THE MERIT SYSTEM.

68jk09

68jk09

Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
17,066
REPOST OF A LETTER TO THE EDITOR IN THE CIVIL SERVICE NEWSPAPER "THE CHIEF"....10-7-11.......QUOTE.......To the Editor:

What?s the difference between offers of help and a threat? In the midst of efforts to help a very deserving Marine get a chance at earning a spot as a Firefighter, I am forced to write this letter to address a mischaracterization in last week?s issue detailed in the For the Record column. To those who don?t know the answer to the above question, consider this: this is intended to help clarify an issue by providing relevant facts and answering questions.



My phone calls to the chambers of Judge Nicholas Garaufis were intended to help him understand an issue by providing relevant facts and answering questions?but they resulted in a visit to my house by Federal Marshals to determine whether I was a threat. If the U.S. Marshals Service intends to stop by again in response to this offer of help, be advised: I haven?t moved.

As stated above and and last week, I did, indeed, phone the judge?s chambers. As someone who even my detractors must admit has paid close attention to the issue of FDNY minority recruitment, I believed I could help the judge obtain all the facts possible, as well as a perspective on the issue that he may not have been aware of. Being someone inclined to respect authority, I naturally assumed my offer would be welcome and, in fact, it was. The judge?s clerk, Joe Reccoppa, was friendly and receptive to me and my offers every time I spoke to him, and when he did not answer the phone, I would leave a message with my name, number, etc. At no time during the six-month span we communicated (during which I averaged one call a month?and yes, I have them documented) did Mr. Reccoppa advise me that I should not be calling.

The last call I made to Mr. Reccoppa was on Oct. 1, 2009. I left a message regarding a ruling in the Lewis v. Chicago Supreme Court case, as it is similar to the New York case. I then called the city Law Department with the same message. A few minutes after the first call, I again called the Law Department to relay one further point and spoke to an attorney named William Fraenkel. Mr. Fraenkel advised me that Mr. Reccoppa had called the Law Department to let them know I called but that he would not be calling back.

At this point Mr. Fraenkel advised me that it was not proper for me to be calling the Judge?s chamber. My reaction was surprise since, as I explained to Mr. Fraenkel, I had spoken with Mr. Reccoppa on a few of the calls but had never?not once?been told by Mr. Reccoppa that my contacts were improper and, as a layman when it comes to legal matters, had no way of knowing my contacts were improper, especially since I had been communicating with Mr. Reccoppa for a number of months. Mr. Fraenkel advised me that, nevertheless, I should refrain from contacting the Judge again. I, of course, agreed to comply, and that was that.

Or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when, a scant two weeks later, Marshals Peter Lee and Pat Quinn appeared at my door. When I was notified of the reason for their visit I was astounded, incredulous, infuriated and invigorated?all at the same time. I invited the Marshals in, assured them I knew they were only doing their job, as I had been a cop (and they seemed a little uncomfortable), had coffee with them and my wife and advised them to tell their superiors that if this visit was an attempt to intimidate me into silence, it was not going to work (as I believe has become clear in the intervening two years). I also provided them with a copy of a letter of mine that was published that month in The Chief and a copy of the Merit Matters Mission Statement to bring back to the office.

At this point I would ask Chief Deputy Timothy Hogan of the Marshals Service to weigh in on whether the circumstances described above reflect ?someone calling persistently in what might be considered an ?inappropriate? manner.? I obviously do not think they do, but then I am far from an impartial observer and could, in fact, be lying. Let?s pull the phone records.

Sarcasm aside, I did contact my union lawyers and regret now that I followed their advice about not filing a complaint over this matter. My overriding concern at the time was that, because I had only formed Merit Matters the month before this visit occurred, it would be used to discredit and marginalize me and the group?that same concern explains the rapid appearance of this response to last week?s issue of The Chief. I did not make ?one too many phone calls?; my mistake was assuming I was dealing with honorable people.

When a Vulcan leader stated that I was a dangerous bigot, I challenged him to make a formal complaint against me?to put up or shut up. He shut up. When I was notified that retaliation was forthcoming from the FDNY because of one of my letters, I reminded them that everything written in that letter was the truth and that the end result of their course of action would probably be money in my pocket?and the planned retaliation was cancelled. When an FDNY civilian employee recently threatened legal action against us because of a post on our website, we told him the post would stay?give it your best shot. We have not heard back from him in months now. When we were lied about on the Village Voice website, we contacted the Vulcan Society lawyer who was quoted stating the lie and he, graciously, forwarded us a letter on his firm?s letterhead stating that he attempted to contact the writer numerous times to correct the record, with no success. He included in his letter a statement that he never made the false statement attributed to him, and we are grateful to him for his attention to this matter.

My reason for including the previous paragraph is threefold: to encourage others who are attacked not to knuckle under; to illustrate that we will not be deterred from standing up for standards, equal treatment for all and the FDNY; and to let present and future opponents know that there are no shrinking violets in the Merit Matters garden. If I am blunt when making statements about the Vulcan leaders, their positions and the lawsuit, consider this: bluntness in the face of some of the most ridiculous, reckless and dangerous arguments ever made in support of a position is no vice (apologies to Barry Goldwater).

PAUL MANNIX, President, Merit Matters

Editor?s note: Mr. Mannix is a Deputy Fire Chief, but the views expressed are not those of FDNY

UNQUOTE.....THANK YOU AGAIN FOR STANDING UP FOR THE MERIT SYSTEM PAUL.

 
QUOTE....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE
It is Judge Nicholas Garaufis who is choosing to ignore, and not facing, hard facts.

October 9, 2011

In his recent Order, dated October 5, 2011 directing, among other things, that a Monitor be appointed to oversee various aspects of hiring in the FDNY Nicholas Garaufis wrote that the city ?chose to ignore? and was not ?facing hard facts? about the issue of minority representation in the FDNY. I submit that it is the Judge (and too many in the media whom I have personally made aware of certain relevant facts) who is ignoring facts because those facts do not support his view of this lawsuit, a view that in my opinion may be a preconceived one not fully supported by the ?hard facts?.

How can I make such a claim? I have attempted to present numerous relevant facts to this judge but was answered with a visit to my home by Federal Marshals instead (detailed on our website in a post dated 9/27/11). In the recent Order it is shown that the DCAS Deputy General Counsel has described the ?DOJ and Federal Court (as)?mean SOB?s?. Actually, I view the visit as an attempt to intimidate me into silence and the DOJ and Federal Court in this attempt as awkward, pathetic, inept, comically totalitarian- and ultimately ineffective. From the bench, Judge Garaufis alluded to other efforts of mine when he took over the questioning of Commissioner Cassano who was called as a witness in court. He asked Commissioner Cassano about his opinion of letters that were written by ?senior FDNY officials?, and even revealed in court that he had taken to downloading information from the Internet while researching this case- but he ignored me and the facts I could furnish. Not to worry, though- I will provide some of the facts he sought to avoid below.

In order to entice people of color and women into joining the FDNY, the city of New York has:
- Complied with a 1973 quota for blacks that resulted in blacks comprising nearly 8% of the firefighting ranks. The incorrect point included in the Order on page 8- that since that quota order the percentage of blacks has ?held steady at around 3%?- would not have been made had the judge accepted my offer of help. In addition, on page 19 this quota is called a ?failed remedial order?; if so, who is responsible for its failure?
- Spent over $20 million on recruitment since the 1980s
- Established a Fire Cadet program
- Established an Explorer program
- Extended established filing periods for tests so more minorities could sign up. This has been done repeatedly, most recently last month.
- Geared tests towards factors that would enable minority and women applicants to compete for and enhance their chances of being considered for positions as firefighters. The last test (2007) was designed to get as many applicants as possible to pass.
- Established city residency credits to benefit minority applicants, even applying the credit retroactively to a test given two years earlier.
- Established a Pass/Fail Promotion test from EMS titles to Firefighter to increase the number of minority and female firefighters.
- Given a test on which credit was given for wrong answers.
- Established a high school whose mission is to get female and minority students interested in firefighting
- Celebrated with one of the original female firefighters, Linore Simmond, when she was awarded the Isaac Liberman Public Service Award for her contributions to FDNY minority recruitment efforts. This was awarded in 1994 and came with a $3,500 cash award- does Paul Washington continue to claim that recruitment efforts in the past (this was approximately 18 years ago) were pitiful? Does that mean this award earned by an African-American woman was, in truth, not earned?
- Appointed Battalion Chief Phil Parr, so highly regarded he was recently a finalist to be Fire Commissioner, to head the Recruitment Unit. Again I ask- does Paul Washington think the appointment of this African-American was a pitiful effort? And, if so, why did Washington turn down the chance to run the Recruitment Unit himself when it was offered to him?
- Worked with the NY Sports Club in establishing a program to help females pass the physical
- Established a Fire Service Fellowship at John Jay College
- Made ?a Hell of an effort? to bring as many people of color into the FDNY according to Doug White when he, an African-American, was Commissioner of Personnel under Mayor David Dinkins. Mr. White is currently an Assistant Commissioner in the FDNY and still very involved in its minority recruitment effort.

That is quite an impressive list. New York City sure has a funny way of intentionally discriminating against minorities.

Here are more facts that the judge is not interested in relating to the FDNY Personnel Review Board (which would meet to consider hiring candidates with problems such as past arrests). The criticism of this entity was that only white candidates had friends and family members making phone calls to it on their behalf, but consider that Doug White testified the Vulcan Society would often call him for candidates as well. Again, Mr. White is a former city agency Commisssioner and currently a high ranking member of the FDNY administration and therefore a very good friend to be able to call- which the Vulcans were not shy about doing.

Sherry (also identified as Patricia) Kavaler gave the testimony about the PRB that led to most of the reporting implying whites had an unfair advantage over blacks, but a very relevant statement she made in a deposition has been buried. ?Race has never been an issue?, she said, in all the years she?d sat on the Board. Considering that Doug White also sat on that Board, and most assuredly would have blown the whistle on any discrimination based on race, Ms. Kavaler?s statement seems very important. I can?t imagine the judge is not aware of it; maybe some intrepid reporter will start doing his job and ask him about this or include it and Doug White?s statement in his stories.

In an attempt to ensure that race would never be an issue at PRB hearings, Donay Queenan, an African-American FDNY civilian employee, testified that pictures of candidates would not be available during the reviews but Judge Garaufis, no doubt as part of the broad authority given to courts under Title VII, has brought the ?pictures? back into the consideration process by requiring applicants to indicate their race and gender on the application for the next test. He explains away this offensive requirement by writing in the Order requiring it that ?the demographic information will not be used in determining who is hired for the job?. This could not have been written with a straight face as earlier in the same Order it states, ?The demographic data collected by the city from applicants for past firefighter examinations have been central to the court?s findings of disparate impact and disparate treatment liability in this case?. Let me simplify what this all means- demographic information will not be used to determine who gets hired for the job unless it is needed to determine who gets hired for the job.

Adding insult to injury the same Order contains the following: ?While the race/ethnicity options are arbitrary, and are unlikely to be anything other than rough approximations of the ways applicants are likely to identify themselves??. So despite the concession it is arbitrary, the Court wants this information anyway and we should trust it will not be used to determine who is hired. Additionally, an accompanying Order mentions a ?Penalty for Misrepresentation? (of race, gender, etc.) that carries disqualification and even criminal sanctions; how could this be enforced when by the judge?s own admission the race/ethnicity options (and even, increasingly throughout society, gender) are ?arbitrary? and only ?rough approximations? of how a person describes themselves? Further, if this demographic information will not be used in determining who is hired for the job why is there a Penalty for Misrepresentation?

There is much more in the recent Order that requires comment but that will have to wait. I implore all who receive this to pass it on; if you are in the media contact me and I will gladly expand on this Release.

Paul Mannix
President
Merit Matters
516-848-9847 cell

UNQUOTE.

 
QUOTE FROM A NEWSPAPER READER........................................QUOTE.


Patrick Williams ? HR Director & Global Business Partner for Supply Chain, Finance,IT and QARD at Godiva Chocolatier

some day people will start to realize that the only colors that matter to firefighters are:
the white of the blinding smoke.
the yellow flames they fight.
the blackness of the smokefilled room they search for a missing person.
the red blood that we all bleed.
the purple bunting they drape on their doors when another color-blind firefighter dies trying to save someone.

UNQUOTE.......THANK YOU.


 
http://www.silive.com/opinion/letters/index.ssf/2011/10/fire_department_test_doesnt_di.html
 
I Agree with this post 1000%.  ;) "Here?s the secret to becoming a firefighter: Stay in school and do your homework. Don?t take drugs. Don?t commit felonies. Study and train for the test. Show up for the test and do your best. If you make it, God bless you and keep you safe. If you don?t, try again and harder." ;) 
 
I firmly beleive if you put your ass on the line you should go to the top of the list. FUCK THE LIBERALS, IF MY ASS WAS NOT ON THE LINE YOU WOULD HAVE SHIT TO SAY. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!, BUT SOMONE HAS TO PAY THE BILL.
 
I have learned that the only way you get your dream career as a firefighter is with pure luck. I actually came to the realization that if I would have stayed in school and not joined the military I would have had a better shot of being a firefighter at this moment. Im not complaining though joing the Marine Corp taught me alot and made me alot better of a person. I do agree though that it should be the best person for the job...not a certain amount of this race or that race. If 4 people went after the same job in the regular civilian world, 1 white, 1 black, 1 hispanic, 1 asian, they will not care about the race or anything since they will hire the best person that will make there company better. The fire service is the same way except for in our career having a bad day is someone doesnt come home, the regular civillian job a bad day you spill your coffee. I may still be a young one at the age of 27 but i have seen things all over this world that others will never see, i may never get my dream career as a FDNY, Chicago, or Boston firefighter or maybe not even in a smaller department but I will still always pursue it till I am put in the ground.....my father taught me if I want it to go after it...if you say your gonna do it just do it....i have told him I would become a marine and he was suprised when I told him that but I did it......i did become a firefighter for the Marine Corp and worked my butt off for it....i am still always gonna work my butt off but this time for a different reason so my own son will have the opportunity to be what he wants to be......i might not have the luck that others have had at getting hired but I am still Lucky to have my father teach me everything and show me that being a firefighter is not a job it is a lifestyle and I have lived it all my life....and I will do the same for my own son.......
 
Zing the grumpygrizzly jr said:
I have learned that the only way you get your dream career as a firefighter is with pure luck. I actually came to the realization that if I would have stayed in school and not joined the military I would have had a better shot of being a firefighter at this moment. Im not complaining though joing the Marine Corp taught me alot and made me alot better of a person. I do agree though that it should be the best person for the job...not a certain amount of this race or that race. If 4 people went after the same job in the regular civilian world, 1 white, 1 black, 1 hispanic, 1 asian, they will not care about the race or anything since they will hire the best person that will make there company better. The fire service is the same way except for in our career having a bad day is someone doesnt come home, the regular civillian job a bad day you spill your coffee. I may still be a young one at the age of 27 but i have seen things all over this world that others will never see, i may never get my dream career as a FDNY, Chicago, or Boston firefighter or maybe not even in a smaller department but I will still always pursue it till I am put in the ground.....my father taught me if I want it to go after it...if you say your gonna do it just do it....i have told him I would become a marine and he was suprised when I told him that but I did it......i did become a firefighter for the Marine Corp and worked my butt off for it....i am still always gonna work my butt off but this time for a different reason so my own son will have the opportunity to be what he wants to be......i might not have the luck that others have had at getting hired but I am still Lucky to have my father teach me everything and show me that being a firefighter is not a job it is a lifestyle and I have lived it all my life....and I will do the same for my own son.......
Click to expand...

  Grump Jr., First I applaud both you and your father for their time spent in the US Military protecting our rights and our country. You and all the other Veterens out there must have done something right because we still do have our freedoms that you have fought for.

  I don't even know you but I would love to see you get the job as a career firefighter that you so desire. I got to tell you, I didn't get the fire dept job that I wanted back in the mid seventies for the very same reason. I guess I had to take Second Choice. But it wasn't so bad. I still fought fires and got to help people just about on a daily basis.

  A member of the FDNY one time told me, "you know what, the heat and the smoke is the same whether you fight fires in New York City or Norwich, Ct". He referred to me as a Brother. That was certainly an honor coming from a guy who was probadly fighting more fires in a week, than I would fight in a year. I always remembered that.

  My point is this. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Spread yourself out and go after the job in other places besides your favorites. With your military time, most places will add extra points to your final score. But you need to score high enough on the written exam before anything else. get yourself one of those Firefighter entrance Exam books and try to put some time into it. Keep yourself in good shape. Take EVERY Test that comes up. And certainly don't let one or two depts discourage you from getting a firefighter job. Some places are also looking for EMTs, so try to get that. I think New Haven, Ct might be giving a test soon, and I think there should be a few openings there over the length of the list.

  I took six test before I got on some small city in Eastern Connecticut. But I'm sure glad I did. It was a Great job. Enjoyed working in the firehouse for almost 30 years. I loved going to work. I'm sure there's plenty of depts out there that would be very happy to have you.
 
I have been taking every test that I can. I am currently finishing up my with my emt class and should have it by jan. I learned to not put all into only one place I just want to wake up everyday and go to work in a firehouse. It doesn't matter to me if I do a million calls a year or just one call a year because that one call I would be helping someone who needed help. That's all that matters to me. I just have to wait my time to get my chance
 
Very interesting article in the 10-25-11 Chief by the very eloquent Maureen Santora....maybe some of the more computer literate could post it here .....however one thing from her fine article that jumped out was that judge g's nephew did not score well on the previous test so now w/the judges ruling his hephew will now have another shot at a new test !!!!!!is anyone aware of this?????

 
that will always be around...the ones who get whatever they want because there mommy or daddy has friends....it sucks for the ones who wants and need the job to survive....I will gurantee though that kid wont make it through the academt and at the house they will shut the golden spoon fed kid out.....the guys on the job only respect those who earn it not buy it. It just makes everything suck worse for the ones who deserve it since they are the ones who get screwed over in the long run....I know some have gotten to the point to beg and do whatever it takes to get hired full time....but we dont have the powerful and rich mommy and daddy to buy us the job we want.....we go out and earn it so whenever we finally do get it means more to us and to our fellow brothers and sisters......
 
Could this be part of the problem ?......... 
Math as taught in public school 1950 - 2012

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2.00 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters , but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?

2. Teaching Math In 1960s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math In 1990s

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can get rich making a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok.)

6. Teaching Math In 2009

Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

7. Teaching Math In 2012
Who cares, just take the lumber from your rich neighbor's property. He won't have a gun to stop you, and the President says it's OK anyway because it's redistributing the wealth.
 
MESSAGE FROM MERIT MATTERS  QUOTE........................................ What Hath Nick Wrought?

The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race ? US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as quoted in the Merit Matters Amicus Brief to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.


All reasonable people throughout society ? officials and supporters of Merit Matters most especially ? believe in the principle of equal treatment for all. We are not na?ve; we recognize that racism and sexism (as well as prejudice based on national origin or religion or other factors) exists and that all groups, at one time or another, faced it. We just don?t believe that the answer is ?payback?, or retaliation, or re-directed discrimination or lowering standards because of the insulting premise that certain races are wholly incapable of competing on a test. Nor will we stand for it.

Since Nicholas Garaufis ruled in 2009 that NYC discriminated on written tests by requiring that Candidates know how to read, we have been witness to:

- Black applicants being allowed to re-submit incomplete applications for the entry test four months after the application period ended. No other group, not even Hispanics, was allowed to do so (even though Merit Matters brought this discrimination to the attention of the FDNY EEO office ? which did nothing to address this outrageous example of bias - and offered to provide volunteers to visit everyone, regardless of race or gender). In addition, these applicants were provided aid in re-submitting their applications, an advantage also denied to all other groups.

- Applicants being required to indicate their race and gender on the application for the test. Usually, and according to law, supplying this information is voluntary. The fact that the method of scoring the subjective, non-cognitive questions on the test - which counted for fully half of the final score ? has never been revealed raises the possibility and suspicion that the test was scored to achieve a desired result.


- Targeted recruitment, in which recruitment efforts funded by millions of taxpayer dollars are directed at certain groups to the detriment of other groups. (To be fair, this practice existed before the 2009 ruling but I had been assured it had stopped. It did not stop, and was actually highlighted in a recent FDNY publication)

- Black and Hispanic Candidates from previous tests given the opportunity to re-take the latest test ? a deeply flawed, largely subjective test that they only have to pass with a score of 70, not compete with other test takers for the highest score - and the possibility of being hired on a quota basis. White, Asian, Native Americans and ?others? who performed poorly on the same previous tests were not afforded the same opportunity ? based on nothing other than their skin color.


- Current Black and Hispanic Firefighters who were hired and are working stand to receive back pay and seniority because, by some incredible logic, they too were discriminated against.

- Black FDNY Officers in official FDNY uniform refusing to admit white Candidates to a test preparation class held in a public school.

In addition to these examples and others, we can now add the latest example of official discrimination based on race ? the recently announced Firefighter Mentorship Program. If you ever wondered what ?institutional racism? looks like, take a look at this.

Announced on a January 8, 2013 Department Order this Program was presented as an opportunity ?for our most dedicated members to give back to these upcoming classes?(i)f you are interested in serving as a Mentor? complete the Mentor Application.

What was left out of the announcement was that there is a generous amount of overtime available to Mentors (how does that square with ?give back? and ?serving??) and that this application, like the one for the written test, requires applicants to indicate their race and gender. Why is this required?

Here?s the official answer: ?Yes, we do ask Mentor Applicants about their gender and their race/ethnicity. This is done so that we may, to the best of our ability, match Mentees with Mentors based on the Mentees? preferences?. Translation: if a black Mentee does not want a white Mentor we will try to make that happen. If a male Mentee does not want a female Mentor, same thing.

Full disclosure: the e-mail I received from the head of the Recruitment and Diversity Unit went on to say that, ?We also ask about hobbies, what sports and teams they follow, etc?.(a)ll this is part of an ?Attrition Mitigation Plan? which is subject to Court oversight?.

A few questions:

1. If a white Mentee indicates he or she does not want a black Mentor, will that be acceptable? (Here?s Merit Matters? answer: No. Any Mentee that indicates they make decisions based on race should be disqualified from consideration for hiring)
2. Even if the other interests (hobbies, sports teams, etc.) are taken into consideration, how can the FDNY justify including race and gender? Isn?t that illegal, immoral and what we are supposed to be moving away from, not toward?
3. Does being part of an ?Attrition Mitigation Plan? excuse obvious, blatant, approved and widening discrimination?
4. Does the recent Stay of Special Monitor Mark Cohen alter the court oversight that allows this discrimination? If so, must it receive approval to continue, and who must (much less would) approve this?
5. Was the very short application period for this Program (6 days) and the lack of specificity about it in the Department Order indication that an effort was underway to ?game? this program for a select, connected few?
6. Will EEO professionals admit that the widespread perception that ?EEO? stands for Extra Employment Opportunity is true?

I would include the question, ?What does the NYC Human Rights Commission say about this discrimination??, but I already know the answer: One of our Representatives met with lawyer Cecilia Loving of that agency on February 11th and asked her, ?The FDNY can hire mentors based solely on race to match a Mentee just because there is court oversight??. The answer was, ?Yes?.

So there we are. Contrary to the FDNY EEO Policy Statement, which appears on the back of Merit Matters t-shirts and holds that employment decisions cannot be made on the basis of race or any other consideration but merit, decisions are widely and repeatedly made because of gender, skin color, and ethnicity. Not only that, but these decisions are defended. How can this be?

I?ll tell you how ? because not enough people are fighting back. Our positions regarding censorship and demanding that your rights be respected are not taken thoughtlessly or in a reckless fashion. Every usurpation of rights or implementation of discriminatory policy that goes unchallenged invites the next one. Abuse of EEO protections, as when a firefighter is able to have a Staff Chief and a Deputy Chief investigate a condition and report back to him because the head of EEO got involved (should I have been criticized last year to write that Margo Ferrandino and the Vulcan Society have a ?Jump! How high?? relationship in light of this latest incident?) emboldens those who are regular abusers of EEO protections. We are becoming aware of incidents in which members of some protected groups are beginning to believe that other groups, in the words of George Orwell, are ?more equal?, creating an example of ?live by the sword, die by the sword?.

Our advice? Do not either impose or accept unequal treatment. Demand that those who are paid to advocate on your behalf, advocate on your behalf. Turn to us, who are not paid to advocate on your behalf but do so anyway. If you do not demand equal treatment, or the leaders of this job do not, this dangerous job will become much, much more so, and the FDNY will leave itself open to further litigation.

Paul Mannix
President
Merit Matters
516-848-9847 cell
UNQUOTE..............................................................................
Once again...Well done Paul.....facts do not lie... your quote in the last paragraph speaks volumes "turn to us who are not paid to advocate on your behalf but do so anyway"......this is key...Men standing up for & doing what they know is right ....not out there to stuff their wallets w/OT or whatever other perks some gain in misguided programs under a false banner...... Thank You.....MERIT does MATTER !



 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top