海角破解版

Black firefighters in Cleveland are hoping for a sit-down with city officials to address charges of racial and gender discrimination, following a recent report from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The Vanguards of Cleveland, an association of black professional firefighters, cite a variety of practices that the EEOC report says are discriminatory against blacks, Hispanics and women.

Vanguards President Capt. Tyree Thompson says recent classes of incoming firefighters have lacked diversity, with the most recent group comprised almost entirely white men. Thompson says these problems are systemic.

鈥淚t needs to become common practice that the fire department, the EMS and police represent what the City of Cleveland residents look like,鈥� Thompson told ideastream Thursday.

The application process works on a point scale to determine eligible applicants, prioritizing certain criteria, like residency and military service.

But Thompson says the application isn鈥檛 clear about how or where to upload documents providing that information, so people unfamiliar with the department might miss it.

鈥淎nd once you did find out you weren鈥檛 given those points, you weren鈥檛 allowed to go back and bring in the information to obtain those points,鈥� he said.

The entry exams also require internet access and transportation to Parma to take the physical exam.

鈥淸For] a lot of the people and inner city, and citizens of Cleveland, that鈥檚 an issue. Whether it be that you don鈥檛 have a vehicle or you don鈥檛 feel comfortable going out to Parma, I mean, that is something that we have to deal with,鈥� Thompson said.

Women were given men鈥檚 uniforms during the physical test, and instructions for applicants varied, according to Thompson. The lack of properly fitting gear meant even though some female candidates who had already passed the firefighter certification course through Cuyahoga Community College 鈥� which also includes a physical exam 鈥� still couldn鈥檛 pass the city鈥檚 tests.

鈥淭he gloves weren鈥檛 fitting most of the females, they would fall off,鈥� Thompson says. 鈥淭he helmets were sized for males, so a lot of the time when they would be going through the exams, the helmet would be falling down on their heads and things like that.鈥�

The tests are administered by staff at the Tri-C campus and Thompson said there鈥檚 no official city or fire department representative there to oversee that process and ensure it is equitable.

The fire department has faced claims of discrimination before, including two major lawsuits: one from black and Hispanic firefighters in 1973, and another from the Vanguards of Cleveland in 1980. The Vanguards鈥� suit made it

Those lawsuits resulted in a consent decree, which required the department to hire a certain percentage of minorities who had passed the entrance exam.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e made a few changes here and there, but this has been an ongoing thing since I鈥檝e been on the job, and I鈥檝e been on the job 23 years,鈥� Thompson said.

The consent decree, which had been revised in 1983 and upheld by the Supreme Court, was of addressing past racial discrimination.

Thompson said, since then, classes of incoming hires have had fewer and fewer people of color.

鈥淵ou can only hire so many firefighters,鈥� Thompson says. 鈥淪o once those numbers get below a certain point, they鈥檙e going to stay there for 30 years at least.鈥�

The department currently only has three female firefighters and two of them are about to retire.

The Vanguards want the city to take these charges seriously, and meet with them to discuss possible solutions, Thompson said.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 put a Band-Aid on this anymore. The consent decree was a Band-Aid, so when it ended, things went back to the way they鈥檇 been before the consent decree,鈥� he says.

The city says it cannot address the claims beyond its initial statement earlier this week disagreeing with the EEOC鈥檚 charges.