Kim Kreem: Protect whistle-blowers

Employees who blow the whistle on food safety, unsafe working conditions and animal abuse are imperative to holding businesses accountable for unethical practices. They provide the public with access to important information that would otherwise be kept hidden – information that we have the right to know.

Industries like industrial agriculture have begun to target brave whistle-blowers by lobbying for “ag-gag” legislation intended to silence and intimidate them.

In North Carolina, SB 433/HB 405 are misguided bills that would do just that. As workers, we have the responsibility to expose abuse and malpractice when we see it, whether it’s in a day care center or a factory farm.

These large corporations already have enough protections under the law. We need to fight to maintain the few rights we have as employees by urging legislators to oppose SB 433/HB 405.

This story was originally published May 16, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Kim Kreem: Protect whistle-blowers."