designed by the industry, but for whistle blowers at destroying the us. Were already traumatized. Were already ostracized. Going years without a government saying this person should not have been fired. Just that statement. You know, you have trouble finding were people that your credibility, you like even if you decide you want to do with the lower theater. So that open question of like was this person right . I was lucky enough that i got for your documents way earlier home saying like i was right. So thats where thats its ordinarily rare. So i been writing about the current state of whistle blowing, both with legal and posing nancy, but also just the emotional term. Well, i went through what so many of us do, were you just feel like you last you put your place in the world and the call yourself, you dont know how to fit in. Lots of depression. I use of all my savings. I still cant find a job, i am pro se on all my cases. So im doing that while im trying to find work and then advocating along the way. Its when just kind of thrown and im one of those whistle blowers where i never even thought i was, was the blowing at 1st. And it seemed like just something youd need to do, right, of like ratings like that. And then, you know, then youre carried on a stop for your life is never the same. So im on that path. And as im seeing things where im hoping things could be improved in some way, even if its education, im trying to do that. So publishing articles, speaking about the experience and really trying to help people understand that whistle or who may come for theres a very high percentage, their life will just be destroyed, whether theyre right or wrong. Yeah. And that those 70 just pretty darn close to 100 percent or not. Yeah. Actually gilbert, thank you so much for joining us and thank you for your courageous whistle blowing. Thank you john. Thank you. Thank you. To actually do of it blew the whistle at the Largest Company in the world. Apple. It cant possibly have been easy. You heard it yourself. It could not have been a decision to be taken lightly, but its always worth it in a perfect world. We wouldnt need whistleblowers, we wouldnt need them because companies, governments, and individuals would do the right thing. They wouldnt lie, cheat, steal, and try to cut corners. They would have the best interest of the public in mind, but that is not in real life. We have whistle blowers because we need the. We have whistle blowers because at least somebody goes into government for the banking or into the corporate world. With a clear cut sense of right and wrong. Yes, the price of the blowing can be very high. But where would we be without be ashley gilby except the world . Im grateful for people like her. Thanks for joining us for another episode of the whistle blowers im john to reaku. Well see you next time. 2 2 2 2 2 2 the oh, what else . Seemed wrong . Just dont you have to safe house to come and engagement because the trail when so many find themselves will support. We choose to look for Common Ground the the at the end of the 18th century, Great Britain began to conquer and colonize australia. From the very beginning of the british penetration to the continent, natives were subjected to severe violence and deliberate extra patient. According to modern historians, in the 1st 140 years, there were at least 270 massacres of local depot. Any resistance to the british was answered with double cruelty. Hundreds of natives were killed for the murder of one settler. Indigenous australians were not considered complete people. No wild beast of the forest was ever hunted down with such unsparing perseverance as they are. Men, women, and children are shot when ever they can be met with squatter. Henry myrick wrote in a letter to his family in england, in 1846. 00 plus strategy as fast as these rightly described as blood soaked in races. If at the beginning of colonization, there were one and a half 1000000 indigenous People Living on the continent, then by the beginning of the 20th century, their number had degrees still 100000 people. Despite the indisputable historical facts, the problem of full recognition of the crimes of white australians against aborigines has not been resolved so far. The infantry is porch by these apcs is now retrieve are teasing or i guess the visits these upper rotors are region to the bunk. The western media is claims. The Ukranian Army has reached the russian defenses with a very different picture on the ground of the more than 80 protesters were arrested on friday alone. As a 4th consecutive day of protests, brock armenia over the government, surrendered. Im going to car box as are by john kenya and india demand reforms