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ALLBRIITON AND GANT

ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT

LAw

JOHN LE\\ S ALLBRITTON

fREDERICK   GA~T

J anuary 2, 1987

;; WEST Cl:RVANn:s STREET

POST OFFICE BOX 12:>22

I I:NSACOLA. fLORIDA :>25HI

 ~)04)4;;;;-:>2;;0

ST[VDI L.-\l  RE:-: SEI.IGER

or cor: ;~I:I.

Mr _ , Ci t y Manag~r

The Ci t y of Pensacol a

Post Of f i ce Box 12910

Pensacol a, Fl or i da 32521

RE: I nt er nat i onal Associ at i on of Bl ack Fi ref i ght er s

Dear Mr .

Our of f i ce has been r et ai ned by t he l ocal chapt er of t he

I nt er nat i onal Associ at i on of Bl ack Pr of essi onal Fi r ef i ght er s

( I ABPFF) , t o r epr esent t hem ~n t he r esol ut i on of cer t ai n

speci f i c gr i evances t hat t hey have about t he hi r i ng and promo-

t i on of . Bl ack Fi r ef i ght er s by t he Ci t y of Pensacol a.

At t he out set , i t i s  u hope, as wel l as t he Associ at i ons,

t hat t hese mat t er s can and w l l be expedi t i ousl y r esol ved by

ser i ous negot i at i on. However , you shoul d know t hat t he

associ at i on bel i eves t hei r concer ns ar e si gni f i cant and w l l

seek l egal r edr ess i f necessar y.

 

HIRING

As you ar e awar e, t her e have been hi st or i cal l y f ew bl acks 

hi r ed t o be f i ref i ght er s. Ther e ar e onl y 13 pr esent l y empl oyed,

out of   f i r ef i ghters, w t h t he overwhel m ng maj or i t y hi r ed

- w t hi n t he past f our year s.

I n 1982, t he Ci ty devel oped a Cadet Pr ogr am desi gned t o

r ecr ui t and t r ai n bl acks as f i ref i ght er s. Asa r esul t of t hi s

pr ogr am

12

bl acks were eventual l y hi r ed as f i r ef i ght er s. For

. some r eason, t he progr am was di scont i nued i n 1984 and t he number

of bl ac k f i r f i ght r s r mai ns s t at i c

Over t he year s, t he f ai l ur e t o r ecr ui t and hi r e bl acks as

f i r ef i ght er s has r esul t ed i n a percept i on i n t he bl ack communi t y

t hat i t i s f ut i l e t o appl y and have an equal oppor t uni ty t o be

emp Loyed , Ther e has been no act i ve and cont i nuous - r ecr ui tment

i n t he bl ack communi t y, ei t her t hr ough t he medi a   t he school s,

or busi nesses.

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H r ~

i t y Manager

December 16, 1986

RE: I nt er nat i onal Assoc. Bl ack Fi r ef i ght er s

Page 2

The act ual hi r i ng pr ocess r ei nf or ces t hi s l ack of

comm tment on behal f of t he Ci t y. By and l ar ge, f i r ef i ght er s

ar e hi r ed based on sel ect i on cr i t er i a whi ch ar e di sadvant ageous

t o bl acks. Thi s i ncl udes t he wr i t t en t est and pr i or f i r ef i ght er

exper i ence.

I t i s our bel i ef t hat t he Ci ty must . adopt a vi gor ous

vol unt ar y comm tment t o r ecr ui t i ng bl acks t o appl y f or and be

hi r ed as f i r ef i ght er s. Thi s out reach pr ogr am can at l east begi n

t o di spel t he not i on t hat bl acks need not appl y f or t hese j obs.

Second, t he ci t y must adopt a f ai r t est i ng and exper i ence

r equi r ement t hat does not di spr opor t i onat el y af f ect bl acks. The

associ at i on woul d be w l l i ng t o di scuss t he pr eci se per i met er s

of bot h .

 II PROMOTIONS

Whi l e al l f i r ef i ght er s ar e subj ect t o t he same t est i ng

mechani sm when t hey seek pr omot i ons, par t of t he pr ocess r esul t s

i n a di spar at e pr opor t i on of bl acks not bei ng pr omot ed.

  OR L EX M

The or al exam component of t he t est st ands out l i ke a sor e

t humb as a subj ect i ve sel ect i on cr i t er i a. I t gi ves t he empl oyer

an oppor tuni t y t o excl ude per sons based on r ace because of t he

l ack of channel ed di scr et i on  i n how i t i s done. Thi s i s

especi al l y t r ue i n t he case wher e i t i s wei ght ed so heavi l y,

 40 of t he t ot al gr ade) . Fur t hermor e, t he or al exam i s

adm ni   st er ed sol el y by whi t es, whi ch hei ght ens t he pot ent i al of

di scr i m nat i on by col or .

Based on t he ot heL t wo component s, i t appear s t hat t he or al

exam does not add a si gni f i cant amount of know edge f or t he

benef i t of t he obj ect i ve sel ect or s. Thi s i s cer t ai nl y t rue when

wei ghi ng t he possi bl e harm Ther ef or e l i t coul d be ent i r el y

el i m nat ed, or at l east , i t shoul d be gi ven much l ess wei ght .

B ON THE JOB TR INING

For a f i r ~f i ght er t o at tai n t he r ank of l i eut enant , he must

possess dr i vi ng and pumpi ng ski l l s. Si nce t her e i s no f ormal

t r ai ni ng oppor tuni t y ( except t wo weeks bef or e t he t est )

f

each

f i r ef i ght er i s at t he mer cy of hi s super vi sor t o al l ow ext r a

t i me t o t r ai n. Si nce t her e i s onl y one bl ack above t he r ank of

f i r ef i ght er and none i n a super vi sor y posi t i on, access t o t hi s

t rai ni ng has been at best spor adi c f or bl ack f i r ef i ght er s. Thi s

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  r __ ~ ••

  -   Ci t y Manager

December 15, 1986

RE: I nt er nat i onal Assoc. Bl ack Fi r ef i ght er s

Page

3

put s t hem at a ser i ous di sadvant age when i t comes t o t he 

per f ormance por t i on of t he t est or an obj ect i ve sel ect i on

procedure.

Formal i zi ng t he t r ai ni ng r egi men woul d go a l ong way t o

el i m nat i ng t hi s subj ect i ve sel ect i on pr ocedur e.

We woul d poi nt out t hat t he i ncl usi on of t he pr act i cal exam

on t he t est has been warm y r ecei ved by t he Associ at i on and i s

a posi t i ve st ep t owar ds a f ai r t est i ng pr ocedur e.

I I I .

CONCLUSION

TheI ABPFF seeks f i r st t o subst ant i al l y i ncr ease t he bl ack

composi t i on . of t he r ank and f i l e as wel l as t he of f i cer s i n t he

f i r e depar t ment so t hat i t i s mor e r epr esent at i ve of t he act ual

composi t i on of t he l abor f or ce of t he ci t y as a whol e, and

secondl y

 

i nsur e a posi t i ve means of upwar d mobi l i t y.

We l ook f orwar d t o di scussi ng t he i ssues r ai sed i n t hi s

l et ter w t h you and/ or your st af f w t hi n t he next 20 days. We

t hank you and awai t your pr ompt r esponse.

Si ncer el y,

./1 1 •

 / Li~  v~~~

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( ~~Ni~L G~~) _,..  

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  S JLA:

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cc:

 

•••••• , Mayor

Ci t y Counci l man

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