With practically every class, after class, after class of new police recruits coming up lily White you would think the FOP would be concerned about diversity and spearhead an effort to get more Blacks and women on the force. But instead they filed a grievance in contract negotiations in which three arbitrators, despite an 80 percent vote by the citizens of Pittsburgh against it, voted to allow city of Pittsburgh police officers to live outside of the city.
This was not a recommendation or a suggestion. They put it at the top or near the top of demands right up there with money, vacation and benefits. And it makes a huge, gigantic statement of what their priorities are and what they think of diversity in the work force.
Instead of being called the Fraternal Order of Police, they should change their name to For White Police Only, or better yet, the Fraternity of White Police.
Have we really made any progress in race relations when it comes to the police?
There used to be a large number of Black police officers on the force, mostly because of the Affirmative Action program pushed through by the NAACP. Harvey Adams, a Pittsburgh police sergeant at the time, was the president of the NAACP as they along with the city officials created a model for the rest of the country. But after Affirmative Action was shot down by the right-wing conservatives as reverse discrimination, and a quota system, the number of Blacks on the force have been falling, and falling to the point that if it keeps going in the downward direction its going now there will be very, very few if any in the near future.
What I’m saying is as these old Black police officers retire; there will be none to replace them. Which means the Jordan Miles, and Leon Ford cases will become so commonplace that no notice of them will be made. Why? Because with practically no Black officers on the force, and none in positions of power, who will monitor the police?
But even worse will be employment. If the FOP is allowed to get away with this, not only will our young men and women no longer be able to dream of being police officers, they can forget about being firemen, paramedics, or any other skilled high paying job. If large corporations and big businesses can have diversity programs why doesn’t the city as a whole and the police in particular have one.
No union, I don’t care who they are, should have this kind of power. Especially after the taxpaying citizens who foot the bill stated very clearly in a November Referendum that City of Pittsburgh Police Officers should live in the city.
If the FOP, or a person applying for the position of police don’t want to live in the city of Pittsburgh then they should be applying for a position in South Hills, North Hills, Mt. Lebanon, Monroeville or where ever. If they think that poorly of the city then they shouldn’t be Pittsburgh police officers, and I don’t want my tax dollars going toward paying their salaries.
I’m a city person. I love the city. Why, because unlike most cities there are so many parts of Pittsburgh? And most of them are beautiful. But people with their nose stuck up in the air from the suburban areas don’t know this, so they come into the city because of the jobs with preconceived negative attitudes about the city. People make the neighborhood, neighborhoods make the community, and communities make the city. Most people in the city are beautiful people.
In Pittsburgh we have: North Side, South Side, Hill District, Homewood, Squirrel Hill, Beltzhoover, Garfield, West End, Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Oakland, Downtown, Carrick, Lincoln, Larimer, Lemington, Stanton Heights, Arlington, and I’m sure I’ve missed a few. And these communities are made up of many different neighborhoods. Like the North Side: Manchester, North Shore, Lower North Side, Central North Side, Upper North Side and more.
Yes there are some blighted areas, and crime, which is also in the suburbs, but for every acre of blight there are at least 10 acres of beautiful old homes, which are a true work of art as many are carved into the hills and on top of hills. In many communities as these houses decay, new homes are springing up.
But Pittsburgh will only grow if it’s attracting new young working people into it, and this is not going to happen if we tell our new hires, be they police, fire, teachers or city employees, that the city is not fit to live in. That they can work in our cities and take our tax dollars out and spend it on homes and businesses in the suburbs. How will we ever grow or continue to grow as a city?
The new mayor set a bad example when he let the FOP know during his campaign that he didn’t see residency as a strong enough issue to stand on. That he would be willing to negotiate it. For what?
Blacks make up 30 percent of the city, and they say they can’t find qualified Blacks. What’s going to happen when that number drops to 10 to 15 percent if the arbitrators’ decision stands?
The Pittsburgh Black and White communities need to make it absolutely clear to the powers to be that we will not sit back and allow this to happen. That this, city employees having to live in the city, should have never been a contract issue, it should be the law, and if it isn’t it is time our politicians make it the law.
What if people could live outside of the state of Pennsylvania and still hold state jobs. There has to be some kind of guidelines when it comes to jobs in which the taxpayer pays. We should have some say.
If the FOP doesn’t like the thought of living in the city, or they don’t feel Pittsburgh is worthy of living in because it’s not safe for their kids or the school system isn’t good enough, then resign and move to the suburbs. Then maybe some Blacks or women can get some of these well paying, full benefits jobs in which hundreds are applying for, that they now occupy.
(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the New Pittsburgh Courier.)
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