Today in Labor History November 13, 1974: Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union activist Karen Silkwood was assassinated during her investigation of a Kerr-McGee nuclear plant in Oklahoma. Her car was run off the road while she attempted to deliver documents to a New York Times reporter. Silkwood first started working at Kerr-McGee in 1972. She joined the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers union and participated in a strike. After the strike, her comrades elected her to the union’s bargaining committee. She was the first woman to attain that status at Kerr-McGee. In this role, one of her duties was to investigate health and safety issues. Not surprisingly, she discovered numerous violations, including exposure of workers to contamination. The union accused Kerr-McGee of falsifying inspection records, manufacturing faulty fuel rods and other safety violations. After testifying to the Atomic Energy Commission, Silkwood discovered that her own body and home were contaminated with radiation. Her body contained 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination and she was expelling contaminated air from her lungs. Her house was so contaminated they had to destroy much of her personal property.

Later, she decided to go public with documentation proving the company’s negligence. She left a meeting with union officials in order to meet a New York Times journalist. She brought a binder and packet of documents supporting her allegations with her. However, she never made it, dying in a suspicious car crash. The documents were never found. Some journalists believe she was rammed from behind by another vehicle. Investigators noted damage to the read of her car that would be consistent with this hypothesis. She had also received death threats shortly before her death. However, no one has yet substantiated the claims of foul play.

In 1979, an Oklahoma jury ruled in favor of the estate of atomic worker Karen Silkwood. Kerr-McGee Nuclear Company was ordered to pay $505,000 in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages for negligence leading to Silkwood’s plutonium contamination. On appeal, the court reduced the settlement to a pitiful $5,000, the estimated value of her property losses. In 1984, the Supreme Court restored the original verdict, but Kerr-McGee again threatened to appeal. Ultimately, Silkwood’s family settled out of court for $1.38 million and the company never had to admit any wrongdoing.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #silkwood #atomic #union #nuclear #nytimes #assassination

Georges Delerue: One of France’s leading, most versatile and enduring film composers

TAGS: #GeorgesDelerue #FilmComposer #FrenchFilmComposer #Soundtrack #Cesar #Oscar #AcademyAward #LaNuitAmericaine #DayForNight #LeDernierMetro #Silkwood #SteelMagnolias #FilmNews #FilmIndustry #EntertainmentNews #Filmbuzz #FilmCommunity #Filmbuff #Moviebuff #Filmmaking #Moviemaking #Storytelling #BehindTheScenes #Hollywood #Film #Movies #Cinema

URL: https://filmtalk.org/2016/01/22/georges-delerue-one-of-frances-leading-most-acclaimed-and-even-immortal-film-composers/

Today in Labor History May 18, 1979: An Oklahoma jury ruled in favor of the estate of atomic worker Karen Silkwood. Kerr-McGee Nuclear Company was ordered to pay $505,000 in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages for negligence leading to Silkwood’s plutonium contamination. On appeal, the court reduced the settlement to a pitiful $5,000, the estimated value of her property losses. In 1984, the Supreme Court restored the original verdict, but Kerr-McGee again threatened to appeal. Ultimately, Silkwood’s family settled out of court for $1.38 million and the company never had to admit any wrongdoing.

Silkwood first started working at Kerr-McGee in 1972. She joined the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers union and participated in a strike. After the strike, her comrades elected her to the union’s bargaining committee. She was the first woman to attain that status at Kerr-McGee. In this role, one of her duties was to investigate health and safety issues. Not surprisingly, she discovered numerous violations, including exposure of workers to contamination. The union accused Kerr-McGee of falsifying inspection records, manufacturing faulty fuel rods and other safety violations. After testifying to the Atomic Energy Commission, Silkwood discovered that her own body and home were contaminated with radiation. Her body contained 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination and she was expelling contaminated air from her lungs. Her house was so contaminated they had to destroy much of her personal property.

Later, she decided to go public with documentation proving the company’s negligence. She left a meeting with union officials in order to meet a New York Times journalist. She brought a binder and packet of documents supporting her allegations with her. However, she never made it, dying in a suspicious car crash. The documents were never found. Some journalists believe she was rammed from behind by another vehicle. Investigators noted damage to the read of her car that would be consistent with this hypothesis. She had also received death threats shortly before her death. However, no one has yet substantiated the claims of foul play.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #silkwood #union #atomic #nuclear #radioactive #contamination #murder #unionbusting #assassination #strike #organizer

Good ol' #KerrMcGee. You remember them, right? #KarenSilkwood's employer!

Karen #Silkwood's sudden death unpacked in ABC documentary

The four-part podcast unearths never-before-heard audio tapes.

ByDoc Louallen
November 14, 2024

"Fifty years ago, the death of a 28-year-old #plutonium plant worker and whistleblower in Oklahoma -- a death many found mysterious and sparked decades of speculation -- shocked the nation.

"The official story was that Karen Silkwood died in a one-car crash on Nov. 13, 1974. She was on her way to meet a New York Times journalist, reportedly to hand over documents she'd secretly been collecting at her job at a #NuclearFacility. The Oklahoma State Highway Patrol concluded that Silkwood fell asleep at the wheel -- possibly under the influence of prescribed drugs --- drove off the highway, crashed into a ditch, and died.

"'We’ve never believed it,' Mike Boettcher said of the official narrative. Boettcher and his reporting partner Bob Sands, both veteran Oklahoma journalists, say many in Oklahoma speculate that Karen Silkwood may have died for what she knew.

"Silkwood's story has become widely known, inspiring several books, articles, and a major motion picture.
Silkwood worked at a nuclear fuel production plant that manufactured #plutonium fuel rods to power a new type of nuclear reactor, which was part of a multi-million dollar experiment to enhance #nuclear energy. When she noticed what she felt were #unsafe working conditions -- such as leaks, spills and co-workers frequently getting #contaminated with #RadioactiveMaterial -- she spoke up and tried to make improvements.

"'Karen became nuclear energy's first #whistleblower, though the term whistleblower was just starting to be used,' Boettcher said. 'This was at a time when the idea of someone inside of a big corporation exposing alleged misdeeds was shocking.'

"Silkwood's allegations, contamination, and untimely death sparked an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, an FBI inquiry, a civil lawsuit, several appeals, a congressional hearing and two appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court."

Read more:
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/karen-silkwoods-sudden-death-unpacked-abc-documentary/story?id=115778837
#CoverUp #NoNukes #NuclearIndustry #BigOilAndGas #WhoKilledKarenSilkwood #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

Today in Labor History November 13, 1974: Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union activist Karen Silkwood was assassinated during her investigation of a Kerr-McGee nuclear plant in Oklahoma. Her car was run off the road while she attempted to deliver documents to a New York Times reporter.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #silkwood #atomic #union #nuclear #nytimes #assassination

One of the first observers to recognize the impact of NSA’s capabilities in the emerging digital landscape was #David #Burnham,
-- a pioneering investigative journalist and author who passed away earlier this month at 91 years of age.

While the obituary that ran at his old home,
The New York Times, rightly emphasized Burnham’s ground-breaking investigations of police corruption and the shoddy safety standards of the nuclear power industry
(depicted, respectively, in the films “#Serpico” and “#Silkwood”),

those in the digital rights world are especially appreciative of his prescience when it came to the issues we care about deeply.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/appreciation-david-burnham