Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
The FDNY’s application process is under scrutiny by the Vulcan Society of the FDNY. Watch the video below for the entire story.
Apparently, the application process was too difficult for some applicants and incomplete applications were turned in.
Some black applicants will be getting house calls by the Vulcan Society to help them complete their incomplete applications. This was approved by a Court Monitor. We are talking about over 2000 house calls! Keep in mind that 52% of the applicants are black.
HUH? Should incomplete applications warrant house calls? Should incomplete applications be given extra time to get it right?
Isn’t part of the application process…following directions?
I understand the need for recruitment and a focus on recruitment towards minorities. I remember learning a lot at an Affiliate Leadership Training Seminar and Human Relations Conference put on by the IAFF. It was an eye opener for me. The way I understood it was that there are fewer minorities on the job as firefighters because for years they were unable to get the job due to a multitude of reasons including prejudice and racism. Only by efforts in recruiting certain minorities have departments been able to increase the number of minorities on the job. That being said, I do believe there is a right and a wrong way of doing things.
Do we need to draw a line somewhere? I mean for all applicants. What do you all think? Is this special treatment warranted?
I just can’t think of a single company willing to hire anyone who can’t even correctly fill out an application.
Links:
- Read the article here: http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/fdny-vulcan-society-good-day-ny-20111227
- Related: http://www.amsterdamnews.com/news/local/city-appeals-judge-s-decision-on-black-firefighter-lawsuit/article_c5c1aeac-4dc4-11e1-ad5d-001871e3ce6c.html
- Also related: http://www.meritmattersusa.blogspot.com/
- FDNY Vulcan Society: http://www.vulcansocietyfdny.org
- FDNY Employment: http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/community/employment_index.shtml
