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Subject: [SLDRTY-L]: A Frightening Ordeal
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A Frightening Ordeal=20
By Brian Ross and David Scott
A I K E N C O U N T Y, S.C. Jan. 28 - A few weeks after Gary McClain =
started a union-organizing campaign at his South Carolina plant last =
summer, the local sheriff got a phone call.
As a result, McClain was apprehended at gunpoint, detained, denied a =
lawyer, drugged and declared mentally ill.=20
"This is over the top!" says labor lawyer Michael Gottesman, "This is =
so awful . so terrifying that it's absolutely going to silence any =
effort to form a union at this workplace."=20
Gottesman should know. Twenty-five years ago, he argued the case of =
nuclear worker Karen Silkwood before the U.S. Supreme Court.=20
A Call to Unionize
McClain worked for the local plant of the oil products giant, Tenneco, =
in Aiken County, S.C., for 17 years, with no history of violence on or =
off the job.=20
Last year, he and a few co-workers began to fear for their jobs when a =
new plant manager announced workers would have to pass a battery of =
technical exams or be fired. They contacted the International Union of =
Operating Engineers, and McClain quickly emerged as their leader.=20
"You hear 'em out on the floor talking about it, saying, well, we need =
a union here. I just got fed up," McClain says. "I wasn't just gonna =
talk about getting one in, I was gonna try my best to get one in."=20
Involuntary Commitment
McClain's organizing campaign was still in its infancy last July when =
he challenged plant manager Joe Garrison at a company meeting to allow a =
union representative to speak to the work crews. The very next day, =
Tenneco called the local sheriff reporting that McClain was threatening =
workers and expressed concern that he might be an imminent danger in the =
workplace.=20
Hours later, as he drove to work, McClain found himself surrounded at =
gunpoint by sheriff's deputies and a K-9 unit. Instead of arresting =
McClain, who had committed no crime, deputies took him to the local =
hospital where, apparently, on the basis of his employer's claims passed =
on by sheriff's deputies, an emergency-room doctor involuntarily =
committed him to a mental hospital.=20
McClain spent the following two weeks in confinement being forcibly =
injected with anti-psychotic drugs before legal intervention gained his =
release.=20
Tenneco: McClain a Threat
Tenneco's Garrison says the company isn't responsible for McClain's =
confinement. The company, he added, took no action other than making the =
sheriff aware of its concerns about McClain after he says he received =
complaints from unnamed employees.=20
"Members of my staff relayed concerns and fears from employees," =
Garrison tells 20/20. But in the course of our hour-long interview, he =
was unable to site one specific instance of violence or threat by =
McClain.=20
Privacy Concerns
McClain's involuntary commitment also raises critical issues of =
workplace privacy. Our investigation found that Tenneco executives used =
McClain's personnel file to contact his primary care physician.=20
Documents obtained by 20/20 show that a Tenneco official then called a =
psychiatrist McClain says previously treated him for depression. =
According to that psychiatrist, the executive, who had never met =
McClain, described him as exhibiting "paranoid thoughts and behavior."=20
According to Aiken County Sheriff Howard Sellers, Tenneco passed this =
profile along with the unspecified threats attributed to McClain on to =
Sellers who swiftly deployed the SWAT team.=20
"It's the sort of thing that went on in the Soviet Union, except the =
Soviets did it with a bit more due process," says psychiatrist and =
Georgetown University law professor Gregg Bloche of the McClain case.=20
Bloche, who has studied workplace privacy extensively, believes =
current law does not protect American workers from intrusion by =
employers into the private records of their workers.=20
"That's what 160 million Americans who get their health insurance =
through the workplace need to be worried about," says Bloche.=20
Unresolved Issues
For his part, Sellers says he acted responsibly on the information he =
received from Tenneco, noting that the company did not make him aware of =
McClain's role in the union battle. Because Aiken County has been hard =
hit by workplace violence, with two fatal shootings in recent years, =
Sellers says every report of a potential threat is taken seriously.=20
Since his release, McClain has been evaluated by a court-appointed =
psychiatrist who said no further treatment was needed. Tenneco continues =
to bar him from returning to work, while the National Labor Relations =
Board considers the case, and a private civil rights lawsuit is being =
brought against the company and the sheriff.
Whispers at Work=20
20/20=20
Friday, Jan. 28, 2000=20
(This is an unedited, uncorrected transcript.)=20
Prepared by Burrelle's Information Services, which takes sole =
responsibility for accuracy of transcription.
BARBARA WALTERS Good evening and welcome to 20/20 FRIDAY. You are =
about to meet a man who lived through a terrifying ordeal, all because =
his boss made one phone call. The man was handcuffed, drugged, locked up =
in a mental ward against his will. And why? He says simply because he =
spoke up at work. Chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross has a =
frightening story for any worker.=20
BRIAN ROSS, ABCNEWS (VO) In the small rural county in South Carolina =
where his family has lived since the Revolutionary War, Gary McClain has =
driven the same road to the same job, to the same factory for some 17 =
years. Until one day last summer.=20
GARY MCCLAIN I was going through New Ellenton on Highway 19.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) The day Gary McClain became labeled an imminent =
threat, a possible workplace time bomb.=20
GARY MCCLAIN There was, at least, six patrol cars stopped me right in =
the middle of the road, yelling, 'Turn off your truck. Get out of the =
truck and keep your hands where we can see them.'=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) It was the beginning of a trip into a dark world =
filled with innuendo, fear and the power of a big corporation.=20
GARY MCCLAIN The officers was coming from this direction, from that =
direction, from my side and behind me.=20
BRIAN ROSS With guns?=20
GARY MCCLAIN With guns drawn.=20
BRIAN ROSS How?=20
GARY MCCLAIN Aimed at me.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) In the course of less than an hour, 45-year-old Gary =
McClain, a man with no criminal record, no record of violence on the =
job, would be handcuffed, detained, refused a lawyer, drugged and =
involuntarily committed as mentally ill.=20
GARY MCCLAIN It was like a nightmare. I mean, but it-it was really =
happening to you.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) McClain is a church-going man, well-read and =
thoughtful. Unmarried, he says the only mental health problems he ever =
had involved counseling for depression and a few visits a year to a =
local psychiatrist, something millions of Americans do.=20
GARY MCCLAIN And I went over there voluntarily, because I was having =
trouble with some depression.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) But his confidential mental health record would later =
be distorted and used against him. McClain worked for the huge oil =
products conglomerate Tenneco at Tenneco's plastic packaging plant in =
Beach Island, South Carolina, which produces plastic food trays and =
Hefty plastic plates, a Tenneco brand name.=20
JOE GARRISON The plant employs a little over 250 employees...=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) It was plant manager Joe Garrison who, along with =
Tenneco corporate executives, made the decision to call the sheriff, =
based on what Garrison says were complaints from other workers.=20
JOE GARRISON Members of my staff relayed concerns and fears from =
employees that talked to them.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) Yet, in the course of an hour-long interview with =
20/20, Garrison was unable to cite a single concrete threat or statement =
made by McClain, referring only to the vague hearsay complaints of =
employees and managers whose names and positions Garrison refused to =
provide.=20
JOE GARRISON There ar-are at least 20.=20
BRIAN ROSS At least 20? Do you have a list somewhere?=20
JOE GARRISON No, I don't.=20
BRIAN ROSS And 20 people all said they were afraid of Gary McClain.=20
JOE GARRISON They didn't-some said they were specifically afraid, but =
some said they were concerned.=20
BRIAN ROSS What were they afraid of?=20
JOE GARRISON They were afraid of working-of coming to work.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) But it turns out the great fear of Gary McClain began =
around the same time he became known at the plant for trying to organize =
a union, he says to protect older, higher-paid workers like himself. =
Wearing a red cap from the Operating Engineers of the AFL-CIO.=20
GARY MCCLAIN I believe in standing up for what I believe in.=20
BRIAN ROSS So you became very public about it?=20
GARY MCCLAIN Yeah, I became very vocal about it, too.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) It was July 28th last year when McClain, in front of =
everyone on his shift, challenged plant manager Joe Garrison over the =
union.
The union you opposed?=20
JOE GARRISON A union a-I opposed-yes, a-Gary raised his voice...=20
BRIAN ROSS He interrupted you?=20
JOE GARRISON He interrupted me.=20
GARY MCCLAIN I asked him point-blank, I said, 'Why don't you let a =
union representative come in here and speak to all the crews?' And he =
said, 'We have enough of those in here already.' And he said, 'Dismiss.' =
BRIAN ROSS You were on a collision course.=20
GARY MCCLAIN Oh, yes, I was-I was marked.=20
BRIAN ROSS Did you have a gun?=20
GARY MCCLAIN No. I didn't have any weapons.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) It was the very next day that Tenneco contacted the =
Aiken County Sheriff, which used a SWAT team, the canine team and the =
sheriff himself to take Gary McClain into custody as he drove to work, =
unarmed.=20
GARY MCCLAIN They put me in handcuffs, they walked me to a patrol car. =
While I was sitting in the patrol car, this officer came over the air on =
the radio saying, 'We got that Tenneco package.'=20
BRIAN ROSS 'We got that Tenneco package?'=20
GARY MCCLAIN Yeah, he said 'that Tenneco package.'=20
BRIAN ROSS Referring to you, you think?=20
GARY MCCLAIN Right. I was the Tenneco package.=20
SHERIFF HOWARD SELLERS What they told us was this individual had =
frightened them and frightened co-workers.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) Aiken County Sheriff Howard Sellers says it was the =
kind of report from a major company that he couldn't ignore. =
Particularly since the Aiken County area has twice in the last five =
years been the scene of workplace violence, with six people killed. =
Something Tenneco says was very much on the minds of its employees.=20
JOE GARRISON They were saying things like, 'I don't want to sit next =
to a member of management in case Gary comes in and I'm in the line of =
fire.'=20
BRIAN ROSS You have his personnel file available to you?=20
JOE GARRISON There is a personnel file for Mr. McClain.=20
BRIAN ROSS In that file, was there any incident in the last two or =
three years that would suggest he is this dangerous person?=20
JOE GARRISON There's nothing in his file that I'm aware of that would =
suggest that.=20
BRIAN ROSS You know there have been many cases where disgruntled =
employees at big companies, small companies...=20
GARY MCCLAIN I know that, and that's what Tenneco's planned on. =
They're building up everybody's fears. You know, trying to make them =
think that I'm a dangerous person. And I-I'm not. I never threatened =
anybody out there.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) Unlike Gary McClain, the alleged killers in the two =
shootings around Aiken County had records of specific threats and =
violence.=20
HOWARD SELLERS We acted on-I think, responsibly with information we =
had at the time.=20
BRIAN ROSS Did they tell you that he was active in trying to organize =
a union?=20
HOWARD SELLERS No, they did not.=20
JOE GARRISON I didn't tell-or the company didn't make the sheriff =
aware that this was a union supporter and that's why...=20
BRIAN ROSS You withheld that information from him?=20
JOE GARRISON I-it's not that we withheld it. It wasn't germane to our =
concerns.=20
BRIAN ROSS Do you wish they had told you that?=20
HOWARD SELLERS I think it would have been very helpful.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) As a legal justification to stop McClain, the sheriff =
used an unserved, four-year-old arrest warrant that grew out a feud with =
a neighbor. McClain, an avid outdoorsman, had fired his hunting rifle in =
the back of his yard.=20
GARY MCCLAIN I had a bullet in the chamber, it would not come out, so =
I fired it because I didn't want to leave a live round in my chamber =
and, you know, have a loaded gun in the house like that.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) At the time, 1995, deputies ruled the complaint =
unfounded and the warrant the neighbor swore out sat ignored among =
thousands of such minor warrants in a bureaucratic backlog, until =
Tenneco called.
As a practical matter, it wasn't really a high priority?=20
HOWARD SELLERS No, it wasn't-it was a very low priority.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) In fact, the warrant wasn't even served when McClain =
was stopped. Instead of taking him to the county jail, the armed =
deputies delivered a handcuffed McClain to the county hospital for a =
mental evaluation.=20
HOWARD SELLERS He appeared to be confused. He appeared to be =
agitated...=20
BRIAN ROSS Wouldn't you be if you were stopped by your own SWAT team?=20
HOWARD SELLERS Yes, sir. And we chose to have take the route of having =
him evaluated, to see if there was anything to this mental health =
allegation against him.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) Based on hospital records, Tenneco's vague, unverified =
description of McClain as a threat appears to have been simply passed on =
by sheriff's deputies to the emergency room doctor and apparently =
accepted as evidence enough that McClain was mentally ill and posed a =
substantial risk to himself and others.=20
GARY MCCLAIN They told me they was wanting me to take a shot. I don't =
know what kind of medication it was. And I told them, 'No, I'm not =
taking it.' So then, the nurse called in the two deputies to hold me. =
And they gave me the shot.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) Under an emergency provision in South Carolina law, =
McClain was then taken by sheriff's deputies to a mental hospital where =
he would spend two weeks detained and drugged against his will before a =
judge finally released him.
Did you think you'd ever get out of there?=20
GARY MCCLAIN At the time, I di-I didn't know if I was going to get =
out. I said, 'I haven't done anything to be here.' You know, I-I'd speak =
up. But see, they looked at that as being mentally ill.=20
BRIAN ROSS More evidence...=20
GARY MCCLAIN Right.=20
BRIAN ROSS ...that you were mentally ill?=20
GARY MCCLAIN Because the more I denounced it, the more they-the more =
it convinced them, 'Oh, this man is sick. He's delusional.'=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) The hospital records tell the nightmare. "Patient =
denies allegations. Patient has an angry affect. Patient refuses =
medication."=20
GARY MCCLAIN Here I was, you know, telling the truth, and nobody =
believed me. And I cried.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) A psychiatrist appointed by the judge to evaluate =
McClain has now said McClain is not in need of any further treatment. =
And McClain suing Tenneco and the sheriff for what he claims is a =
violation of his civil rights, a case gaining great attention in the =
American labor movement.=20
MICHAEL GOTTESMAN This is, you know, over the top. I've never seen a =
company before literally get the local authorities to conspire to put an =
employee in a mental institution for doing this.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) We asked Georgetown University law professor Michael =
Gottesman, who's handled numerous union cases before the Supreme Court, =
including that of nuclear worker Karen Silkwood, to look at this case, =
which he called a new low in anti-union tactics.=20
MICHAEL GOTTESMAN It's diabolically clever, because it accomplishes =
all the purposes that firing the employee would do, but it accomplishes =
even more. If we put him away in a mental institution, we've really shut =
him up. Who's going to step up and say, 'OK, I'm next. Since Gary is no =
longer here, I'm the one who's going to stand up and argue for why we =
should have a union.'=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) In fact, the union says its efforts to organize at the =
Tenneco plant have been stopped dead. We weren't allowed on the plant =
property and with security guards watching, most workers wouldn't stop =
to talk. One who did said McClain was a bit of a loner but no threat to =
anyone.
Was he threatening people because of the union or...=20
MAN No.=20
BRIAN ROSS No?=20
MAN They might have took it as a threat because of the way he is, =
because he is a pretty alone-a quiet person to his self.=20
BRIAN ROSS Is he insane?=20
MAN No.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) There are some Tenneco plants around the country which =
are unionized, and, since the case became public, Tenneco has maintained =
that what happened to Gary McClain had nothing to do with the union and =
was the sole responsibility of the sheriff's office.=20
JOE GARRISON We gave them no encouragement, no suggestions. We a-we =
just made them aware of a situation that was going on in our plant.=20
BRIAN ROSS You had nothing to do with him being locked up as mentally =
ill?=20
JOE GARRISON Absolutely not.=20
BRIAN ROSS You really believe that?=20
JOE GARRISON I-I certainly believe that. I know that...=20
BRIAN ROSS Are you saying that the position had as union organizer had =
nothing to do with it?=20
JOE GARRISON It had nothing to do with it.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) But that's very much called into question by what a =
top Tenneco executive allegedly said when he contacted Gary McClain's =
personal psychiatrist in Aiken, South Carolina, using McClain's =
personnel records to do so. In a memo written the same day McClain was =
picked up, the psychiatrist says Tenneco's director of occupational =
health, a Dr. Burley, contacted him and described McClain as "very much =
involved in drumming up support for the union" and displaying "paranoid =
thinking a behaviors."
Had the Dr. Burley ever met Gary McClain?=20
JOE GARRISON I don't believe that Dr. Burley ever me-met Mr. McClain.=20
BRIAN ROSS Did he ever examine him?=20
JOE GARRISON If he didn't meet him, I don't think he could have =
examined him.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) Nevertheless, according to the memo, the Tenneco =
doctor, Dr. Burley, from his office in New York, said he believed 'Mr. =
McClain suffered from a mental illness, appeared to be dangerous,' and, =
Dr. Burley said, he would be passing on his views to the sheriff to =
'initiate an involuntary commitment.' Tenneco would not permit Dr. =
Burley to talk with 20/20.=20
PROFESSOR GREGG BLOCHE It is the sort of thing that went on in the =
Soviet Union. Except that the Soviets did it with a bit more due =
process.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) Law professor Gregg Bloche, also a psychiatrist, says =
the memo clearly shows that Tenneco was concerned about the union and =
raises serious questions about how big companies, like Tenneco, try to =
pry into employee health records.=20
GREGG BLOCHE If you see a psychiatrist, if you just have something =
embarrassing that's physically wrong with you that you wouldn't want =
your employer and the world, potentially, to know, you don't have =
protection. That's what 160 million Americans who get their health =
insurance through the workplace need to be worried about.=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) At the request of the sheriff, the FBI has now been =
asked to investigate the case of Gary McClain, who hasn't worked a day =
since he was declared mentally ill.=20
GARY MCCLAIN To be done that way and-and you know there's not anything =
wrong with you and for somebody to treat you like you're just some =
sicko, it hurts.=20
BARBARA WALTERS Brian, Gary McClain is in his 40s and has years ahead =
in which to work. Is he employable?=20
BRIAN ROSS Well, it's the kind of accusation that once made is-leaves =
a stigma very hard, if not impossible, to remove. And Gary wonders how =
to ever explain it to a future boss.=20
BARBARA WALTERS So how do things stand now?=20
BRIAN ROSS Well, Tenneco is paying him, but they won't let him on the =
property. And they won't give him his job back unless he sees a =
psychiatrist they appoint. Meantime, he's appealing to the National =
Labor Relations Board and a ruling could come very shortly.=20
BARBARA WALTERS And if the ruling is in his favor, then they have to =
hire him back?=20
BRIAN ROSS That's exactly right.=20
BARBARA WALTERS Even though it might not be a very pleasant place for =
him to...=20
BRIAN ROSS (VO) That's what he fears. Very tough situation for Gary.=20
BARBARA WALTERS Tough situation all around. Thank you, Brian. I do =
want to tell our viewers that you and Dr. Gregg Bloche, who is one of =
the experts in Brian's report, are going to be available to chat online =
with anyone who has questions. Right after this program?
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<P>A Frightening Ordeal</B> </P></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE style=3D"MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<P><I><FONT size=3D1><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>By Brian =
Ross and David=20
Scott</FONT></P></I><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>A I K E N C O U N T Y, S.C. Jan. 28</B> — A few weeks after =
Gary McClain=20
started a union-organizing campaign at his South Carolina plant last =
summer,=20
the local sheriff got a phone call.<BR>As a result, McClain was =
apprehended at=20
gunpoint, detained, denied a lawyer, drugged and declared mentally =
ill.=20
<BR>"This is over the top!" says labor lawyer Michael Gottesman, "This =
is so=20
awful … so terrifying that it’s absolutely going to =
silence any effort to form=20
a union at this workplace." <BR>Gottesman should know. Twenty-five =
years ago,=20
he argued the case of nuclear worker Karen Silkwood before the U.S. =
Supreme=20
Court. </FONT></FONT></P><B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>A Call to =
Unionize</FONT></P></B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>McClain worked for the local =
plant of the=20
oil products giant, Tenneco, in Aiken County, S.C., for 17 years, with =
no=20
history of violence on or off the job. <BR>Last year, he and a few =
co-workers=20
began to fear for their jobs when a new plant manager announced =
workers would=20
have to pass a battery of technical exams or be fired. They contacted =
the=20
International Union of Operating Engineers, and McClain quickly =
emerged as=20
their leader. <BR>"You hear ’em out on the floor talking about =
it, saying,=20
well, we need a union here. I just got fed up," McClain says. "I =
wasn’t just=20
gonna talk about getting one in, I was gonna try my best to get one =
in."=20
</FONT></P><B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>Involuntary =
Commitment</FONT></P></B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>McClain’s organizing =
campaign was still in=20
its infancy last July when he challenged plant manager Joe Garrison at =
a=20
company meeting to allow a union representative to speak to the work =
crews.=20
The very next day, Tenneco called the local sheriff reporting that =
McClain was=20
threatening workers and expressed concern that he might be an imminent =
danger=20
in the workplace. <BR>Hours later, as he drove to work, McClain found =
himself=20
surrounded at gunpoint by sheriff’s deputies and a K-9 unit. =
Instead of=20
arresting McClain, who had committed no crime, deputies took him to =
the local=20
hospital where, apparently, on the basis of his employer’s =
claims passed on by=20
sheriff’s deputies, an emergency-room doctor involuntarily =
committed him to a=20
mental hospital. <BR>McClain spent the following two weeks in =
confinement=20
being forcibly injected with anti-psychotic drugs before legal =
intervention=20
gained his release. </FONT></P><B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>Tenneco: McClain a =
Threat</FONT></P></B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>Tenneco’s Garrison says =
the company isn’t=20
responsible for McClain’s confinement. The company, he added, =
took no action=20
other than making the sheriff aware of its concerns about McClain =
after he=20
says he received complaints from unnamed employees. <BR>"Members of my =
staff=20
relayed concerns and fears from employees," Garrison tells =
<I>20/20.</I> But=20
in the course of our hour-long interview, he was unable to site one =
specific=20
instance of violence or threat by McClain. </FONT></P><B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>Privacy =
Concerns</FONT></P></B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>McClain’s involuntary =
commitment also=20
raises critical issues of workplace privacy. Our investigation found =
that=20
Tenneco executives used McClain’s personnel file to contact his =
primary care=20
physician. <BR>Documents obtained by <I>20/20</I> show that a Tenneco =
official=20
then called a psychiatrist McClain says previously treated him for =
depression.=20
According to that psychiatrist, the executive, who had never met =
McClain,=20
described him as exhibiting "paranoid thoughts and behavior." =
<BR>According to=20
Aiken County Sheriff Howard Sellers, Tenneco passed this profile along =
with=20
the unspecified threats attributed to McClain on to Sellers who =
swiftly=20
deployed the SWAT team. <BR>"It’s the sort of thing that went on =
in the Soviet=20
Union, except the Soviets did it with a bit more due process," says=20
psychiatrist and Georgetown University law professor Gregg Bloche of =
the=20
McClain case. <BR>Bloche, who has studied workplace privacy =
extensively,=20
believes current law does not protect American workers from intrusion =
by=20
employers into the private records of their workers. <BR>"That’s =
what 160=20
million Americans who get their health insurance through the workplace =
need to=20
be worried about," says Bloche. </FONT></P><B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>Unresolved =
Issues</FONT></P></B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D2>For his part, Sellers says he =
acted=20
responsibly on the information he received from Tenneco, noting that =
the=20
company did not make him aware of McClain’s role in the union =
battle. Because=20
Aiken County has been hard hit by workplace violence, with two fatal =
shootings=20
in recent years, Sellers says every report of a potential threat is =
taken=20
seriously. <BR>Since his release, McClain has been evaluated by a=20
court-appointed psychiatrist who said no further treatment was needed. =
Tenneco=20
continues to bar him from returning to work, while the National Labor=20
Relations Board considers the case, and a private civil rights lawsuit =
is=20
being brought against the company and the =
sheriff.</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE><B>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow" size=3D6>Whispers at Work =
</FONT></P></B></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"/onair/2020/2020Index.html"><B><I>20/20</B></I></A><B>=20
</B><BR><BR><B>Friday, Jan. 28, 2000</B> </FONT></FONT></P><I><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>(This is an unedited, uncorrected transcript.)</I> =
</FONT></FONT></P><I><FONT=20
size=3D2><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow">
<BLOCKQUOTE style=3D"MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<P>Prepared by Burrelle’s Information Services, which takes sole =
responsibility for accuracy of transcription.</I><BR><BR><B>BARBARA=20
WALTERS</B> Good evening and welcome to <I>20/20</I> FRIDAY. You are =
about to=20
meet a man who lived through a terrifying ordeal, all because his boss =
made=20
one phone call. The man was handcuffed, drugged, locked up in a mental =
ward=20
against his will. And why? He says simply because he spoke up at work. =
Chief=20
investigative correspondent Brian Ross has a frightening story for any =
worker.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS, ABCNEWS</B> (VO) In the small rural county in South =
Carolina=20
where his family has lived since the Revolutionary War, Gary McClain =
has=20
driven the same road to the same job, to the same factory for some 17 =
years.=20
Until one day last summer. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> I was going through New Ellenton on Highway 19.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) The day Gary McClain became labeled an imminent =
threat,=20
a possible workplace time bomb. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> There was, at least, six patrol cars stopped me =
right in=20
the middle of the road, yelling, ‘Turn off your truck. Get out =
of the truck=20
and keep your hands where we can see them.’ =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) It was the beginning of a trip into a dark =
world filled=20
with innuendo, fear and the power of a big corporation.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> The officers was coming from this direction, from =
that=20
direction, from my side and behind me. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> With guns? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> With guns drawn. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> How? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Aimed at me. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) In the course of less than an hour, 45-year-old =
Gary=20
McClain, a man with no criminal record, no record of violence on the =
job,=20
would be handcuffed, detained, refused a lawyer, drugged and =
involuntarily=20
committed as mentally ill. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> It was like a nightmare. I mean, but it—it =
was really=20
happening to you. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) McClain is a church-going man, well-read and=20
thoughtful. Unmarried, he says the only mental health problems he ever =
had=20
involved counseling for depression and a few visits a year to a local=20
psychiatrist, something millions of Americans do. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> And I went over there voluntarily, because I was =
having=20
trouble with some depression. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) But his confidential mental health record would =
later=20
be distorted and used against him. McClain worked for the huge oil =
products=20
conglomerate Tenneco at Tenneco’s plastic packaging plant in =
Beach Island,=20
South Carolina, which produces plastic food trays and Hefty plastic =
plates, a=20
Tenneco brand name. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> The plant employs a little over 250 employees...=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) It was plant manager Joe Garrison who, along =
with=20
Tenneco corporate executives, made the decision to call the sheriff, =
based on=20
what Garrison says were complaints from other workers.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> Members of my staff relayed concerns and fears =
from=20
employees that talked to them. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) Yet, in the course of an hour-long interview =
with=20
<I>20/20</I>, Garrison was unable to cite a single concrete threat or=20
statement made by McClain, referring only to the vague hearsay =
complaints of=20
employees and managers whose names and positions Garrison refused to =
provide.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> There ar—are at least 20. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> At least 20? Do you have a list somewhere?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> No, I don’t. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> And 20 people all said they were afraid of Gary =
McClain.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> They didn’t—some said they were =
specifically afraid, but=20
some said they were concerned. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> What were they afraid of? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT =
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> They were afraid of working—of coming to =
work.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) But it turns out the great fear of Gary McClain =
began=20
around the same time he became known at the plant for trying to =
organize a=20
union, he says to protect older, higher-paid workers like himself. =
Wearing a=20
red cap from the Operating Engineers of the AFL-CIO.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> I believe in standing up for what I believe in.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> So you became very public about it?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Yeah, I became very vocal about it, too.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) It was July 28th last year when McClain, in =
front of=20
everyone on his shift, challenged plant manager Joe Garrison over the=20
union.<BR>The union you opposed? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> A union a—I opposed—yes, a—Gary =
raised his voice...=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> He interrupted you? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> He interrupted me. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> I asked him point-blank, I said, ‘Why =
don’t you let a=20
union representative come in here and speak to all the crews?’ =
And he said,=20
‘We have enough of those in here already.’ And he said, =
‘Dismiss.’=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> You were on a collision course. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Oh, yes, I was—I was marked. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Did you have a gun? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> No. I didn’t have any weapons. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) It was the very next day that Tenneco contacted =
the=20
Aiken County Sheriff, which used a SWAT team, the canine team and the =
sheriff=20
himself to take Gary McClain into custody as he drove to work, =
unarmed.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> They put me in handcuffs, they walked me to a =
patrol car.=20
While I was sitting in the patrol car, this officer came over the air =
on the=20
radio saying, ‘We got that Tenneco package.’ =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> ‘We got that Tenneco package?’ =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Yeah, he said ‘that Tenneco package.’=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Referring to you, you think? =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Right. I was the Tenneco package.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>SHERIFF HOWARD SELLERS</B> What they told us was this individual =
had=20
frightened them and frightened co-workers. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) Aiken County Sheriff Howard Sellers says it was =
the=20
kind of report from a major company that he couldn’t ignore. =
Particularly=20
since the Aiken County area has twice in the last five years been the =
scene of=20
workplace violence, with six people killed. Something Tenneco says was =
very=20
much on the minds of its employees. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> They were saying things like, ‘I don’t =
want to sit next to=20
a member of management in case Gary comes in and I’m in the line =
of fire.’=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> You have his personnel file available to you?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> There is a personnel file for Mr. McClain.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> In that file, was there any incident in the last two =
or=20
three years that would suggest he is this dangerous person?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> There’s nothing in his file that I’m =
aware of that would=20
suggest that. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> You know there have been many cases where =
disgruntled=20
employees at big companies, small companies... =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> I know that, and that’s what Tenneco’s =
planned on. They’re=20
building up everybody’s fears. You know, trying to make them =
think that I’m a=20
dangerous person. And I—I’m not. I never threatened =
anybody out there.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) Unlike Gary McClain, the alleged killers in the =
two=20
shootings around Aiken County had records of specific threats and =
violence.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>HOWARD SELLERS</B> We acted on—I think, responsibly with =
information we had=20
at the time. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Did they tell you that he was active in trying to =
organize a=20
union? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>HOWARD SELLERS</B> No, they did not. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> I didn’t tell—or the company =
didn’t make the sheriff aware=20
that this was a union supporter and that’s why... =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> You withheld that information from him?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> I—it’s not that we withheld it. It =
wasn’t germane to our=20
concerns. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Do you wish they had told you that?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>HOWARD SELLERS</B> I think it would have been very helpful.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) As a legal justification to stop McClain, the =
sheriff=20
used an unserved, four-year-old arrest warrant that grew out a feud =
with a=20
neighbor. McClain, an avid outdoorsman, had fired his hunting rifle in =
the=20
back of his yard. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> I had a bullet in the chamber, it would not come =
out, so I=20
fired it because I didn’t want to leave a live round in my =
chamber and, you=20
know, have a loaded gun in the house like that. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) At the time, 1995, deputies ruled the complaint =
unfounded and the warrant the neighbor swore out sat ignored among =
thousands=20
of such minor warrants in a bureaucratic backlog, until Tenneco =
called.<BR>As=20
a practical matter, it wasn’t really a high priority?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>HOWARD SELLERS</B> No, it wasn’t—it was a very low =
priority.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) In fact, the warrant wasn’t even served =
when McClain=20
was stopped. Instead of taking him to the county jail, the armed =
deputies=20
delivered a handcuffed McClain to the county hospital for a mental =
evaluation.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>HOWARD SELLERS</B> He appeared to be confused. He appeared to be=20
agitated... </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Wouldn’t you be if you were stopped by your =
own SWAT team?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>HOWARD SELLERS</B> Yes, sir. And we chose to have take the route of =
having=20
him evaluated, to see if there was anything to this mental health =
allegation=20
against him. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) Based on hospital records, Tenneco’s =
vague, unverified=20
description of McClain as a threat appears to have been simply passed =
on by=20
sheriff’s deputies to the emergency room doctor and apparently =
accepted as=20
evidence enough that McClain was mentally ill and posed a substantial =
risk to=20
himself and others. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> They told me they was wanting me to take a shot. I =
don’t=20
know what kind of medication it was. And I told them, ‘No, =
I’m not taking it.’=20
So then, the nurse called in the two deputies to hold me. And they =
gave me the=20
shot. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) Under an emergency provision in South Carolina =
law,=20
McClain was then taken by sheriff’s deputies to a mental =
hospital where he=20
would spend two weeks detained and drugged against his will before a =
judge=20
finally released him.<BR>Did you think you’d ever get out of =
there?=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> At the time, I di—I didn’t know if I =
was going to get out.=20
I said, ‘I haven’t done anything to be here.’ You =
know, I—I’d speak up. But=20
see, they looked at that as being mentally ill. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> More evidence... </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Right. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> ...that you were mentally ill? =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Because the more I denounced it, the more =
they—the more it=20
convinced them, ‘Oh, this man is sick. He’s =
delusional.’=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) The hospital records tell the nightmare. =
"Patient=20
denies allegations. Patient has an angry affect. Patient refuses =
medication."=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> Here I was, you know, telling the truth, and =
nobody=20
believed me. And I cried. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) A psychiatrist appointed by the judge to =
evaluate=20
McClain has now said McClain is not in need of any further treatment. =
And=20
McClain suing Tenneco and the sheriff for what he claims is a =
violation of his=20
civil rights, a case gaining great attention in the American labor =
movement.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>MICHAEL GOTTESMAN</B> This is, you know, over the top. I’ve =
never seen a=20
company before literally get the local authorities to conspire to put =
an=20
employee in a mental institution for doing this. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) We asked Georgetown University law professor =
Michael=20
Gottesman, who’s handled numerous union cases before the Supreme =
Court,=20
including that of nuclear worker Karen Silkwood, to look at this case, =
which=20
he called a new low in anti-union tactics. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>MICHAEL GOTTESMAN</B> It’s diabolically clever, because it =
accomplishes all=20
the purposes that firing the employee would do, but it accomplishes =
even more.=20
If we put him away in a mental institution, we’ve really shut =
him up. Who’s=20
going to step up and say, ‘OK, I’m next. Since Gary is no =
longer here, I’m the=20
one who’s going to stand up and argue for why we should have a =
union.’=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) In fact, the union says its efforts to organize =
at the=20
Tenneco plant have been stopped dead. We weren’t allowed on the =
plant property=20
and with security guards watching, most workers wouldn’t stop to =
talk. One who=20
did said McClain was a bit of a loner but no threat to anyone.<BR>Was =
he=20
threatening people because of the union or... =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>MAN</B> No. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> No? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>MAN</B> They might have took it as a threat because of the way he =
is,=20
because he is a pretty alone—a quiet person to his self.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Is he insane? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>MAN</B> No. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) There are some Tenneco plants around the =
country which=20
are unionized, and, since the case became public, Tenneco has =
maintained that=20
what happened to Gary McClain had nothing to do with the union and was =
the=20
sole responsibility of the sheriff’s office. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> We gave them no encouragement, no suggestions. We =
a—we=20
just made them aware of a situation that was going on in our plant.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> You had nothing to do with him being locked up as =
mentally=20
ill? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> Absolutely not. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> You really believe that? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> I—I certainly believe that. I know that...=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Are you saying that the position had as union =
organizer had=20
nothing to do with it? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> It had nothing to do with it. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) But that’s very much called into question =
by what a top=20
Tenneco executive allegedly said when he contacted Gary =
McClain’s personal=20
psychiatrist in Aiken, South Carolina, using McClain’s personnel =
records to do=20
so. In a memo written the same day McClain was picked up, the =
psychiatrist=20
says Tenneco’s director of occupational health, a Dr. Burley, =
contacted him=20
and described McClain as "very much involved in drumming up support =
for the=20
union" and displaying "paranoid thinking a behaviors."<BR>Had the Dr. =
Burley=20
ever met Gary McClain? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> I don’t believe that Dr. Burley ever =
me—met Mr. McClain.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Did he ever examine him? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>JOE GARRISON</B> If he didn’t meet him, I don’t think =
he could have=20
examined him. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) Nevertheless, according to the memo, the =
Tenneco=20
doctor, Dr. Burley, from his office in New York, said he believed =
‘Mr. McClain=20
suffered from a mental illness, appeared to be dangerous,’ and, =
Dr. Burley=20
said, he would be passing on his views to the sheriff to =
‘initiate an=20
involuntary commitment.’ Tenneco would not permit Dr. Burley to =
talk with=20
<I>20/20</I>. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>PROFESSOR GREGG BLOCHE</B> It is the sort of thing that went on in =
the=20
Soviet Union. Except that the Soviets did it with a bit more due =
process.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) Law professor Gregg Bloche, also a =
psychiatrist, says=20
the memo clearly shows that Tenneco was concerned about the union and =
raises=20
serious questions about how big companies, like Tenneco, try to pry =
into=20
employee health records. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial =
Narrow"><FONT=20
size=3D2>
<P>GREGG BLOCHE</B> If you see a psychiatrist, if you just have =
something=20
embarrassing that’s physically wrong with you that you =
wouldn’t want your=20
employer and the world, potentially, to know, you don’t have =
protection.=20
That’s what 160 million Americans who get their health insurance =
through the=20
workplace need to be worried about. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) At the request of the sheriff, the FBI has now =
been=20
asked to investigate the case of Gary McClain, who hasn’t worked =
a day since=20
he was declared mentally ill. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>GARY MCCLAIN</B> To be done that way and—and you know =
there’s not anything=20
wrong with you and for somebody to treat you like you’re just =
some sicko, it=20
hurts. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BARBARA WALTERS</B> Brian, Gary McClain is in his 40s and has years =
ahead=20
in which to work. Is he employable? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Well, it’s the kind of accusation that once =
made is—leaves a=20
stigma very hard, if not impossible, to remove. And Gary wonders how =
to ever=20
explain it to a future boss. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BARBARA WALTERS</B> So how do things stand now? =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> Well, Tenneco is paying him, but they won’t =
let him on the=20
property. And they won’t give him his job back unless he sees a =
psychiatrist=20
they appoint. Meantime, he’s appealing to the National Labor =
Relations Board=20
and a ruling could come very shortly. </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BARBARA WALTERS</B> And if the ruling is in his favor, then they =
have to=20
hire him back? </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> That’s exactly right. =
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT=20
face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BARBARA WALTERS</B> Even though it might not be a very pleasant =
place for=20
him to... </FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT =
size=3D2>
<P>BRIAN ROSS</B> (VO) That’s what he fears. Very tough =
situation for Gary.=20
</FONT></FONT></P><B><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow"><FONT size=3D2>
<P>BARBARA WALTERS</B> Tough situation all around. Thank you, Brian. I =
do want=20
to tell our viewers that you and Dr. Gregg Bloche, who is one of the =
experts=20
in Brian’s report, are going to be available to chat online with =
anyone who=20
has questions. Right after this=20
program?</FONT></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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