Right now, we have limited understanding of how public whistleblowers prevail. But each year, with each emerging case, we learn more. The concept of collective bricolage – the focus of this chapter -- moves us forward. Bringing together insights from public whistleblowers’ experiences, we gain a deeper understanding of the unique and challenging work of public whistleblowers collaborating with allies. We gain insights into the relationships that make this work possible. We learn about the surprising ways in which aggressive employer reprisal can yield opportunities for public whistleblowers to leverage backlash, defend themselves and persist with their disclosures. Public whistleblowing alliances continue to develop and refine their strategies. Yet it is not straightforward. Pre-planned ‘campaigns’ are uncommon, and those that emerge rarely progress as intended. This book is a critical first step in understanding the organizing practices of ally partnerships in effective public whistleblowing.

The official whistleblowing channels are the first stop for most employees who speak out about wrongdoing. The channels often work. But sometimes, when a whistleblowing disclosure highlights serious and system-level wrongdoing, official channels can prove useless for preventing it. Worse, these channels can be actively used against a whistleblower who has been targeted for retaliation. The case of a whistleblower at a large electricity company shows how a manager speaking up on behalf of his staff can end up as a public whistleblower targeted for attack. Uniquely, this chapter also takes the perspective of the senior leaders in the organization who are doing the targeting. Large and complex organizations by their very nature give rise to anxiety, defensiveness and a need to scapegoat someone when things go wrong. When official channels fail, public whistleblowers need to look elsewhere to defend themselves and disclose wrongdoing.

Whistleblower protection laws are growing in strength and number across the globe. Whistleblowing workers enjoy stronger legal rights than ever before. But there are dangers. Laws can be undermined by powerful employers with deep pockets intent on exploiting loopholes to suppress public whistleblowing. Lawfare is one such tactic. Whistleblowers can find themselves exposed, and in extreme cases, prosecuted for speaking up. The high-profile story of Theranos’s Erika Cheung illustrates this chapter. As a twenty-three-year-old graduate, Erika blew the whistle on the most famous white-collar crime of recent years. After whistleblowing, she was aggressively pursued by her former employer’s legal counsel: a nationally renowned firm. Along with other whistleblowers, Erika’s testimony would prove pivotal in convicting senior executives. This chapter introduces the new world of whistleblower reprisal, including lawfare tactics ranging from NDAs to SLAPPs and over-reaching trade secrets laws. It points to the vulnerability faced by individual whistleblowers whose rights to protection ‘on paper’ offer scant help in practice. It shows how good lawyers are important, but in the end, they are often not enough.

An emerging strategy of ‘information matchmaking’ is being developed by experienced whistleblower advocates. This operates on the principle that an effective legal campaign needs a PR campaign running alongside it, in public whistleblowing cases. Information matchmaking involves advocates connecting whistleblowers with suitable partners: subject-expert journalists, activists, lawyers, academics, political figures – and any other party whose interests align with the information coming to light. If successful, the outcome is twofold: the whistleblowing disclosure reaches its intended audience and the wrongdoing is stopped, while the public whistleblower benefits from the personal and professional support of a chain of campaigners all committed to a common cause. The experiences of Dawn Wooten, a nurse at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in Georgia, illustrates. Dawn spoke up about forced sterilization of immigrant women, along with insufficient protections against the first waves of COVID-19. Her case demonstrates how effective whistleblower advocacy demands significant empathy and care on the part of the advocate, as well as persistence and tactical skills. But these campaigns come with challenges. The landscape is often uncertain for people who disclose. And inequality among whistleblowers amplifies the uncertainty.