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errantrogue · **Class action suit against FEDEX... race related... -** 09-29-05

FEDEX sued in class action over minority discrimination...

Far be it from me not to root for the working man, but this statement caught my eye as far too ambiguous.

Quote:

"FedEx knows that black and Hispanics fail at a much higher rate, but yet has not changed the test," Finberg said.

He's (i believe) referring to a test required to qualify for promotion. Now, not know what the test is, but making an assumption based on what FEDEX apparently said in the court documents...

Quote:

In court documents, FedEx contended that promotions were based on "objective" factors, not race, that include time of service, passing a basic skills test, previous performance evaluations and whether the employee has been disciplined.

now, you don't need to know calculus to be a mid or even high level employee in most cases (that's what system's analysts are for)... my guess is this "basic skills" test is something similar to a high school equivilancy... if so, what's wrong with that?

IF this is the case, why should FEDEX dumb down the test so that less educated persons (regardless of race) can get promotions?

the only validity i can see in this case (granted, i'm no law expert) is the subjective nature of performance evaluations... if you have a company-wide issue concerning PEs towards minorities, it should be addressed... blacks and hispanics are not lazier than whites... if anything, a case might be made that (on the whole) whites are more lazy that minorities in this country due to the hypothesis that they tend to get cushier jobs.

*sigh*

i hate race based issues... how long will it take for the people of the world to homogenize enough that it's not the color of your skin but the quality of your character and deeds?

Billy the Kidd · 09-29-05

I guess noone thought the lawyer and the assholes pushing this issue were the real racists huh? I mean they are the ones saying that the standards need to be lowered so blacks can compete. Isnt that a backwards way of saying they are intellectually inferior?

Iron's Rite · 09-29-05

It does display an unusual form of prejudice.

Shadowborn · 09-29-05

I'd like to see a copy of the test in question. I'm having a hard time coming up with questions that would be relevant to working for FedEx that would somehow be exclusive to someone of a particular race rather than someone of a particular educational level or level of intelligence.

thefr0g · 09-29-05

1. You are on a deserted street, you have locked the keys in your Fed Ex truck, but the brand new cadillac with 24 inch gold rims and a sexy gold trim package is unlocked next to it. What do you do?

a. Call dispatch and have them send a locksmith
b. Steal the cadillac
c. Call 14 of your friends and cram them inside the cadillac with you
d. Drive the cadillac, disobeying all traffic laws and driving like an idiot
e. Blow yourself up

Synikul · 09-29-05

This is the kind of thing that creates racism where it doesn't exist.

Shadowborn · 09-29-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefr0g

1. You are on a deserted street, you have locked the keys in your Fed Ex truck, but the brand new cadillac with 24 inch gold rims and a sexy gold trim package is unlocked next to it. What do you do?

a. Call dispatch and have them send a locksmith
b. Steal the cadillac
c. Call 14 of your friends and cram them inside the cadillac with you
d. Drive the cadillac, disobeying all traffic laws and driving like an idiot
e. Blow yourself up

Heh...reminds me of the test they made me take when I applied for a job at a local store a while back.

Q. You see one of your co-workers stealing product. Do you...

a. confront them and demand they put it back
b. inform your shift manager
c. do nothing
d. think its a good idea and join them

Synikul · 10-05-05

This must be why they can't pass the test.

Quote:

Schools hold back blacks, group says
An Uhuru member and a Pinellas parent who is suing over the achievement gap say students are abused.
By DONNA WINCHESTER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 4, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - The plaintiff in a lawsuit that alleges African-American children in Pinellas County are not being properly educated charged Monday that the school district has one primary goal: to "dumb down" education, especially for black students.

William Crowley, the lead plaintiff in the class-action suit against the district, said that despite the African-American community's best efforts, the district "is not taking any approach" in closing the achievement gap between black and white students.

Crowley's comments came at a news conference held by the International People's Democratic Uhuru movement on the sidewalk in front of a south Pinellas school. Uhuru movement president Dwight "Chimurenga" Waller said the event was the first step in the organization's push to launch a campaign to publicize the suit.

"Many of the people don't even know the lawsuit is happening," said Crowley, who stood beside Waller. "Our job is to educate them."

The news conference came six days after a three-judge appellate panel ruled that more than 20,000 Pinellas black students can stand together against the school system in a lawsuit that alleges they are not being properly educated.

The case originated with Crowley's claim that his son, Akwete Osoka, experienced difficulties typical of those faced by black students in Pinellas. The boy was a second-grader at Sawgrass Lake Elementary School when the case was filed nearly five years ago.

Crowley's lawyers say statistics that outline the achievement gap show a systemwide failure to "meet the needs and requirements of students of African descent." Such a failure is a violation of the Florida Constitution and state law, the lawsuit alleges.

In July 2004, a judge granted class-action status to Crowley's suit, which means it now represents all 21,000 black students in Pinellas schools and all black children who attend the county's public schools in the future.

Waller told the small group assembled on the sidewalk Monday that recent incidents show the "hostility of the system."

He noted the handcuffing of a 5-year-old black kindergartener by police, a racial slur used by a white coach against a black student, a white teacher who referred to a black child as a "monkey" and a white history teacher who asked his students to write a racial epithet as the answer to a test question.

The incidents "underscore the limitations of the courts system to address the problem of African underachievement," Waller said.

Another reason for the Uhurus' involvement with the case is to "propose remedies," according to a release issued by the group. But when pressed for details on what he and the Uhurus would like the school district to do, Crowley declined to comment.

"We're not here to discuss strategy," he said. "There are some strategies ... and they're not just passive nonsense."

The extent of the achievement gap in Pinellas has been widely publicized.

--Only 30 percent of Pinellas black students scored at grade level in reading on the most recent Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Sixty-three percent of white students met that standard.

--Only 43 percent of black students graduated from Pinellas high schools with a standard diploma in 2004. That compares to 72 percent of white students.

--About 39 percent of all disciplinary referrals went to black students in 2003 and 2004, even though black students make up only 19 percent of the enrollment.

Despite circumstances the district says are beyond its control, including a high incidence of poverty among black families, school officials say they are working hard to close the gap.

Crowley disagrees.

He said abuse of black children is so widespread that "as we speak, there are children probably being abused." He said that is why he is working with the Uhurus and other groups to find "a multifaceted approach" to closing the achievement gap.

"The African community has already tried to address the problem by establishing a charter school for black students, but that effort was not successful," he said.

Schools spokesman Sterling Ivey declined to comment on the case or on the Uhurus' involvement, citing ongoing litigation.

"We're reviewing our legal position in light of the 2nd District Court of Appeal's opinion," Ivey said. "Even if we decide not to appeal further, we're prepared to go to court to defend our actions."

http://sptimes.com/2005/10/04/Southp...back_bla.shtml

This is a joke to me. Does that make me a bad person?