The Washington Post - 18.09.2019

A24 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2019

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LOCAL OPINIONS

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W

hat is the main purpose of the multiple

lawsuits seeking to hold the p harmaceuti-

cal industry liable for the epidemic of

opioid addiction a nd death t hat has s wept

the country over the past two decades? By filing for

bankruptcy and offering to distribute billions of

dollars among jurisdictions that agree to settle their

claims against i t, Purdue P harma has i mplied t hat the

plaintiffs are really interested in one thing, money.

And undoubtedly they are: Purdue’s cash could do a

lot of good for victims of opioid addiction, especially

if it does indeed g et s pent on addiction t reatment and

on preventing new addiction, as opposed to being

diverted for general purposes as much of the nation-

wide tobacco lawsuit settlement was.

Nevertheless, the plaintiffs also seek justice. They

want accountability, and they want it to be not only

corporate but also personal, including members of

the Sackler family that controlled Purdue and got

fantastically wealthy from sales of its signature opi-

oid painkiller, OxyContin. Purdue’s proposal, which

includes no new admission of wrongdoing, and

which could be funded in large part from the pro-

ceeds of spinning off a Purdue international subsid-

iary, as well as future OxyContin sales, does not

necessarily deliver that.

Nor does it deliver the retrospective transparency

— full disclosure of Purdue’s internal practices and

procedures — that many of the plaintiffs demand.

OxyContin is, after all, the product whose aggressive

and — as the company admitted in a 2007 plea

bargain — sometimes illegal marketing has been

plausibly blamed for igniting the epidemic. The

United States, and other countries, will be better

equipped to prevent a similar disaster i n the future i f

we know, i n detail, all the c auses of this o ne.

And so while attorneys general for 24 states and

five U.S. territories have accepted the P urdue propos-

al, we sympathize with the equivalent number of

attorneys general, including Karl A. Racine of the

District, Brian E. Frosh (D) of Maryland and Mark

R. Herring (D) of Virginia, who have so far refused it.

Certainly we can understand why they would not

want to settle before understanding the full nature

and purpose of the $1 billion that members of the

Sackler family shuffled among trusts and overseas

bank accounts, via wire t ransfer, i n recent years. N ew

York s tate d ocumented t he t ransactions after issuing

a subpoena for company records; a spokesman for

the f amily has c alled t hem “perfectly legal.”

There is a risk for these states, as the lawyers for

Purdue and the Sacklers undoubtedly contemplated

in structuring their s ettlement offer as they did. Once

a judge approves the company’s bankruptcy petition,

all unsettled lawsuits are frozen, and the plaintiffs in

those cases go t o the back of the line for a share of the

company’s resources — while those who do agree to

settle get paid f irst. The holdouts may, i n the end, w in

no verdict, and receive no payment. B ut the s earch for

justice may justify t hat risk.

The death of Purdue Pharma

Can justice be found in the rubble of the bankrupt opioid-maker?

Regarding the Sept. 15 Metro article “It’s on:

Va. voters flip switch for ‘off-off-year’ elections”:

A Democratic legislature would redraw voting

districts following the 2020 Census, but Virginia

voters should not rejoice or weep. In 2011 Virginia

lawmakers engaged in bipartisan gerrymandering:

Over a gentleman’s a greement, the Democrats gerry-

mandered the Senate and the Republicans gerry-

mandered the House, giving us both racially and

partisan gerrymandered districts. The racial gerry-

mander was cured by the courts, but the partisan

gerrymander lives on. Gerrymandering is unaccept-

able no matter which side does it, because it silences

the voice of the voters. The ensuing litigation over

bad maps drains o ur coffers of precious tax d ollars.

We have an opportunity in Virginia to draw good

maps from the start. A constitutional amendment to

create a citizen-led redistricting commission i s pend-

ing in the General Assembly. The amendment must

be passed again in the 2020 General Assembly, and

voters must then concur in November. U.S. Chief

Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that it is up to voters to

cure partisan gerrymandering. Virginia now has a

chance to do so. It i s up to all Virginia lawmakers to do

the right thing and pass that constitutional amend-

ment to give us fair maps t he first time around.

Jackie Rivas, Arlington

Virginia can give us fair maps

ABCDE

AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

M

OST PEOPLE would consider Peter Mago-

mbeyi’s activities more than admirable.

As president of the Zimbabwean Doctors

Hospital Association, Dr. Magombeyi has

stood up for junior doctors at public hospitals who

earn less than $100 a month, struggling against

deprivation: triple-digit inflation, a shortage of

basic commodities, a severe lack of medicine and

funds. He had led junior doctors on strike, but as he

put it recently to Voice of America, “The Zimbabwe-

an doctors, they are not on strike, but they simply do

not have the means to keep on continuing to report

for duty. T he will exists, but the means do not. So the

doctors are incapacitated and they are not on strike.”

Dr. Magombeyi received anonymous warnings to

stop his activism, friends said. Then, on Saturday,

Dr. Magombeyi was abducted by three men. He sent

a quick text message and his phone went dead.

He is not the first. In the year since President

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the successor to Robert

Mugabe, won contested elections, the human rights

situation in Zimbabwe has remained exceedingly

grim. Dozens of pro-democracy campaigners, trade

unionists and opposition leaders have been abduct-

ed by what are believed to be state security services.

Before being released, they have been badly beaten,

stripped, threatened or otherwise mistreated. Some

never return, like prominent journalist Itai Dza-

mara, one of Mr. Mugabe’s most outspoken critics,

who disappeared in 2015.

Mr. Mnangagwa, a longtime ally of Mr. Mugabe,

has presided over a “systematic and brutal crack-

down on human rights, including the violent

suppression of protests and a witch-hunt against

anyone who dared challenge his government,”

Amnesty International reported Aug. 26. Rights to

freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and asso-

ciation are being increasingly restricted and crimi-

nalized, the group said. In August, baton-wielding

police attacked peaceful protesters who were dem-

onstrating against meager living conditions.

In January, police killed 15 people who were

protesting a hike in fuel prices. Amnesty Interna-

tional also reported torture, rape and mass arbitrary

arrests in the crackdown. Witnesses described

ill-treatment in detention, including being made to

roll in sewage or ashes from burned tires. Since that

unrest, the Guardian reported, more than 20 labor

activists, campaigners and opposition politicians

have been charged with subversion, an offense that

could bring a long prison sentence.

Mr. Mnangagwa vowed to pull Zimbabwe out of

its economic troubles after 37 years of misrule by

Mr. Mugabe, who died this month. The nation needs

a massive bailout, but the harsh repression and lack

of reform make it unlikely.

The disappearance of a young doctor is yet

another sign Mr. Mnangagwa is headed in the wrong

direction. Ta piwa Mungofa, head of the Harare

Central Doctors Association, told the VOA, “Abduc-

tions in this country did not start yesterday. They

have been ongoing. We s aw o ther people being badly

beaten, others, they did not even come back.... So,

at this point in time, we are... saddened and we are

very much worried about the whereabouts of our

leader.”

A doctor vanishes in Zimbabwe

The human rights situation under President Emmerson Mnangagwa remains exceedingly grim.

C

ritics, and some cheerleaders, too, are

greeting a California bill as an Uber-killer.

They may be right. But the legislation

known as AB5 did not start with the

ride-hailing industry, and its role in this country’s

conversation about labor will not end there, either.

AB5, which the Golden State legislature passed

last week, codifies a state case revolving around

truck drivers who argued their companies inten-

tionally misclassified them as contractors to save

money, even as they hauled goods for tens of hours

a week. The rule is essentially this: Workers are

company employees if the company controls how

they do their work, or if that work is core to the

company’s business.

This spells trouble for gig-economy start-ups

that run on outsourcing. Ride-hailing juggernauts

in particular, already in precarious financial s hape,

are crying out that it represents an existential

threat. Uber has said the legislation doesn’t apply

to it because driving is outside the usual course of

its business of... coordinating driving trips. It has

also said it will sponsor a referendum for voters to

overturn the law. A nd it has said that if it loses both

the definitional argument and the referendum, the

app as we know it faces certain doom.

Well, Uber and Lyft certainly have brought

convenience to many users. But if it turns out their

model depends on unfair exploitation of labor,

then the model does not deserve to survive. It’s

important to understand this: T he California bill is

not asking ridesharing companies to give health

insurance to every driver who picks up a ride or

two between running errands. E mployees will have

to meet the 30-hour weekly threshold for full-time

work to get the benefits mandated for full-time

workers.

Still, the bill creates some confusing incentives.

Will gig companies gravitate toward hiring mostly

workers who can contribute well over 30 hours a

week, to avoid responsibility for all those part-

timers? Or will they do the o pposite, limiting hours

to keep more drivers part-time so they won’t have

to provide so many full-time perks? Nothing in the

bill forces companies to yank away flexible sched-

ules, but they might do it anyway — at least for the

less reliable laborers who value flexibility most.

Ride-hailing companies propose solving their

problem with a compromise that retains drivers as

contractors but entitles them to earn a minimum

wage and band together to bargain, even as

contractors. But that might not solve a problem

that extends well beyond ride-hailing companies:

Americans increasingly work for multiple employ-

ers in multiple capacities, and they are losing out

on protections because of it.

Researchers and some lawmakers have been

experimenting with alternative setups that would

make injury insurance, paid leave and other

benefits “portable” and prorated, with each firm

contributing to a fund in proportion to an

employee’s labor. Another route, most notably

gaining currency in the health-care arena, would

be to open up government-sponsored benefit plans

to anyone who paid in. California’s bill will not be

the last word, but it will be useful if it kick-starts a

nationwide rethinking of labor rules that embrace

both flexibility and fairness.

Uber’s

downfall?

A California bill hails a future

when ‘employee’ is redefined —

and so are benefits.

ABCDE

FREDERICK J. RYAN JR., Publisher and Chief Executive Officer

News pages: Editorial and opinion pages:

MARTIN BARON FRED HIATT

Executive Editor Editorial Page Editor

CAMERON BARR JACKSON DIEHL

Managing Editor Deputy Editorial Page Editor

EMILIO GARCIA-RUIZ RUTH MARCUS

Managing Editor Deputy Editorial Page Editor

TRACY GRANT JO-ANN ARMAO

Managing Editor Associate Editorial Page Editor

SCOTT VANCE

Deputy Managing Editor

BARBARA VOBEJDA

Deputy Managing Editor

Vice Presidents:

JAMES W. COLEY JR. ..................................................................................... Production

L. WAYNE CONNELL..........................................................................Human Resources

KATE M. DAVEY .................................................................................. Revenue Strategy

ELIZABETH H. DIAZ ................................................. Audience Development & Insights

GREGG J. FERNANDES........................................................Customer Care & Logistics

STEPHEN P. GIBSON...................................................................Finance & Operations

SCOT GILLESPIE .......................................................................................... Engineering

KRISTINE CORATTI KELLY...................................................Communications & Events

JOHN B. KENNEDY.................................................................General Counsel & Labor

MIKI TOLIVER KING........................................................................................Marketing

KAT DOWNS MULDER........................................................................Product & Design

SHAILESH PRAKASH...............................Digital Product Development & Engineering

JOY ROBINS ........................................................................................... Client Solutions

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Regarding the Sept. 16 news article “Hyundai

explores car-scooter pairing”:

What about pedestrian safety?

I am a senior citizen, and I spend an hour every

day walking on sidewalks near the Ballston Metro,

a “last mile” destination. I am constantly looking

over my shoulder so that I will not step into the

path of an e-scooter. Supposedly, e-scooters are

prohibited on sidewalks, but no one has gotten that

message. Regularly I move scooters improperly

parked in the middle of sidewalks so blind

pedestrians will not trip over them.

How do other pedestrians feel about e-scooters

on sidewalks? I expect there are many more

pedestrians than there are e-scooter users.

Charles D. Webb, Arlington

Sidewalks are for pedestrians

As r eported in the Sept. 13 news article “Watchdog

clears Carson in probe of furniture buy,” the Depart-

ment of Housing and Urban Development inspector

general concluded that HUD’s attempt to procure

$31,000 in dining room furniture resulted from a

“systemic failure” of oversight. HUD Secretary Ben

Carson declared, “There’s probably no one in Wash-

ington who cares less about furniture than I do.” I

agree. Mr. Carson has no interest in furniture and no

interest in the Potemkin village over which he

presides.

In point of fact, there was no failure of oversight at

HUD. The furniture purchase was stopped because a

federal e mployee p ut her job on the line to stop it. That

official was me: I refused to “find money” for redeco-

rating the secretary’s suite and lost m y career i n public

service as a result. The oversight did not fail; it was

removed by the same officials who now claim to have

been ignorant of it. But Mr. Carson is not interested.

In February 2018, w hen t he details of the furniture

purchase were exposed by The Post and others,

Mr. Carson still was not interested — instead, he

oversaw a smear c ampaign against me. H UD illegally

released sensitive details of my preteen daughter’s

disabilities to every major media outlet. My daugh-

ter’s g rief is something e lse that escaped his attention.

What is Mr. Carson interested in? And the elector-

ates who tolerate this in our public officials, what are

we interested i n?

Helen Goff Foster, Haymarket

Mr. Carson isn’t interested

Listening to the Democratic presidential candi-

dates promote their various plans is confusing. I am

having difficulty understanding how universal Medi-

care would eliminate private insurance. Most Medi-

care recipients would not dream of not having a

private supplemental insurance plan.

We pay for Medicare coverage just as we pay for

private insurance. The cost may be subsidized, but it

is substantial. If we include e veryone i n the system, it

would seem that the expense would be prohibitive

without private supplemental coverage. The voters,

at least those interested, would benefit from under-

standing how the monumental restructuring of

health care proposed b y some of the c andidates c ould

actually be accomplished. The so-called 1 percent are

not going to willingly knuckle under to a wealth tax.

Health care is a vital element of life. It is time for the

United States to come to grips with the issue as other

societies have, some m ore successfully than o thers. It

is a necessary part of the fabric of a society as

productive as ours.

Richard Craig, F airfax

Medicare’s crucial partner

U.S. military members are barred from filing tort

suits against the military. This prohibition includes

lawsuits challenging the Defense Department’s fail-

ure to police sexual assault. Though the Supreme

Court had a chance to chip away at this much-

criticized rule this year, the court declined to even

hear the case.

Now, Congress is our best hope in tackling the

military’s sexual assault crisis. Congress is consider-

ing a bill — t he Sgt. 1st Class Richard S tayskal Military

Medical Accountability Act of 2019 — that would

allow service members to sue the Defense Depart-

ment for negligence. There’s reason to think the bill

could succeed. I t has garnered bipartisan support and

President Trump’s a ttention.

There’s a big problem, though. If signed into law,

the bill would do nothing about sexual assault. It

would allow service members only to sue for medical

negligence. No doubt, this would be a welcome

change. But Congress needs to listen to the heart-

rending stories of military sexual assault in the news

and from its own members, and give assault victims

the r ight to sue, too.

Remedies for sexual assault victims are too little,

too late. Prosecution is rare. Service members need a

mechanism to challenge the Defense Department’s

assault culture, to hold the military accountable for

failing to implement policies that prevent assault.

This is p recisely the k ind of deterrence tort suits bring.

Service members sacrifice so much. Congress

should be outraged that this includes sexual autono-

my a nd access t o justice.

Rose Carmen Goldberg, Oakland, Calif.

The writer represented military sexual assault

survivors a s a supervising s taff a ttorney

at Swords to Plowshares.

Deterring assaults in the military

The Sept. 15 front-page article “D.C. missed

chances to avert fatal rowhouse fire” rightly

identified the many levels of government failures

that could have prevented the needless deaths of a

40-year-old man and a 9-year-old boy. However, it

should have focused on the landlord of the decrepit

property who failed to maintain a smoke detector

that could have prevented these deaths.

It’s time to hold slumlords criminally account-

able for injuries when smoke detectors are not

installed and maintained in residential units.

Chris Bruch, Chevy Chase

Hold landlords accountable

EDITORIALS

TOM TOLES

CORRECTION

The Sept. 15 editorial “A necessary step to keep

teens from vaping” incorrectly reported on when

flavored e-cigarette manufacturers could apply to

regain access to the U.S. market. They can currently

apply to regain access.

A state amendment could create a

citizen-led redistricting commission.