FAIRFIELD — An African-American maintenance worker has filed a racial discrimination grievance with a labor group after a city official asked him to be photographed with his two sons for a city publication.

        The publication was intended to promote this Butler County suburb as a racially diverse workplace.

Jackson

        Robert Jackson, 43, says he filed the grievance April 11 with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees after the city's human resources director repeatedly asked him April 10 to do the photo with his two sons, ages 9 and 5, leaving the new Lane Public Library. The photo was to appear in the city's annual report.

        In an interview Thursday at the Fairfield Department of Public Works, Mr. Jackson said he offered to be photographed while working but did not want his sons included.

        He objected, he said, because he didn't want his sons “used” and did not want to take them out of school for the 9 a.m. photo.

        A defensive back for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1981 to 1989, Mr. Jackson has worked for the city since January 2001.

        “Don't use them as a guinea pig to make yourself look good in the community,” he said of his sons. “No, I won't stand for that.”

        As one of six African-American city employees out of 372, he said diversity is not as good as it should be in Fairfield. He wants city officials to discuss offering diversity programs and hiring more blacks in upper level positions. And he wants his attorney and Gary Hines, president of the NAACP's Hamilton/Fairfield/West Chester/Liberty Townships chapter, involved in the talks.

        “I'm not trying to build a lot of turmoil,” Mr. Jackson said. “I'm trying to build a bridge. The people that work here don't understand what diversity is and don't want their feathers ruffled. They want everyone to think everything is peachy.”

        The number of black city employees in Fairfield has risen a bit in recent years, city records show. Just three years ago, the city had one black employee, a part-time firefighter. Today, blacks hold five full-time jobs and one part-time job, out of 252 full-time and 120 part-time employees.

        Fairfield Human Resources Director Ken McFarland said Thursday he had good intentions when he asked Mr. Jackson to pose for the photo and denied being racially insensitive. Other city workers' children have posed for photos for the city's annual report.

        “I never walked in a black person's shoes, so I don't know what they've encountered, what differences they have that I don't know about,” he said.

        Fairfield has about 42,000 residents, 90 percent of whom are white, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. It has, however, a growing minority population, especially among Hispanics.

        Mr. McFarland said the city has been trying to attract more black and minority employees and would be open to discussions.

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