Fighting Fire and Reverse Discrimination
As a followup to this story, Birdblog`s correspondent on St. Louis City affairs reports on the S.L.F.P.`s latest court hearings:
Last Monday was the first day in court with F.I.R.E.'s discrimination charge. Here are some highlights:
1. FIRE'S expert witness is a man with a doctorate in Industrial Psychology, BUT NO EXPERIENCE IN TESTING! He basically testified that the test results had "adverse impact" because the results did not meet the "4/5 rule". The city does not deny that; but just because there is an adverse impact does not equate to bias or discrimination. The city attorneys, as well as the union attorney shot holes in his credibility because he has no experience in actually administering tests.
2. Fire Chief Sherman George testified that he wants promotional tests to be developed then given to the actual officers on the job for their perusal. Then these same officers would sign a "confidentiality agreement" stating that they would not share what is on the tests with candidates. Do you recall the cheating scandal on the previous test in 2004? A black battalion chief went and obtained part of the tests under false pretenses and had them delivered to FIRE'S organizational meeting hall. A white firefighter attempted to obtain the same portion of the tests, but ultimately failed. I think its obvious that the fire chief's idea of testing would not be feasible.
3. The fire chief was also asked on the witness stand if he would promote if the tests were found fair by the judge. After stalling and attempting to avoid the question, he finally stated "I do not know." This statement is a direct contradiction to what he said at his press conference in the summer of 2004. He stated that if the tests were proven fair in court, HE WOULD PROMOTE RIGHT AWAY AND GIVE BACKPAY TO THOSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROMOTED EARLIER.
The court case reconvenes today with the city's expert witnesses, who are Dr. Barrett (adminster of the 2000 tests) and Dr. Jacobs (adminster of the 2004 test). After the case has concluded, the judge has 5 months to make a decision. City officials and attorneys state that it looks promising because FIRE's expert witness has no credibilty (experience) and both tests in question were given by companies with impeccable records. The feeling among the firefighters is that the tests will be proven fair, but Chief George will still refuse to promote, especially after his last testimony. It will then be up to the director of public safety and the mayor as to whether they will ORDER him to promote; and with the way the mayor has acted this entire time, it is doubtful those orders will be given, thus no promotions.
Don Wolff (the attorney who represented Sherman George
when the union filed a lawsuit against Chief George for not promoting) has advised FIRE and their attorney (Althea Johns) to use the angle of - hold on to your seat - THE CITY SHOULD PROMOTE 50% WHITE AND 50% BLACK BECAUSE BLACK FIREFIGHTERS CANNOT COMPETE AGAINST WHITE FIREFIGHTERS. THE REASON FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO COMPETE IS THAT THE 50/50 HIRING THE CITY HAS DONE FOR THE PAST 30+YEARS ALLOWS BETTER EDUCATED, MORE INTELLIGENT WHITE APPLICANTS TO BE HIRED AT THE SAME TIME AS LESS QUALIFIED BLACK APPLICANTS. THESE "SMARTER" WHITE APPLICANTS WILL ALWAYS SCORE BETTER ON PROMOTIONAL TESTS THAN THOSE BLACKS WHO DID NOT SCORE AS WELL ON THE ENTRANCE EXAM AND RECEIVED THE FD JOB BECAUSE OF 50/50 HIRING. In essence, FIRE is claiming
that they are not intelligent enough to EARN a promotion on their own merit and should be given promotions because the city hired them through affirmative action practices.Just being given the job on the FD is not enough; now they want promotions handed to them.
What do the black firefighters who earned their jobs and promotions through hard work and intelligence think of FIRE's claim?
Last Monday was the first day in court with F.I.R.E.'s discrimination charge. Here are some highlights:
1. FIRE'S expert witness is a man with a doctorate in Industrial Psychology, BUT NO EXPERIENCE IN TESTING! He basically testified that the test results had "adverse impact" because the results did not meet the "4/5 rule". The city does not deny that; but just because there is an adverse impact does not equate to bias or discrimination. The city attorneys, as well as the union attorney shot holes in his credibility because he has no experience in actually administering tests.
2. Fire Chief Sherman George testified that he wants promotional tests to be developed then given to the actual officers on the job for their perusal. Then these same officers would sign a "confidentiality agreement" stating that they would not share what is on the tests with candidates. Do you recall the cheating scandal on the previous test in 2004? A black battalion chief went and obtained part of the tests under false pretenses and had them delivered to FIRE'S organizational meeting hall. A white firefighter attempted to obtain the same portion of the tests, but ultimately failed. I think its obvious that the fire chief's idea of testing would not be feasible.
3. The fire chief was also asked on the witness stand if he would promote if the tests were found fair by the judge. After stalling and attempting to avoid the question, he finally stated "I do not know." This statement is a direct contradiction to what he said at his press conference in the summer of 2004. He stated that if the tests were proven fair in court, HE WOULD PROMOTE RIGHT AWAY AND GIVE BACKPAY TO THOSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROMOTED EARLIER.
The court case reconvenes today with the city's expert witnesses, who are Dr. Barrett (adminster of the 2000 tests) and Dr. Jacobs (adminster of the 2004 test). After the case has concluded, the judge has 5 months to make a decision. City officials and attorneys state that it looks promising because FIRE's expert witness has no credibilty (experience) and both tests in question were given by companies with impeccable records. The feeling among the firefighters is that the tests will be proven fair, but Chief George will still refuse to promote, especially after his last testimony. It will then be up to the director of public safety and the mayor as to whether they will ORDER him to promote; and with the way the mayor has acted this entire time, it is doubtful those orders will be given, thus no promotions.
Don Wolff (the attorney who represented Sherman George
when the union filed a lawsuit against Chief George for not promoting) has advised FIRE and their attorney (Althea Johns) to use the angle of - hold on to your seat - THE CITY SHOULD PROMOTE 50% WHITE AND 50% BLACK BECAUSE BLACK FIREFIGHTERS CANNOT COMPETE AGAINST WHITE FIREFIGHTERS. THE REASON FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO COMPETE IS THAT THE 50/50 HIRING THE CITY HAS DONE FOR THE PAST 30+YEARS ALLOWS BETTER EDUCATED, MORE INTELLIGENT WHITE APPLICANTS TO BE HIRED AT THE SAME TIME AS LESS QUALIFIED BLACK APPLICANTS. THESE "SMARTER" WHITE APPLICANTS WILL ALWAYS SCORE BETTER ON PROMOTIONAL TESTS THAN THOSE BLACKS WHO DID NOT SCORE AS WELL ON THE ENTRANCE EXAM AND RECEIVED THE FD JOB BECAUSE OF 50/50 HIRING. In essence, FIRE is claiming
that they are not intelligent enough to EARN a promotion on their own merit and should be given promotions because the city hired them through affirmative action practices.Just being given the job on the FD is not enough; now they want promotions handed to them.
What do the black firefighters who earned their jobs and promotions through hard work and intelligence think of FIRE's claim?
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 5:43 AM
2 Comments:
Timothy, thank you for your well written blogs. The City Fire department has been driven into the ground, so your candid comments really resonate with a lot of firefighters. Keep up the good work.
The St. Louis Fire Department operates on a daily basis 30 engine Companies, 4 Hook and Ladders, and 2 Rescue Squads, 36 total pieces of equipment. We operate on three separate shifts so we man 108 pieces of equipment with a minimum of 3 firefighters and 1 captain, to protect the lives and property of the people who live, work, and visit our great city. The city is divided into six battalion districts with six pieces of equipment in each battalion. Each shift is commanded by one Deputy Chief. Currently our department is operating with a deficiency of 31 Captains, 5 Battalion Chiefs and one Deputy Chief or 28% of our command structure. Can you imagine how successful our military would be if we were fighting the war in Iraq without 28% of the command structure. As an American citizen I would not stand for that, as a resident of the City of St. Louis and a member of the St. Louis Fire Department, I think it is time that we stand up and not allow this atrocity to continue.
The duties of our Captains is to ensure that each member of his or her company is properly trained in our standard operating procedures, to command the men and women assigned to his or her company, and are the initial incident commanders when arriving on the scene of an emergency situation. The captain is responsible for the annual ratings of each of the fire fighters under his or her command. In the absence of a captain, a firefighter is assigned in the acting capacity to assume the duties and the responsibilities of a bonafide captain. These added responsibilities are expected and in many cases demanded without any additional compensation for the additional work load. On the average currently 10 companies each day are operating with an acting officer. Many of these acting officers have not demonstrated their ability to fulfill these positions. The St. Louis Fire Department has not promoted a firefighter to the rank of captain since July 2003.
Besides the additional workload that is demanded of our acting officers there are other underlying problems that exist because of the lack of promotions. 28% of our firefighters are working without a bonafide commander. These firefighters are not being properly trained and do not have a mentor to aid them for the next promotional exam. As a firefighter my outlook was totally different than it was when I was promoted. When I was promoted I was now not only responsible for my life, I was also responsible for the firefighters under my command.
According the City Charter the Department of Personnel is responsible for promotional exams for every department in the City. In many of the smaller departments they create their promotional exams in house. In the Fire Department they put out for bid and award an industrial psychologist to create and implement the promotional process. When awarded the contract a job analysis is performed to aid the testing company in learning the many technical aspects associated with our job. When the analysis is complete a test is created and we are all informed what books to read to prepare ourselves for the promotional exam. There are many federal guidelines that the testing consultants must fulfill in order to create and administer a “VALID” test. Our Job as firefighters is to ensure that we study and have the knowledge to pass each and every component of the test. It is very similar to a collage class. When the final exam is given, some people will have earned an “A” and some will have flunked the class, and he overwhelming majority in the class will get a “C” or an average grade. You make your own determination but for me, I do not want an average person leading me, I want an exceptional person leading me.
More than three years ago, promotional exams were given for the ranks of Captain and Battalion Chiefs. Some people at the bottom of the list, and in some cases people that did not even pass the exams filed a lawsuit against the City of St. Louis claiming that the test was unfair. For three years we have been bogged down and our department has been brought to a stand still. A month ago a Federal District Judge, appointed by the President of the United States, after listening to 10 days worth of live testimony, and countless briefs and arguments, ruled that the plaintiffs in the lawsuits failed to meet their burden that the test was unfair or that their was an alternative testing method that would have provided different results.
This once proud department has suffered long enough! The top 31 people on the Captains list deserve the promotion that they have worked for. The top 5 Battalion Chief candidates deserve the promotion that they have worked for. The junior firefighters on our department deserve being led by qualified individuals to ensure that we all go home at the end of our shift. We should not stand for one fourth of our companies not meeting the expectations that we all deserve. The time to fix the problem is before a test is given. Not after individuals didicate their lives to studying for and passing an exam. If there are problems or if there is a better way to test our abilities, lets discuss them now before another test is given. The crap that we have put up with is comparable to your senior year in High School or Collage. You professor gives you a grade but the people who flunked the class file a lawsuit that prevents the school from releasing your grade. You have to wait 3 years to get your diploma or degree. You have to wait 3 years before you can apply and get the job that studied the past four years for. It is time that promotions are made.
Please call Mayor Slay or Chief George and let them know enough is enough. Thanks Tim!!
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