Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 29, 1993 TAG: 9305290168
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Reed applied for the position of airport training officer and health fitness coordinator, but a white fire captain got the post.
Reed said Friday he decided to file the racial-discrimination complaint after city officials rejected his claims.
"It is with the EEOC now and I will have to wait on them," he said, adding it often takes the commission several months to make a ruling on complaints.
Reed initially had filed a grievance, but City Manager Bob Herbert ruled the complaint was "not grieveable." A Circuit Court judge upheld that decision.
The city's procedure permits employees to file grievances over management violation of personnel rules. But it does not allow employees to challenge promotions on the grounds that they are the most qualified applicants.
After losing his attempt to pursue a grievance, Reed filed a racial discrimination complaint with Ken Cronin, the city affirmative-action officer.
Cronin recently rejected his complaint, saying he found no evidence of racial discrimination.
Reed, a 28-year-veteran of the Fire Department and one of the city's first black firefighters, contends he was better qualified than Larry Nichols, the fire captain who got the post.
But Rawleigh Quarles, the city's first black fire chief, denies race was a factor in the selection of Nichols.
About 9 percent of the 245-member department and approximately 8 percent of the officers are black.
The airport training officer is the liaison between the Roanoke Regional Airport and the Fire Department. That person supervises the specialized training for firefighters who respond to emergency calls at the airport.
by CNB