Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 3, 1993 TAG: 9304050203
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
FIRE CAPTAIN CHARGES RACISM KILLED PROMOTION
Roanoke Fire Capt. Nelson Reed wanted the job, but he did not get it.It is a new position in the Fire Department: airport training officer and health fitness coordinator.
Reed believes that he did not get the post because he is black.
Rawleigh Quarles, the city's first black fire chief, denies that race was a factor in the selection of a white fire captain for the post.
Reed is not convinced.
He has filed a racial discrimination complaint with Ken Cronin, city personnel manager and affirmative-action officer.
Cronin said he was aware of the complaint, but declined to comment on it or say when he expects to make a decision.
Reed, a 28-year-veteran of the Fire Department and one of the city's first black firefighters, contends that he had better qualifications than Larry Nichols, the captain who was selected.
The airport training officer will be a liaison between the Roanoke Regional Airport and the Fire Department. He will supervise the specialized training for firefighters who respond to emergency calls at the airport, in addition to being the command officer for fires at the airport.
The salary range for the job is $37,000 to $41,000, based on experience and qualifications.
Quarles chose Nichols after four applicants were interviewed by a four-member panel that included airport and firefighting officials. Quarles was one of the panelists.
"I am not aware of any discrimination. I will not tolerate it," said Quarles, who himself won a racial discrimination case against the city nearly two decades ago.
"Based on the interviews and the qualifications, we selected whom we thought was the best applicant," Quarles said.
"All four applicants were given equal consideration. There was no bias."
Nichols, who has worked for the department nearly 30 years and had the same rank as Reed, could not be reached Friday for comment.
Quarles said neither Nichols nor Reed had the experience or training necessary for the airport position. Quarles said it wasn't a matter of just choosing an applicant with the background and experience for the job.
"Both functions - airport training and health fitness coordinator - are new in the department, and we knew that anyone who got the position would have to undergo training for it," Quarles said.
If Reed had been selected, he would have been required to complete the same training as Nichols, Quarles said.
Quarles would not discuss the qualifications of either man, but he said Nichols has a good record with the department.
It is believed to be the first charge of racial discrimination in the department since Quarles became fire chief four years ago.
Initially, Reed filed a grievance over his failure to get the post. But City Manager Bob Herbert ruled that the complaint was "not grieveable" under city guidelines. A Circuit Court judge upheld that decision.
The city's procedure permits employees to file grievances over management's violation of personnel rules. But it does not allow employees to challenge promotions on the grounds that they are the most qualified applicants, City Attorney Wilburn Dibling said.
"You can't file a grievance on the basis that applicant X is better qualified than applicant Y," Dibling said. "That is a management decision."
Reed, 52, contends that he had superior qualifications for the position. He is a state certified training officer who helped develop the city's fire training academy. He also has a fire science certificate from Virginia Western Community College.
Herbert declined Friday to comment on Reed's complaint, saying the state's privacy laws prohibit him from discussing the case.
After losing his attempt to pursue a grievance, Reed decided to file a racial discrimination complaint.
If Cronin rejects his complaint, Reed said he will file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Reed said the city is moving too slowly in hiring and promoting more blacks in department.
About 9 percent of the 245-member department is black and approximately 8 percent of the officers are black.
"If it takes as long to get 20 percent as it did to get 10 percent, it will be the next century," Reed said.
The city's black population is 24 percent. Blacks comprise 24 percent of the overall municipal work force, but they are concentrated in maintenance and laboring jobs.
Quarles has stepped up the city's recruiting program to hire more blacks and women. The city has no female firefighters.
This is not the first time Reed has filed a complaint against the city. He was a member of a group of eight black firefighters who claimed in 1981 that they were denied promotions because of race. The EEOC rejected the complaints.
But the same federal agency ruled during the mid-1970s that the city had discriminated against Quarles and several other black firefighters.
As part of the settlement in that case, the city promoted Quarles to fire marshal and made cash payments to other black firefighters. The case was triggered when Quarles applied for the fire marshal's post, which was given to a white firefighter. The white firefighter who had been named marshal was moved to another job after Quarles won.
\ DISCRIMINATION?\ RACIAL COMPOSITION OF ROANOKE FIRE DEPT.\ \ Total work force: Positions - 245; blacks - 22.\ \ Fire Chief: Positions - 1; blacks - 1.\ \ District Chiefs: Positions - 6; blacks - 1.\ \ Captains: Positions - 54; blacks - 3.\ \ Lieutenants: Positions - 60; blacks - 5.\ \ Firefighters: Positions - 110; blacks - 11.\ \ Other: Positions - 14; blacks - 1.