David Goldberg - Black Firefighters and the FDNY: The Struggle for Jobs, Justice, and Equity in New York City

JUSTICE, POWER, AND POLITICS

Heather Ann Thompson
Rhonda Y. Williams

Peniel E. Joseph
Matthew D. Lassiter
Daryl Maeda
Barbara Ransby
Vicki L. Ruiz
Marc Stein

The Justice, Power, and Politics series publishes new works in history that explore the myriad struggles for justice, battles for power, and shifts in politics that have shaped the United States over time. Through the lenses of justice, power, and politics, the series seeks to broaden scholarly debates about Americas past as well as to inform public discussions about its future.

More information on the series, including a complete list of books published, is available at http://justicepowerandpolitics.com/.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
Chapel Hill

2017 The University of North Carolina Press

The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Names: Goldberg, David A., 1972 author.
Title: Black firefighters and the FDNY : the struggle for jobs, justice, and equity in New York City / by David Goldberg.
Other titles: Justice, power, and politics.
Description: Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2017] | Series: Justice, power, and politics | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017026942| ISBN 9781469633626 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781469633633 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: African American fire fightersEmploymentNew York (State)New YorkHistory20th century. | African AmericansCivil rightsNew York (State)New YorkHistory20th century. | Fire departmentsNew York (State)New YorkHistory20th century. | New York (N.Y.). Fire DepartmentHistory20th century. | New York (N.Y.). Fire Department. Vulcan SocietyHistory20th century.
Classification: LCC TH9505.N5 G63 2017 | DDC 331.6/39607307471dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017026942

In a historic 2012 decision, Eastern District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled that the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) had knowingly and intentionally implemented and maintained racially discriminatory hiring processes throughout its history. The case, United States and Vulcan Society v. City of New York (U.S. v. City of New York), developed out of a 2002 federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint filed by FDNY captain Paul Washingtonat the time the president of the Vulcan Society, the oldest and largest Black firefighters organization in the nationon behalf of New Yorks Black firefighters as well as minority residents, past and present, who were systemically excluded from the department by these policies and practices. Assisted by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the law firm of Levy Ratner, Washingtons EEOC complaint focused largely on the historic and ongoing discriminatory intent and impact of the written examinations used to rank applicants and determine eligibility to advance to the next stages of the hiring process. Despite a mountain of overwhelming evidence that showed that the test, eligibility ranking system, and hiring process as a whole were blatantly discriminatory, the city and the FDNY failed to acknowledge or accept responsibility and stubbornly refused to institute reforms in compliance with standing employment discrimination laws, standards, and regulations. The recalcitrance and repeated unwillingness of the city and the FDNY to negotiate in good faith eventually led the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to intervene in the case. In 2007, the DOJ joined with the Vulcan Society, the CCR, and a class of recent minority applicants and filed formal racial discrimination charges against the city and the FDNY in federal court.

The case proceeded at a snails pace, dragging on for nearly a decade. The City of New York spent millions in public funds defending the procedures, policies, recruitment methods, and testing and screening mechanisms that had made the FDNY the least racially representative major urban fire department in the nation. This continued even after the case was finally decided, as the city and the FDNY, in conjunction with white rank-and-file firefighters and the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA), continued to oppose, delay, impede, and contest the scope and content of the courts decision and pending relief order.