i guess all those ILLEGALS tending the pot fields in the national forests don't count...
Posted on 04/01/2006 6:34:26 PM PST by NormsRevenge
A federal judge ordered the U.S. Forest Service to diversify its work force in California, ruling that the agency has failed to eliminate hiring and promotional barriers to Hispanics as required by a 2002 court agreement.
Hispanics only make up about 9 percent of the forest service's 5,000-member work force that manages 18 national forests in California. That's about the same percentage as it was in October 2002 when a lawsuit accusing the agency of discrimination was settled, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland said Thursday.
Wilken said the agency has failed to conduct an effective recruitment and outreach program, employ a full-time recruitment coordinator or make good-faith efforts to employ a civil rights director in California as required by the 2002 agreement.
The judge ordered the agency to sign a contract with "an effective outside recruiter" and allow a court-appointed monitor to hire a new staff member to review all new hires and promotions.
Those measures should help diversify the Forest Service, said plaintiffs' attorney Willie Nguyen of the Employment Law Center in San Francisco. He said the biggest barrier to Hispanic employment has been the agency's "willful ignorance of the problem."
Forest service spokesman Matt Mathes said the order makes it clear that "Judge Wilken expects us to do better." He said the agency would start working Monday morning on a plan to comply.
Wilken, Claudia Ann
Born 1949 in Minneapolis, MN
Federal Judicial Service:
U. S. District Court, Northern District of California
Nominated by William J. Clinton on October 7, 1993, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089; Confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 1993, and received commission on November 22, 1993.
Education:
Stanford University, B.A., 1971
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 1975
Professional Career:
Staff attorney, Federal Public Defender's Office, Northern District of California, 1975-1978
Private practice, Berkeley, California, 1978-1984
Adjunct professor, University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1978-1984
Professor, New College School of Law, 1980-1985
U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 1983-1993
Race or Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Maybe Gaulieter Wilken would like to go out into the field and review the troops personally in the next round of fires.
Stupid B*TCH judge.
True, strawberries pay better and they get some sleep.
...I guess they didn't count all the nickel an hour Hispanics being held down by the man...
I wonder if those barriers might include being able to read and speak in English?
Is the juge goint to require diversity of thought and thus the hiring of conservatives?
This is such bs I can't stand it.
My husband is a federal firefighter. They hire seasonals every year.....the roster is open to EVERYONE who is interested.
This year he has been forced to hire a CCC employee who lost his drivers license because of a DUI. He is responsible for this person's safety. Other well qualified candidates with EMT credentials, valid DLs, and past experience were turned down because they were the wrong race.
Wildland firefighting is not for everyone, it is a tough, stressful job. You are away from home for LONG periods of time during fire season. I can't overstate how important it is to have high quality candidates. One weak link can endanger a whole crew.
Your tax dollars are spent hiring and training people who will likely wash out of the program due to poor initial qualifications. Money is wasted trying to force an artificial social construct rather then on doing real field work.
This outside contractor is probably going to result in fewer fire engines, trail crews, and so on. But who cares about getting work done anymore? It's all about image.
Nuts and bolts have gender
Latin nouns have gender
Living beings have a Sex, not a gender.
Of course this Judge is a nut, so...
My best friend grad from Auburn Univ. with a degree in forestry....tried to get on with the Alabama Forest Service...was told that they are looking for minorties and that if he was a black female, he would get a job immediately....he checked to see how many black females had grad from Auburn with a degree in forestry, ever.......................................ZERO.
go figure...
Boats have a gender. Human beings have a sex.
L
Say Hi and Thanks to your hubby from All of us!
i guess all those ILLEGALS tending the pot fields in the national forests don't count...
Let's diversify the Federal Judiciary...
...since common sense seems woefully underrepresented...
...not to mention FReepers ;-)
Cheers!
You and that Bakersfield paper keep comin up with some real hum-dingers!!!
So what has been the effect? The USFS is no longer the "can do" agency of the fed guv. The agency once returned money to the treasury thru timber sales, now they spend treasury dollars on studies and diversity training. It has reached the pinnacle of absurdity here in northern California - our local forest (Klamath N.F) is run by a sixty something lady with a degree in sociology! Forestry? We don't need no stinking foresters! Especially white male ones who believe in production.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.