FDNY Black, female firefighters face harassment — and retaliation when they report it, says survey in Vulcan Society case
New York City’s Black and female firefighters are subjected to harassment and uncivil treatment at three times the rate of their colleagues, according to a new survey examining tensions and workplace issues within the Fire Department.
First responders who experiencing harassment and incivility seldom report their experiences, according to the survey ordered by a federal monitor appointed as part of a legal settlement with the Vulcan Society, a Black firefighters organization.
Most of those who do report harassment and incivility indicated they experienced repercussions for doing so, the survey showed.
Among the issues addressed in the survey were how inaccurate information about Fire Department testing and performance standards contribute to the negative experiences of Black and female firefighters. They want testing and performance standards to be clearer and more transparent, the survey showed.
The full 90-page survey was not made public. Its findings were summarized in a department order obtained by the Daily News.
“Improving our workplace culture, strengthening our relationships, and living up to our commitment to diversity is the modern challenge of all organizations,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said in a statement.
“This survey has given us the tools to work across all ranks to create solutions that make our members safer, happier and healthier. "
In 2014, the city agreed to pay $98 million in back pay and benefits to aspiring minority firefighters in a court settlement with the Vulcan Society, which accused the city of discrimination in a 2007 lawsuit.
In 2011, as the case was proceeding through the courts, Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis found that firefighter exams intentionally discriminated against Blacks. A federal appeals court overturned that finding — but it upheld the remedies Garaufis ordered in the case.
Among those remedies was Garaufis’ appointment of a federal monitor to oversee new FDNY recruitment, hiring and retention policies aimed at increasing the number of Blacks and other minorities in the department.
This survey, which began in 2019, was stalled during the pandemic. It was ordered by the monitor, who said the results had to be shared with the entire FDNY workforce,
Vulcan Society President Regina Wilson said the survey results confirm what her group has been telling the department for years.
“It’s unfortunate, because we were trying to help them resolve these issues in advance,” said Wilson, the first woman to lead the Vulcan Society.
“Now they have an opportunity to see from the members themselves,” Wilson said of FDNY leadership. “We want to make sure the Fire Department sees the injustices happening with our members and finally do something about it.”
More than 4,000 firefighters responded to the survey, officials said. Responses were anonymous.
FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens acknowledged that there is still work to be done.
“The Department faces difficult challenges day in and day out,” Hodgens said in a statement.. “The issues raised in this survey are difficult, but we are prepared to meet this challenge as we always do, and make the FDNY an even better place.”
Kavanagh, meanwhile, continues to clash with the department’s most senior chiefs. Ten staff chiefs have either been demoted by Kavanagh or have asked to be lowered in rank during the turmoil in the FDNY’s upper ranks.
Kavanagh hasn’t signed off on any of the demotion requests and has asked everyone to stay on as she fine-tunes her leadership team.
