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06-24-2006, 10:25 AM #1
Fire Crew Bosses Who Can't Speak Spanish Can Lose Jobs
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/94 ... etail.html
Fire Crew Bosses Who Can't Speak Spanish Can Lose Jobs
Oregon Begins To Strictly Enforce Language Rule
POSTED: 3:46 pm MDT June 22, 2006
UPDATED: 2:26 pm MDT June 23, 2006
With 24 major wildfires burning across the southwestern United States, fire officials need every firefighter they can get. They've done that in Oregon, but it's created another problem.
Officials are now having to lay off some of the bosses who manage those firefighting crews because the bosses are not bilingual. Many of the newer hires in Oregon only speak Spanish.
"What we do know is 85 percent of the crew makeup is of Hispanic descent," said Jim Walker, with the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The state said all bosses must speak the same language of their crew on the fire lines for safety reasons. They want to make sure that the leader of the crews can quickly communicate during an emergencey if the fire turns or if there is another problem on the fire lines.
"Our main concern is that they are safe, and they are in a safe environment, and a lot of that deals with communication," Walker said.
Because of the state's language requirement, Jaime Pickering can no longer work as a crew boss and supervise 20 firefighters. He can only manage a squad of four firefighters.
"If you have one Spanish guy on the crew, as an English crew boss, you can no longer be a crew boss. You have to step back to a squad boss, which is a demotion," Pickering said.
The state of Oregon actually made the change in 2003, after a devastating wildfire season in 2002 had contractors scrambling to find help. The state just started strictly monitoring the law this year, as Hispanics continued to fill fire lines.
"I think the (rule) is good, because that's for safety purpose," said Manuel Franco, who is a contractor for fire crews. He thinks the state's rule is necessary for worker safety.
"If there's a rock rolling down, everybody should understand that," Franco said.
But he does wish it were different.
"We're living here. We should speak the language," he said.
So why couldn't the state require that these crew members speak English? The state doesn't have a clear answer.
"If it comes down to a safety issue, and it's determined that's the only way we can have people safely on an incident, then yes," Walker said.
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06-24-2006, 11:25 AM #2
Now this is interesting!
http://egov.oregon.gov/ODF/FireCrewL...uirement.shtml
Fire Crew Language Requirement
Recent television coverage about language requirements for private wildland firefighting crews has caused many Oregonians confusion and concern. Here is some information that explains the situation and addresses concerns that you may have.
First, there is no requirement that private firefighting crews or their bosses (who are part of the contract units) speak Spanish or any language other than English. It does require them to be proficient in English, the language used in all wildland firefighting operations. There is also a requirement, for safety reasons, that crew leaders be able to communicate with all members of their crews.
Our fire contracts are open to all who meet our requirements, which are geared toward a safe, effective and efficient firefighting program. If contractors choose to hire crew members who do not speak English, those crews' bosses must be able to communicate with them.
Second, no Oregon Department of Forestry employees have lost jobs or been demoted because of any language requirements. The person interviewed in one television news story who spoke of a demotion is not and has never been a department employee, and according to our records is not a certified fire crew boss.
Protecting our forests from fire is an enormous task. We rely heavily on the private sector to provide frontline services. Our approach is to clearly specify the resources and capabilities that we expect our contractors to have. The contractors, in turn, make their own decisions about how to meet these requirements, including which people to hire as crew members.
A note about immigration status: Contractors bear the primary responsibility for ensuring that their hirees have legal work status. We believe that most contract crew members have such status. However, we are working increasingly with federal immigration authorities and other partners to monitor the immigration status of contract crew members.Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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06-24-2006, 12:21 PM #3A note about immigration status: Contractors bear the primary responsibility for ensuring that their hirees have legal work status.
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06-24-2006, 12:27 PM #4
Actually Grey Parot, I think that is how Wal-Mart got punished.
They sub-contracted jobs, which used illegal labor but WM paid the 11 mil price tag. Actually, the La Razas wanted to get more out of WM by holding them personally responsible with civil damages and they were poed because a judge blocked them. However, the 11 mil (punative damages) was the largest settlement ever awarded for that type of case.
DixieJoin our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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