Despite lip service being paid to the concept of "racial sensitivity" on the part of the Anello administration, things in the city's Department of Public Works haven't changed much.
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The city is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by six African-American DPW workers alleging a continuing pattern of racial discrimination in the department. The six men -- all longtime city employees -- say they have been the target of racial slurs, denied opportunities for advancement and forced to perform menial work while less-qualified white workers with less seniority get plum assignments.
When Mayor Vince Anello took office last January and removed Paul Colangelo from his position as Public Works Director, the men were hopeful things would change. Those hopes were quickly shattered when Colangelo was simply shunted into a make-work position as the city's "grants writer" and the DPW was split into four different departments, a move that made accountability for functions like snow-plowing and tree-trimming a thing of the past.
Disparaging comments made by Colangelo to the Buffalo News concerning the work records of the men, and an unfortunate television appearance by Anello caused the situation to deteriorate further.
Things have gotten so bad that, following a Dec. 6 wind storm here, DPW management elected to bring in outside help to assist in the cleanup rather than using qualified black workers already on the city payroll.
City Forester Joe Urso enlisted the aid of Falls resident Sean Mort for the hazardous work of cutting up and hauling away downed trees and limbs from locations throughout the city. The move was problematic for many reasons, not the least of which was the liability the city would have been subjected to had something gone wrong.
DPW employee Joe Paulk has been trained and certified to perform such work. One of the six plaintiffs in the racial discrimination case, he was transferred out of the forestry division around the time the lawsuit was filed. Bill Wilson, another plaintiff, should have been doing the work that was contracted out to Mort but has been denied the job training required for his position.
Anello needs to explain why the financially strapped city is hiring outside contractors to do work that the taxpayers pay good money for the DPW to perform. He also needs to explain why he has done absolutely nothing to remedy the festering problem of racial discrimination in the department, even in the face of a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 21 2004 |