HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffirmative Action Advisory Committee Annual Report - 1980-1981 •
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City of Ithaca
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Affirmative Action Advisory Committee
Annual Report
• • Annual Reporting Period 1 July 1980 - 30.June 1981
I. INTRODUCTION:
The Affirmative Action Advisory Commitee was formed on 4 February 1981 '
by Mayor Bordoni. Membership was made up of half community members and
half employees.- One half of the employees were management/mid-management,
one.half'non-management,; one half minorities, one half non-minorities.
• A list of the appointed members is attached as.Appendix A.
The first. meeting was held. on March 26,' 1981 with a committee decision
to meet the third Thursday of .every month at 2:00 p.m.__ The Committee
selected Michael. Montgomery and--Stephen Wapen to act=•-as Co-Chairmen -and
discussed missions and: guidelines_of _the committee. Attached as Appendix B.
II. _1981 HIGHLIGHTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:
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October 1980 Affirmative Action Seminar for Employees ,
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( February 4, . L981 Membership appointed by Mayor- Bordoni
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March 26, ' 1981 First-meeting -- selected Co-Chairmen and
established Missions and--Guidelines.
April 16, 1981 Second meeting held- -:Missions and Guidelines
accepted.
May 7 & 8, 1981 - • Affirmative Action Seminar -for employees
some Committee members attended.-
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May'21,21981 Affirmative ActionAdvisory Committee..meeting -held.i
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June 18-, 1981 Affirmative Action Advisory• Committee meeting held.
July.7, 1981 Special Working Session to discuss proposed
• • Affirmative Action Plan.
Copies of all minutes attached ,as Appendix C.
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III.- COMMUNITY GROUP -INVOLVEMENT:
• Affirmative-Action Advisory Committee missions and guidelines-charges
• the committee with hearing complaints from members of the community and
Groups. ' The-Black Caucus of .Ithaca has on several occasions expressed
concerns with the City of Ithaca's hiring practice as it pertains to blacks
and although this group has not petitioned the committee as such,
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Annual Report-Affirmative Action Advisory Committee
) their actions have influenced concerns on the Affirmative Action Advisory
' Committee and at least one member on the committee represents the Black
Caucus as well as the community at large.
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IV. STATISTICAL SUMMARY: .
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Attached as Appendix E are statistical charts that were utilized
in the Affirmative Action Plan for numerical information on which to.
base Goals/Timetables for the period 1 July 1979 to 30 June 1980. •
Attached as Appendix F are similar updated charts for the period 1 July 1980
to 30 June 1981 for comparison.
V. OTHER ACTIVITIES: -
During .the.September meeting several members of the committee •
expressed•concern over--the Council's decision to make "an exception to
• the-ERA_-Resolution._ -It .appeared several- employees had contacted•members
and--complained.- The--Affirmative:-Action-Advisory Commirtee_sent_out
letters to .employees to determine what if any concerns would be expressed
in this matter.
The Affirmative Action Advisory Committee noted four (4)
written and several verbal concerns from City -employees and . '
citizens regarding Common .Council's-granting an .exception to
Resolution .passed. in January 1979.
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The Affirmative .Action-Advisory Committee recognizes that _.
granting exceptions -to standing Civil Rights .Resolutions is
likely.-to upset_ the. morale -of protected class-City-employees •
- and -cause-rancor_..in- the_;communit y-= This does. not.enhance_the
public image -of the City._of Ithaca-on .Civil-Rights..matters. - 4
-The Affirmative Action Advisory-Committee_believes the City
- of Ithaca- should consistently adhere to the_spirit .and appli-
cation of Its standing. Civil Rights Resolutions. -. Indeed,- the
City.should set the example for other -employers in the county
in this regard.
In view of the above, the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee
strongly advises the Mayor and Common Council to refrain from
granting any exceptions -to the spirit and application of standing .
Civil Rights Resolutions in the future..
. - In October 1980 Mr. Stephen Wapen and Joan..•Collins -attended a Seminar.in
Syracuse, "Affirmative action for the 80's". The seminar covered the
changes expected during-the Reagan administration in Affirmative Action/
Equal Opportunity. Workshops-were also conducted concerning Affirmative
( • Action in small companies, large business-and public entities. Some of the
. guest speakers included Eleanor Holmes Norton.
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Annual Report-Affirmative Action Advisory Committee
The Fire Department member of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee
• along with the Affirmative Action Officer has been diligently attempting
• to set up a Labor Recruitment Program as conducted by the International '
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Association of Firefighters. This program is considered to be•one of
the best programs for the••iecruitment of minority and female firefighters •
and Police Officers. It is mainly funded by Federal grants from the
Department of Labor. Dine to Reagan Administration budget cuts, however,
the program has been temporarily halted. We are hopeful that •it will •
be refunded early enough to enable the program to be conducted sufficiently
to prepare prospective minority and female applicants for the March 1982
• Firefighters testing and perhaps the November 1982 Police Officer testing. '
Appendix G is a program fact sheet. It is the intent of the Affirmative
Action Advisory Committee-to write letters. to the President, Vice Pres-
• ident, •Senators, Representatives and appropriate Department of Labor and
• ..EEOC personnel-to encourage-them to refund the program.
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VI.: : FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR 1982
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Increase.Community. Awareness/Outreach-
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• It -is'the-intent of the..Aff irmative Action..Advisory Committee
• to send-letters to as many minority/female community groups .
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as possible to invite them to attend our Affirmative Action •
• Advisory Committee meetings, explain the function..of the 1•( • Committee and -advise-.how we may:be of assistance. in community
concerns' regarding:Affirmative•Action: and/or:Equal-Opportunity.
Invitations to-New Council-Members/Mayor/etc; -
• The Affirmative, Action Advisory.LLommittee.-will:send .-an -invita-
• tdon to the Mayor Elect to attend our next.Affirmative Action - .
• Advisory Committee meeting and':.to .consider='attending,-as•well _
- as all new elected members of -Council, our next Affirmative •
Action Sensitivity- Training session. •
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The Affirmative Action Advisory Committee has .recently determined that .
meetings-should be changed to be conducted-every other-month'-starting
• An-January-1982-;at-2:00 p.m.,=the second •Thursday--.of -each.month. '--The
• next -meeting will- be held-on -14=January 1982.
It is •the-intent of the Affirmative Action Advisory- Committee to request
• that Affirmative-.Action Sensitivity- Seminars-continue- on. a quarterly- basis -
• -' to assure that: all=employees-have yan opportunity to attend; • It should ,
• be"noted that all management/mid-management,and•first line' supervisors,
.except:for--two,- have-received such training at this .time..
VII. - APPENDIXES
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• - A. -AAAC •Membership E. • Scat-Summaries •from.AA Plan
( • - •B. .--AAAC Mission b Guidelines F. Stat Summary Comparison . •
C. :.Minutes of Meetings G. Labor Recruitment Program •
. D. :Mediation Information Fact Sheet
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Missions and Guidelines for the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee
City of Ithaca
The Purpose of the Affirmative Advisory Committee
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The Affirmative Action Advisory Committee was established in 1980 to serve as a
communication link between'the City employees and management. The main reason for
the Committee formation was.to serve as an advisory arm to the Personnel Administrator/
A40 to assist in the achievement of equity in employment opportunties and to remove
barriers that have operated in the past to favor some groups of employees over others
in the City government labor force.
The committee will provide advice and consultation to the Mayor, members of Common
Council and Personnel- Administrator/AAO on the development, implementation and -conduct
of the City's Affirmative Action Program. Also, the Committee will attempt-to provide
a channel- of communication for all City employees or members of the community to experss
their concerns, through representative committee members, about "Equal Opportunity" and
other aspects of Affirmative Action. The overall objective of the Committee is to use
the experience gained from these communications to improve existing City policies or to
propose new policies which will help improve Affirmative Action as an integral part of
the operations-of the City of Ithaca government. Committee membership includes repre-
sentatives of City departments, the Personnel Administrator/AAO in addition -to repre-
sentatives from women, minorities organizations and handicapped representation when
possible.
Guidelines for holding of meetings will be as follows:
1. Meetings will be held on the 3rd Thrusday of each month at 2 p.m. in the Common
Council Chambers of the Ithaca City Hall.
2. Meetings will be conducted under the recognized procedures as determined by
Robert's Rules of Order.
3. With the exception of discussions pertaining to specific decisions of employment,
the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee meetings will be open to the general public.
L. Announcements of upcoming meetings will be posted in the Ithaca Journal as well
as on Public bulletin boards within the Ithaca City Hall.
5: Members of the community will be given an opportunity to address concerns related
to equal opportunity within the City government. This forum will occur at the beginn-
ing of each scheduled Affirmative Action Advisory Committee meeting. ! f
* 6. Should a member of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee miss a total of (1)
four unexcused-meetingsAn any calendar year or .(3) three consecutive meetings, a
recommendation will be made by the co-chairman to the Mayor requesting-that the member
be removed and appropriately replaced. Excuses-for absences for unusual circumstances
will be considered by -the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee co-chairman.
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THE FOLLOWING POINTS ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES UNDER WHICH THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL BE OPERATING:
1. Serve as an Advisory Committee to the Mayor of Ithaca, the members of Ithaca
Common Council, and the City of Ithaca's Personnel Administrator/AAO.
2. The Committee will recommend methods of outreach toward increasing the pool of
women and minorities who may be considered for positions within the City government.
This may include suggestions relative to the use of printed and electronic media, as
well as personal contact to attract- candidates for positions.
3. The Committee will assist the Personnel Administrator/AAO in the development of
appropriate grievance procedures which maybe used to investigate and redress alle-
gations of discrimination-within the City's employment process. Moreover, the Com-
mittee will advise the Personnel Administrator/AAO relative to specific issues of
discrimination which may be brought to the Committee's attention through existing
channels.
4. The Committee will review the City of Ithaca's Affirmative Action Plan on an annual ' I
basis as the program is periodically updated.
5. The Committee should be kept advised of Equal Opportunity matters which may involve j !
external regulatory agencies.
6. The Committee will assist the Mayor, members of Common Council, and the Personnel
Administrator/AAO in the identicication of "specific problem areas within the City
governmentwhich may warrent focussed results oriented action.
7. The Committee will periodically review the effectiveness of the various citywide
Affirmative Action Training Programs. . Specifically, the Committee will make appro-
priate suggestions -for enhancing _such efforts.
8. The Committee will review all official employment documents, as well as brochures
and publications, for the City of Ithaca to determine their conformity to requirements
for being bias free, and to meet appropriate compliance criteria.
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