Members of Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.) have participated in another promotional exam administered by the personnel division of the City of St. Louis for positions of captain and battalion chief.
Personnel Director Richard Frank chose the same questionable testing firm, EB Jacobs, that then-Fire Chief Sherman George opposed because of horrible results in 2004 regarding fair testing. George was later unfairly forced out of leadership because he refused to promote from the resulting list.
In the past 13 years, promotions in the St. Louis Fire Department from 2000 to 2014 are as follows:
- Of 115 firefighters promoted to the position of captain, only 22 blacks (19 percent) were promoted.
- Of 25 captains promoted to the position of battalion chief, only seven blacks (28 percent) were promoted.
The disparities are evident when you consider that, according to the 2010 census, the city’s population is 45.9 percent white and 48.5 percent black.
If a fair selection and promotion process were in place, over the past 14 years there would be at least 210 black firefighters living in the St. Louis community with a combined annual salary of approximately $7.7 million. There would be at least 60 black captains with a combined annual salary of approximately of $3.8 million. There would be at least 10 black battalion chiefs with a combined annual salary of approximately $820,000. And there would be at least three black deputy fire chiefs with a combined annual salary of approximately $253,000.
Most of this black middle-class wealth would likely reside in the 11 wards that are led by black alderpersons. So why aren’t more black alderpersons fighting harder on behalf of this potential economic treasure? It would certainly be in their best interests. The more blacks with stable, good-paying jobs, the greater the chances for creating positive change in our community.
However, the St. Louis Fire Department is currently far from reflecting this fairness and equality.
It was proven in a court of law that the current fire chief was chosen because he was white, according to the jury that decided that Deputy Chief Charles Coyle (an African American) was more qualified than then-Battalion Chief Dennis Jenkerson, but was purposely passed over and discriminated against.
The department still has only one black deputy fire chief and four whites. There are only three black battalion chiefs with minimal authorities and 17 whites. The disciplinary panel for the department is practically all-white. And Firefighter’s Local #73 has an established history of not supporting fair employment practices, to the extent that F.I.R.E. had to be created.
The following steps are needed to make it difficult to manipulate or cheat on firefighter exams, thereby giving everyone a fair opportunity to succeed:
* Â A diverse assessor panel should be established for all candidates
* An audio record of candidate presentations should be made
* A fair appeal process should be created
* The multiple choice test should be graded on site
* Â The testing process should be better secured
* Personnel Director Richard Frank should be mandated to uphold the above recommendations.
F.I.R.E. appreciates that the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, especially Comptroller Darlene Green and aldermanic President Lewis Reed, supported these fairness procedures. But because the director of personnel didn’t enact them, it was for naught. Black elected officials, especially those at the top, must send a stronger message to the personnel director for things to change.
If our black youth are to have any chance to work and succeed in the fire service, we need you to join us in our fight for fairness and equality in the St. Louis Fire Department. Email F.I.R.E. at firefightersinstitute@yahoo.com to find out how.
Abe Pruitt is a captain in the St. Louis Fire Department and president of Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality.
