More and more issues of this type will come to the surface because racial minorities want a piece of the pie. In order for economic prosperity to continue within the Twin Cities Metro Area, racial minorities MUST have opportunities to good paying jobs! However, public institutions like city government seems to practice discrimination, which is wrong and illegal. The Minneapolis police department MUST also stop its discrimination as well.
Dear candidates for public office-where do you stand??? Last update: October 6, 2005 at 11:53 PM St. Paul NAACP challenges diversity on public workforce Curt Brown Star Tribune Published October 7, 2005 The St. Paul NAACP has launched an audit of the city's public workforce, contending that it is failing to keep up with an increasingly diverse population. Nathaniel Khaliq, president of the St. Paul branch of the NAACP, sent letters this week to St. Paul's fire chief and deputy police chief asking for detailed hiring breakdowns by Oct. 24. "St. Paul has a dismal, and some would say horrendous, record, so we're trying to get information from the city's largest departments to ascertain if it's as bad as people say," Khaliq said Thursday. "As our city turns browner, it's unacceptable to under-represent minority members. It's 2005, and all the barriers that have restricted us from getting access to these jobs should have been removed long ago." In a separate development, the St. Paul firefighters union has sued the city for allegedly breaching an earlier agreement that spells out how new firefighters should be hired. The lawsuit by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 21 comes as the city is poised to add about 27 firefighters next month. Several community leaders complained Thursday that the union's action is damaging the city's efforts to diversify the Fire Department. A look at the city's diversity numbers supports some of Khaliq's contentions but reflects progress as well. More than 85 percent of the city's 2,655 employees are white, compared with the latest U.S. census estimates that show 65 percent of St. Paul residents are white. At the 722-member Police Department, the city's largest group of workers, the number of black employees has dropped from 7.5 percent in 1997 to 6.3 percent this June. http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5656133.html Shawn Lewis, Minnetonka, MN -- ___________________________________________________________ Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
