Thursday, February 03, 2000
City report finds no systematic bias
Policy changes on problems urged
BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Cincinnati administrative report into racism allegations at City Hall found no system of discrimination.
But it does make policy recommendations to deal with individual complaints among employees.
The report, released Wednesday by City Manager John Shirey, follows a study by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that said city employees witnessed widespread racism at work. The study prompted complaints from civil rights groups.
The city report reinterviewed those from the NAACP study and found employee frustration is the overriding factor in complaints.
“The city's work force is a microcosm of society,” the city report said. “No one should be surprised to find racist acts or decisions occuring in the work force, no matter how distasteful or unwanted.”
The report recommended a number of changes to city policy, including a new policy banning racial, sexist or religious jokes or comments by city employees at work. Doing so may subject them to disciplinary action. The report also recommends supervisory training, as well as including a department's diversity in a supervisor's performance evaluation.
“This is a big step forward,” Milton Hinton, president of the NAACP Cincinnati chapter, said in reference to the recommendations. He is meeting with leaders of the chapter tonight to discuss the city's report and its plan to address racism concerns.
Councilwoman Alicia Reece was not completely comfortable with the city report's finding that most of employee complaints were not because of discrimination. She has talked to too many employees who say racial jokes and religious slurs are heard at work.
What she did like were recommendations that make supervisors ac countable for dealing with discrimination issues. The next step is figuring out a way to execute the recommendations and monitor their effectiveness.
“This is not going to be resolved overnight. Racism didn't happen overnight,” she said.
A public hearing on the report will be held 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
Councilman Phil Heimlich said Wednesday he was concerned when the NAACP report came out in October that accusations of “widespread racial discrimination” were not accompanied by detailed evidence of individual and institutional discrimination.
“The city report points that out,” he said.
But he added that the NAACP study, as well as the city report, are helpful, ensuring that the city is treating its employees fairly.
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