ALLBRIITON AND GANT

ATTORNEYS AND

JOHN LE\\1S ALLBRITTON

fREDERICK

COUNSELORS

January

2, 1987

J. GA~T

AT LAw

;;22 WEST Cl:RVANn:s

STREET

POST OFFICE BOX 12:>22

I'I:NSACOLA. fLORIDA :>25HI

ST[VDI

(~)04) 4;;;;-:>2;;0

L.-\l!RE:-: SEI.IGER

or cor:-;~I:I.

Mr_
, City Manag~r
The City of Pensacola
Post Office Box 12910
Pensacola, Florida
32521
RE:

International

Association

of Black Firefighters

Dear Mr.
Our office has been retained by the local chapter of the
International
Association
of Black
Professional
Firefighters
(IABPFF),
to represent
them
~n the resolution
of certain
specific grievances that they have about the hiring and promotion of .Black Firefighters by the City of Pensacola.
At the outset, it is our hope, as well as the Associations,
that these matters can and will be expeditiously
resolved by
serious
negotiation.
However,
you
should
know
that
the
association
believes
their concerns
are significant
and will
seek legal redress if necessary.
I.

HIRING

As you are aware, there have been historically

few blacks'
hired to be firefighters.
There are only 13 presently employed,
out of 141 firefighters,
with the overwhelming
majority hired
-within the past four years.
In 1982, the City developed a Cadet Program designed to
recruit and train blacks as firefighters.
Asa
result of this
program, 12 blacks were eventually hired as firefighters.
For
.some reason, the program was discontinued in 1984 and the number

of black firQfightQrs rQmains static.

Over the years, the failure to recruit and hire blacks as
firefighters has resulted in a perception in the black community
that it is futile to apply and have an equal opportunity to be
emp Loye d ,
There has been no active and continuous -recruitment
in the black community, either through the media I the schools,
or businesses.

Hr~---"

City Manager
December 16, 1986
RE:
International
Page 2

Assoc.

Black Firefighters

The
actual
hiring
process
reinforces
this
lack
of
commi tment on behalf of the City.
By and large, firefighters
are hired based on selection criteria which are disadvantageous
to blacks.
This includes the written test and prior firefighter
experience.
It is our belief
that the City must. adopt a vigorous
voluntary commitment
to recruiting blacks to apply for and be
hired as firefighters.
This outreach program can at least begin
to dispel the notion that blacks need not apply for these jobs.
Second,
the city must adopt a fair testing
and experience
requirement that does not disproportionately
affect blacks.
The
association would be willing to discuss the precise perimeters
of both .
. II.

PROMOTIONS

While all firefighters

are subject to the same
mechanism when they seek promotions, part of the process
in a disparate proportion of blacks not being promoted.
A.

testing
results

ORAL EXAM

The oral exam component of the test stands out like a sore
thumb as a subjective selection criteria.
It gives the employer
an opportunity to exclude persons based on race because of the
lack of channeled
discretion' in how it is done.
This is
especially
true in the case where it is weighted so heavily,
(40% of the total grade).
Furthermore,
the oral exam is
admini'stered solely by whites, which heightens the potential
of
discrimination
by color.
Based on the otheL two components, it appears that the oral
exam does not add a significant
amount of knowledge
for the
benefit of the objective selectors.
This is certainly true when
weighing the possible harm.
Therefore lit
could be entirely
eliminated, or at least, it should be given much less weight.

B.

ON THE JOB TRAINING

For a fir~fighter to attain the rank of lieutenant, he must

possess driving and pumping skills.
Since there is no formal
training opportunity
(except two weeks before the test) f each
firefighter
is at the mercy of his supervisor to allow extra
time to train.
Since there is only one black above the rank of
firefighter and none in a supervisory position, access to this
training has been at best sporadic for black firefighters.
This

Mr.

'"-'

__

City Manager
December 15, 1986
RE:
International
Page 3

Assoc.

Black Firefighters

puts them at a serious

disadvantage
when
it comes to the'
performance
portion
of the test or an objective
selection
procedure.
Formalizing
the training regimen would go a long way to
eliminating this subjective selection procedure.
We would point out that the inclusion of the practical exam
on the test has been warmly received by the Association and is
a positive step towards a fair testing procedure.
III.

CONCLUSION

TheIABPFF
seeks first to substantially
increase the black
composition .of the rank and file as well as the officers in the
fire department so that it is more representative
of the actual
composition
of the labor force of the city as a whole, and
secondly io insure a positive means of upward mobility.
We look forward to discussing
the issues raised in this
letter with you and/or your staff within the next 20 days.
We
thank you and await your prompt response.
Sincerely,

./1

1"

./
Li~"
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cc:

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