August/September 2003 Issue Number 50
Is
a monthly electronic newsletter which links current events and issues
to the daily challenges faced by fire and emergency services managers.
Current topics in the areas of leadership development, workplace diversity,
change management, and conflict resolution will be discussed.
We
hope that you find the information here useful and provocative.
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The
following networking opportunities will be available at the Fire-Rescue
International Conference in Dallas later this month:
Women Chief Officers Luncheon
Native American Chief Officers Breakfast
Hispanic Chief Officers Luncheon
Black Chief Officers Luncheon
Advance purchase of tickets is required for these events.
For more information, and specific times, go to www.iafc.org
and click on Conferences.
Fire-Rescue
International
, August 22-25, 2003, Dallas, Texas. Linda Willing will be presenting
a workshop entitled "Stop "Putting Out Fires": A
Prevention Approach to Workplace Conflict Management."
IAFF
Human Relations Conference January 25-28, 2004, Santa Monica,
CA. Linda Willing will be presenting a workshop at this conference.
For more information, go to www.iaff.org.
Leadership
Training Seminar
, March 25-28, 2004, Miami, Florida. Go to www.wfsi.org
for more information.
Regulating Off Duty Conduct
How
much control can fire departments have over the off duty behavior
of their members? Two recent cases highlight the problems associated
with regulating off duty conduct.
The
first case involved two off duty firefighters and an off duty police
officer who created and rode on a float in a neighborhood parade in
New York City. The safety officers, all white, blatantly portrayed
blacks in a mocking and stereotypical way: eating watermelon and chanting
civil rights slogans while dressed in blackface and Afro wigs made
from mops. The display included a joking pantomime of the dragging
death of one member, a reference to the Jasper, Texas incident where
three white men killed a black man by dragging him behind their truck.
The
second incident involved three Wichita firefighters who appeared on
the Jay Leno show and participated in a stunt where one man set his
chest hair on fire. The other two men then shot fire extinguishers
at him. At least one man identified himself as a firefighter while
on the show.
In
the case of the racist float, all three men were fired from their
jobs, and they subsequently sued to be reinstated saying that the
firings were a violation of their First Amendment right to freedom
of expression. They recently won their case. The Wichita case is pending
departmental action. Fire Chief Larry Garcia has called it, "idiotic,
at the very best."
The
New York City verdict ( Locurto v. Giuliani ) has caused considerable
reaction. Although New York City has a policy that employees may be
terminated if their continued employment will cause disruption to
the municipality in its efforts to carry out functions for which those
employees were hired, Judge Sprizzo ruled that the city in this case
overstepped its bounds. He ruled that the city, in firing the plaintiffs,
did not act out of concern about public disruption resulting from
the float, but rather in an effort to silence a racist message. This,
he said, was a violation of the First Amendment.
There
is no question that employers can control personal expression while
on duty (see Newsletter, July-August, 2003).
It is much harder to control off duty behavior, and perhaps in most
ways, this is a good thing. We value our personal freedoms in this
country, and the Constitution was written to preserve them. But firefighters
and police officers are in a unique position of trust within their
communities. People let them into their homes, no questions asked,
and entrust them with their own safety and the well being of their
family members. How will African-American citizens in New York City
feel when one of the men who created that float comes to their front
door? Will there be the same level of trust that is usually assumed
from safety officers? How will parents in Wichita feel when one of
the men who appeared on Jay Leno comes to their child's school to
teach fire safety?
Public
safety is about trust and credibility. Egregious off duty behavior
may not be illegal, but it can seriously damage the trust and credibility
that all firefighters and police officers need to be effective in
their jobs. One reason public safety officers wear uniforms is to
create faith among the service community that all members are equally
qualified and capable of providing service. When a few members behave
badly, it brings everyone down in the eyes of those they serve. As
Chief Garcia said, "They brought shame to themselves, and we're
included in that."
Sources:
The New York Racist Float Case by Sherry Colb on www.findlaw.com
The Wichita Eagle, July 26, 2003
