John Barnett's Life and Death had purpose
Praise Mr. Barnett for
Giving His Life
To Save Yours
Authorities found John Barnett in his car holding a gun in his lap, with a finger on the trigger. But that gun had a huge kickback and therefore would impossible to be in that position with his finger still on the trigger. Notwithstanding that there was no blood splatter inside the car, no photographs of the scene, and earlier that day he had just provided evidence to prove Boeing of criminal fraud.
Mr. Barnett had four hours of deposition remaining the following day. Having walked in his shoes, I will tell you that nobody walks off the field in the fourth quarter of the super bowl when you’re ahead, despite the stress and battering of the game. All this leads me to believe that this was more than a suicide. While we cannot bring Mr. Barnett back to life, at the very least his death will not be in vain, because his death has ignited others to change the law.
As you know I have been fighting for reform of the AIR21 law for years. I created a petition for that effort. Please sign
HERE if you have not done so yet. Now, in the shadow of Mr. Barnett's death, action is finally being taken. I worked closely with, and fought for language, in the AIR21 reform act with attorneys and officials from DC. While they did not get this on the Aviation Reauthorization Act this last round, we must encourage this change sooner than later. You can help by writing to your Congressmen, Senator the FAA administration, the Aviation Transportation Board, or your local newspaper and send the copy attached here.
Let's Improve Aviation Safety Together
Memorandum From: Stakeholders favoring stronger protection for aviation safety advocates.
To: Relevant Congressional offices and committees
Re: Language to modernize AIR21 protections
The recent death of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett highlights the inadequacy of protections under the AIR21 statute. 49 U.S.C. §42121(a). The Boeing fiascos are déjà vu about a quality control breakdown that could and should have been corrected long ago.
Mr. Barnett had been protesting for over a decade, initially through the Boeing corporation and then through current legal rights (the AIR21 procedural mechanisms) that proceeded at a molasses pace. When anti-retaliation rights in AIR21 were first enacted in 2000, they reflected best practices at the time. Over a decade later, however, they have become badly outdated and now are primitive compared to 16 corporate whistleblower laws that Congress subsequently enacted unanimously.
While some additional amendments have been made to AIR21 in recent years, Barnett’s death and the ongoing significant safety failures with airplanes demonstrate that AIR21 must be strengthened to encourage workers in the industry to speak up before passengers are harmed. The suggestions below are for an AIR21 Safety Advocate Act, which we think the current law should be renamed. These recommendations are the menu of where AIR21 needs updating to keep pace with other corporate accountability laws, and include language to provide solutions.
Read the Entire Memo Here
I'm not sure if a plea deal is justice,
But a law change would be!
Enjoy the Journey!Dr. Karlene Petitt
PhD. MBA. MHS.
A350, B777, A330, B747-400, B747-200, B767, B757, B737, B727
Like I previously stated, we need many more Karlene Pettit’s in this world. She highlights the saying “You’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.”
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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