By Antonio D. French
Filed Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 3:54 PM
It's never good when you come home to see firefighters at your home. The good news for Charles Bryson is that it's just a political fire that will be ablaze on his street today.
The Fire Institute for Racial Equality, AKA F.I.R.E., AKA the black firefighters' union, will be protesting today outside the home of the City's new public safety just one day before he is expected to take action against Fire Chief Sherman George.
Mayor Francis Slay appointed Bryson as director just this week, replacing Sam Simon, who after being criticized for months about his supervision of the fire department, abruptly took a job with St. Louis University just days before his scheduled showdown with George. That task has now fallen on Bryson, who has found himself in the middle of a racially-charged storm of controversy.
George supporters have charged that Bryson (who is black) lacks the necessary experience to lead the Department of Public Safety and was hired only to provide political cover for Slay when he fires the city's first black fire chief.
F.I.R.E. will also conduct another protest tomorrow (Friday) at 5:00 PM at City Hall.
UPDATE: PubDef has heard a rumor — rather, a possible scenario — in which Mayor Slay and Director Bryson place Chief George on 30 days unpaid suspension for failing to make the promotions as directed. During that time the fire department is placed under the control of an interim chief — maybe an African-American — who makes "compromise" promotions reflecting the racial balance of the department.
We won't have to wait long to find out if this rumor — or scenario — has any legs.
UPDATE 2: Appearing on Channel 2 yesterday morning, Bryson appeared to offer a tiny bit of face-saving wiggle room for the chief. He said he and Slay would accept if George, by 5:00 Friday, offered a date in the future when he would be willing to make the promotions.
Bryson also said Slay has told the chief that he did not have to promote anyone that he did not feel comfortable with.
Related Story:
Hire a Black to Fire a Black?
20 Comments:
Which is more responsible?
1) Terminating a chief who refuses to fill numerous officers' vacancies from a promotional list that has been constructed from a test determined to be valid by a federal judge (who, by the way, bent over backwards to accommodate the ineptitude of FIRE's attorney, giving her second, third and fourth chances to correct her mistakes); or
2) Refusing to fill said officers' vacancies.
9/13/2007 9:28 AM
F.I.R.E doesn't care about people's safety. F.I.R.E. only cares about the color of a person's skin. (I mean as long as you are black) Bigotry stinks no matter what you try to call it.
9/13/2007 10:52 AM
Chief George's contention about the testing has never been about race!Chief George's opposition to the last promotions test was about the selected test (against his wishes) did not properly gauge the knowledge,skills and ability to perform the duties of captain and battalion chief!
9/13/2007 11:11 AM
Time for some education.
If a promotional test has an adverse impact on a minority group, as this one did, the defendant has to show that it is valid, i.e. it measures what it purports to measure. In this case, that means the city had to show that the test did measure the skills required to be a captain or bat chief. Since the City won and FIRE lost, the City met that burden.
The chief's objections to the promotional exam were to the testing company that was selected and those objections did have race at their heart. The chief was involved in the development of the test; his argument now that it did not assess leadership skills is bogus.
9/13/2007 11:42 AM
I am so f*cking tired of this sh*t!!!!!!!!!
9/13/2007 12:36 PM
F.I.R.E George already.
Promote the people that should be promoted.
Promote a Chief that will not play these race games.
Force F.I.R.E. and the Firefighter Union to merge into one. A union based on race is pretty horrible in my opinion.
Just end this.
9/13/2007 2:02 PM
Who approved the test the firefighters to get a chance at being promoted?
Didn’t Chief George have to take these tests as well as he was moving up through the ranks?
If Chief George didn’t like the test why was it given in the first place?
Chief George is the man responsible for everything that happens within the department.
9/13/2007 2:29 PM
FIRE GEORGE. Get rid of him. I am tired of my family being placed in danger because he wants to act like a baby.
If Slay can't get rid of George then maybe we should fire him too!
9/13/2007 4:11 PM
Didn't the chief already get "face saving wiggle room" by promising to "start the process" of making promotions, a promise he has not fulfilled?
9/13/2007 4:13 PM
The city charter allows Chief George the sole decisions of when and whom to promote! Slay and his "boy" Bryson have no legal authority to force Chief George to promote! If they take adverse action against Chief George's almost 40 years of exceptional employment,he will win a civil suit that will pay him millions!Chief George is a Viet Nam veteran,sissies like Slay,Simon and Bryson don't intimidate him!
9/13/2007 4:33 PM
Anonymous said...
Who approved the test the firefighters to get a chance at being promoted?
Didn’t Chief George have to take these tests as well as he was moving up through the ranks?
If Chief George didn’t like the test why was it given in the first place?]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
This is part of what Sylvester Brown wrote a couple days ago:
"I'm being forced to promote commanders from a list that's four years old, with candidates that I'm not confident have been properly tested," George said.
George's call for a method that tests a firemen's "emergency skills" always made sense to me. When 13 firefighters were injured in 2003, George and Simon's investigation pointed to "ignored department procedures" and "commanders not being accountable." If a citizen or firefighter dies because a fire commander didn't follow protocol, the buck stops with George, not the mayor or public servants.
George suggested that I go back and review the timeline when allegations of cheating in the Fire Department emerged between blacks and whites. I did. It started around 1997.
"For 22 years prior to that date, there were no major litigations concerning promotional testing," George said. "Why? Because we used 'assessment centers,' and blacks did well and were promoted. You have to ask, 'Why did they change the test?'"
The answer may be found in a 2002 letter sent to the U.S. Justice Department from an attorney representing FIRE, the group that speaks for black firefighters. The letter questions the loss of the "assessment centers" in promotional tests. The attorney, Althea Johns, asked for the department's intervention to ensure "fair promotional tests, which measure the knowledge, skills and abilities of firefighters."
9/13/2007 4:40 PM
Well, if 30 firefighters are already filling vacant supervisor jobs on an interim basis, there ought to be 30 people to promote with whom the firechief is comfortable.
If not, then why should we be comfortable?
9/13/2007 4:51 PM
If George is promoting from a four year-old list, it's his own fault for refusing to make promotions earlier.
Also, there was an assessment component to last promotional examination, so that excuse by George falls short.
What's the next excuse we can refute?
9/13/2007 5:22 PM
This sounds like the same old BS. Chief George is not a King. He must answer to his boss like everyone else. He didn't so he should be fired.
I am tired of this and the people of St. Louis that King George is putting in danger are tired of it.
Goodbye King George.
Francis, you had better name a better chief this time or you will be the next one gone.
9/13/2007 5:36 PM
Francis, you had better name a better chief this time . . .
Wasn't the fire chief appointed in 1999 by a previous mayor? And don't they serve until they are fired or retired?
9/13/2007 6:01 PM
Chief George did indeed take the same tests as he moved through the ranks, and performed miserably on each one. (This should be a part of some record available through the city.) He was promoted, with other FIRE members, through the court system. The court system has been utilized by FIRE on every promotional test since 1980.
9/13/2007 10:18 PM
According to the City Charter and Civil Service Rules Hiring and promotional exams are the responsibility of the Director of Personnel. He is responsible for all aspects, type of tests, weights, who get the contract.
SHL and Barret and Associates are both organizations that employ Industrial Psychologists. PHD's in the field of testing.
Fire Department under Sherman George has never, not once tried to improve testing. The academy, under the leadership of Chief George has never offered an officers candidate school for employees that want to improve themselves. The Fire Department has never officially or unofficially informed us what we needed to know to be a successful officer. This education fell upon the individuals to educated themselves. Some went to collage, others attended remedial classes located at 1020 North Taylor.
Test was announced. Reading Material was announced when you submitted your application. Instruction sessions were scheduled with test consultants. Job Analysis were conducted of the department by the test consultant. Test was developed and subsequantly administered.
Tests were graded. Collage educated firefighters scored better than those that attended the remedial sessions at 1020 North Taylor.
Lawsuit Filed. Temporary Restraining Order requested to prevent City from making promotions. DENIED
Permanent Injunction requested to prevent City from making promotions. DENIED
F.I.R.E, the City and Local 73 engaged in mediation talks at the judges orders. Talks broke down when it was revealed by F.I.R.E that one of the issues they needed to agree to a settlement was a promotion for Addington Stewart. Local 73 took the position that the negotiators from FIRE were involved in negotiating for personalities instead of improving the situation.
Two week trial was heard by Federal Judge Rodney Sipple he ruled in favor of the CITY.
Fire Chief has consistantly sided with F.I.R.E. in this argument. Regardless of the outcome, he can no longer lead this department.
One last thing. Happy 150th birthday STLFD.
9/13/2007 11:15 PM
So Mr. George started a war and now his dirty laundry is being aired.
Mr. George is unqualified himself and FIRE is a racist organization. This information is more than unsettling.
Get rid of the unqualified Mr. George or Mr. Slay we will have to get rid of you.
PS...stop protesting peoples homes...have some class people.
9/14/2007 9:05 AM
Have some class?
Ummmm.....
9/14/2007 6:24 PM
The idea of protesting is showing class. Idiot. It could be worst.
9/15/2007 11:31 AM
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