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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04161996 - D6 lTO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IOC-06 ...... Contra s FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEECosta County DATE: April 1, 1996 SUBJECT: REPORT ON MEETING WITH THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: DIRECT that the concerns raised by the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Council in the attached April 1, 1996 letter regarding the extent to which the General Contractor, Centex Golden; the Project Manager, O'Brien-Kreitzberg; and the MBE/WBE monitor, Technical Data Corporation, have made use of the pending contract change order to maximize the opportunities for MBENVBE contract participation be scheduled for a full discussion before the Board of Supervisors on April 16, 1996, as a part of this Committee's report and that all affected parties be present and prepared to discuss this issue in detail. BACKGROUND: On December 12, 1995, the Board of Supervisors approved a report from the 1995 Internal Operations Committee referring to our Committee the request from the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Council to meet on a regular basis with our Committee. On April 1, 1996, our Committee met with Jonothan Dumas, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Council; Emma Kuevor, Affirmative Action Officer; and Scott Tandy, Chief Assistant County Administrator. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURES ACTION OF BOARD ON April 1 C. 4 QOR APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER X IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the consideration of determination of what action to take regarding the compliance of Merrithew Memorial Hospital Replacement Project with the County' s MBE/wBE goads is CONTINUED to the May 7, 1996 , Board of Supervisors meeting. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED April 16, 1996 Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF CC: See Page 2 S R RS AND COUNTY INIST OR BY DEPUTY IOC-05 Mr. Dumas presented the attached April 1, 1996 letter to us, which had not previously been made available to our Committee or to staff. Mr. Dumas expressed the concerns of the EEOAC with what they perceive to be a lack of progress in improving participation in the County's MBE/WBE goals. He also expressed the EEOAC's concerns about staffing the Affirmative Action and MBENVBE Programs. Supervisor Bishop expressed her outrage at the suggestion that her former staff be assigned to the County Administrator's Office for this purpose and the manner in which this suggestion was brought to the Committee. Emma Kuevor confirmed that she had advised the EEOAC that this suggestion was not an appropriate one to make and that the comments contained in the April 1, 1996 letter were included over the objections of Ms. Kuevor and without the knowledge of the County Administrator. In view of the fact that the April 1, 1996 letter was not available to our Committee ahead of time and that neither the Merrithew Memorial Hospital issue nor the staffing issue had been specifically included in the agenda item for the Committee's meeting, we have suggested that this issue be brought to the Board's attention so we can have all interested parties present and prepared to discuss the facts in detail. Supervisor Bishop expressed her opinion that MBE/WBE concerns are simply not being addressed in the Merrithew Memorial Hospital project and that there appears not to be any commitment to affirmative action goals in this project. Since no one was present with knowledge of the project or the data, further discussion was deferred until the next Board of Supervisors' meeting. cc: County Administrator Affirmative Action Officer Scott Tandy, Senior Deputy County Administrator William B. Walker, Health Services Director De Bell, Hospital Project Director Jonothan Dumas, Chair, EEOAC -2- r Aril 1, 11--96 internal Operations Committee C ozztra Costa County 651 pine Street h4artinez, CA 94553 Dear Cor nmittee Members, The Advisory Council on Equal Employme rit Opportunities is not pleased with the in,.pler entation of the nionitvring procedures adopted for the Merrithew hospital construction project; the degree to which Centex Golden, O'Brien Kreitzberg and Associates, and Technical Data Corporation are working together to maximize the opportunities for M/WBE contract participatiGn; and the lack of equitable representation of women and minorities in the construction: work force utilized for this project. The reports. submitted by Technical Data Corporation are vague, generalized, and have not allowed the EEO Advisory, Council to effectively monitor the female and minority employment on the Merrithew Memorial Replacement Hospital Project. We recommend that Technical Data. Corporation assign a staff person al- least four (4) days per vreek to this project, and require them to have that person work out of the County Administrator's Office (Affirmati' e Action Division ). Additionally, as a short term means of addressing; tYne staffing deficiencies the EEO Advisory Council has cited with respect to the Affirmative Action Division, ive are requesting that the former staff for Supervisor Bishop be reassigned to the County Administrator's Office Apfirn'lative Action Division. Th-ey can provide administrative support by monitoring Technical Data Corporation and Centex Golden, and assist in preparing statistical and progress reports. it is our understanding that the county is incurring costs related to these individuals, a-id it would seem appropriate that the county receive benefit from those expenditures. The Affiro,-iahve Action Division of the County Administrators Office is an area that has consistently needed additional resources to effectively monitor and enforce the Affirmative Action pl;=x_n and objectives adopted by the Board of Supervisors. This letter is prompted by a review of a significant work change order at our last Advisory Council meeting. That review made clear that there was inadequate interaction between Centex_ Golden, OKA, and Technical Data Corporation concerning the utilization of such contracting opportunities to increase the participation of M/WBE firms. Given the handling of the single largest change order ( $2 to $5 million ), the Advisory- Council doubts trial: this 11;-xMIge order will result in the type of increased M/WBE participation that should zesu.it from. such a contracting opportunity. We believe that coilect�.vel� Technical Data Corporation, Centex Golden, and OfA could and should l nave. made a rznon-e effective utilization of the opportunity afforded by this; contract. modification. 1 V• � Other concerns are related to the e continuing low representation of women in the construction work force, and the disproportionate representation of a single minority group within ttze minorities working on the project (approximately 87% of the minorities on the project are reported Hispanic). This is a significantly skewed representation, considering the available labor pool, and the procedures available for accessing workers from that pool.. We understand that our specifications do not require specific ethnic groups to be incorporated in the minorities working on the project, however the numbers represented we believe can not be attributed to "chance" or identifiable flays in the dispatching procedures adopted by our labor sources. We are requesting a review of the data. submitted to verit' the level of minority participation reported, and to identify what in the process is resulting in such skewed representation of a single ethnic group within the total number of minorities working on the project. Another area of concern cited was the number and diversity in minorities reported in the nurses classification within the Health Department. There is the perception that the numbers reported are inflated. We thank you for your review of our concerns, and hope that you will support our recommendation to direct Technical Data Corporation to assign a staff person to work from the Affirmative Action Division at least four (4) days per week; and to direct OKA to document their efforts to increase participation of M/WBEs with Centex Golden grid retained sub-contractors. Sincerely, onothan H Dumas, Chair Ad,.,,isory Council on Equal Employment Opportunity t ADVISORY COUNCIL ON EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY January 12, 1996 Members Present: V. Alexeeff, E. Centeno, J. Dumas, T. Gupton, E. Kay, R. Martinez, G. Miller, K. Opong- Mensah Members Absent: L. Paulson, J. Walker-Johnson Guests Present: D. Crosby, TDC J. Garcia, Centex Golden P. Gutierrez, Oakland Private Industry Council A. Harvey, Building Inspection J. Hogan, Citizen J. Hutton, TDC B. Luis, Cypress Training Center J. Miller, Human Resources S. Tandy, CAO Sta : E. Kuevor, N. Rush Jonothan called the meeting to order at 9:45 a.m. Emma distributed a revised agenda. Jonothan moved item lI to the last item on the agenda due to a scheduling conflict. 1. INTRODUCE NEW ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS Emma introduced three new Council members; Evelyn J. Centeno, Evelyn Kay and Kofi Opong-Mensah. II. REVIEW EXEMPT, PROJECT, AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES REPORTS Jonothan asked in a previous meeting that Emma provide information covering equitable distribution of positions. Emma referred to two handouts: 1) Human Resource Department's (HRD) 12/13/95 memo covering Selection Process for Non-Merit System Positions, and 2) Affirmation Action Officer's (AAO) 1/8/96 memo covering Analysis of Project, Temporary, and Exempt Employees. Emma advised that Department Heads, Executive Secretaries, project and temporary staff are exempt and do not go through the Merit System selection process. Temporaries are often used as a stepping stone to permanent employment. The number of temporaries is now greatly reduced. Emma reviewed the content of both memos with Council members. Jonathan asked if the AAO would be involved with the HRD recommendations. Jonothan reiterated the concern raised with him by County employees who state that positions are being filled without exams and clarification is needed that this is not happening. Emma stated that employees are placed in exempt positions without exam and some types of positions meet or exceed their labor force representation and others do not. Emma advised that she would be a part of reviewing the procedure for selecting project employees with HRD. Jonothan asked that this item be on next months agenda for further discussion. IIL REVIEW 1996 PRIORITIES Jonothan explained to the new Council members how the six priority items were chosen and gave a brief explanation of each as follows: I. Increase staff for affirmative action office - This is an on-going issue that ranked as a top priority on everyones list. The Council is concerned, and knows the County is c )ncerned. The Affirmative Action Officer needs adequate staff. It is extremely difficult for Emma to complete the functions of the AAO without sufficient staffing to support her efforts. Some departments have donated staff to help reduce the volume of work. ` 2. Quicker turn around time in filling Council vacancies - Each member of the Council is here to make certain various organizations and members of the community are represented, Le_, Disability and Labor_ Diversity is needed to accomplish the goals of the Council. Jonothan said he is happy to welcome the new members, which adds to the diversity of the Council. 3. Require minority and female representation on all boards, committees,and councils under the Board of Supervisors, such as the Planning Commission - This representation provides a broader view from the various committees. Varied respectives are needed. 4. Request the appointment of minority judges in Contra Costa County - An African American female judge was recently appointed to the Bay Court bench. There are now two minority judges in the circuit, one in Muni Court, and an Hispanic in Superior Court. Val asked if these appointments are made by the Goveri.,jr. Jonothan said yes, however the Board of Supervisors can indicate the need for minority representation on the bench. The Board will be asked to recommend and promote minority appointments. 5. Require more cross training among County employees at every occupational level Maximize opportunities for employees in all levels. Recommend that the Board promote development within the County structure that cultivates the current workforce and provide resources for employees to upgrade their skills. 6. Monitor the status of the civil rights legislation initiative and advise the Board of Supervisors on implications - We are living in changing times with changing priorities. The Council would like to see the County in a position of anticipating adverse impact versus responding after the fact. Evelyn Kay said cross training is important to avoid loss in productivity. If the County cannot afford to hire trainers then perhaps floaters could be trained to work among the various positions. Richard Martinez advised that this would have to be placed on the bargaining table. Jim Miller informed the Council that due to staff reductions in many County departments staff have already been cross trained in other areas. Jonothan feels this should be formalized within the County and not left to the Department Heads. Richard said the Training Institute could help in educating departments of the importance of cross training and steps needed to accomplish the task. Evelyn Centeno asked if the County has a career development program. Emma advised that a County wide program is not in effect and is done individually by department. Not all departments have a program. Emma explained the process taken by the Council to accomplish priorities. The Council presents its recommendations to the 1.0. Committee, and if approved, their recommendation is made to the Board of Supervisors. Jonothan used item #1 as an example of how this process can be utilized to obtain staff for Emma if bodies cannot be hired, i.e., donated staff hours from other departments. Jonothan asked how departments can avoid cutting staff during budget cuts when department Affirmative Action (AA) goals have not been met. Val said the Council might better understand the obsession with money following 12 years of cuts, however it should not be used as an excuse to abandon programs. This Council is to advise the Board on these issues. By the year 2001 or 2002 this will be a minority/majority County. The Council has a good nudge system, which Emma handles very well. Departments have dozens of issues to face with affirmative action being only one part of the decision process and if the Council or Emma does not stay on top of the AA issues it would fall through the cracks. IV. REVIEW MERRITHEW MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PROJECT Emma referred Council members to Report#8 which primarily covers previous information. The main concern of the Council I is the lack of female representation. Since the last meeting Jonothan took the concerns to the 1.0. Committee, who in turn took the concerns to the Board. The Board requested a presentation by Centex Golden. A presentation was made before the Board by Centex and they committed to working with the sub- contractors in order to ensure that the minority goals are met. Joe Hogan referred the members to Attachment B and asked the members to notice that Alamillo Steel had only one female. Joe said the real need is to focus on the subs. Jonothan said another concern is lack of diversity among minority workers. How is it that given the diversity among the pool, only one group is working. Jonothan explained name call and gave background information to the new members. Jonothan again stressed that the primary concern is lack of female workers. Emma introduced Jose Garcia, AA EEO Manager for Centex Golden, and asked Jose to give the Council an update on the project since the last report. Emma said she is encouraged by the meetings Centex has held with the sub-contractors. Advisory Council on Equal Employment Opportunity -2- Internal Operations Committee December 4, 1995 Meeting The Advisory Council on Equal Opportunity requested 'to meet with you regularly ( quarterly ), to discuss ways affirmative action Issues are affecting Contra Costa residents, and to discuss ways the Advisory Council could more effectively fulfill its role and responsibilities. I. Why meet? There are several areas of interest in the community of Contra Costa: Education money for college motivate minorities and women in schools Jobs job opportunities ( self and children losing job or having to take a cut In pay can't afford to buy or keep a home money for retirement high tech occupations and limited. representation women and minorities lack of long term planning Crime becoming a victim of crime Disproportionate representation of African American and Latino males in prison effective alternatives to incarceration no/small number of minority judges in Contra Costa County Health Care affordable health care youth and elderly long term care drug related illnesses AIDS, HIV preventative health care Recommendations Action Items for 1996 Increase staff for affirmative action office Secretary, IVIBE/WBE Specialist, and an Affirmative Action Analyst ) Initiate an Affirmative Action newsletter for employees and the public covering: laws/court cases; trends In society; exemplory, individuals employed by and within Contra Costa County respond to anti-affirmative action news articles Monitor minority and female appointments ( especially When Hispanics are on the eligibility lists; department head positions; management positions; and non traditional positions ) Develop training program for department affirmative action committees covering their role and responsibilities; career development; department issues Quicker turn around time in filing Council vacancies Require minority and female representation on all boards, committees, and councils under the Board of Supervisors such,as the Planning Commission. Require staff to document their efforts to -obtain diverse representation. . Provide adequate funding for 1995 and 1996 ADA Transition Plan for County facilities Require the identification of the essential functions in. all job classes within three years Require Human Services Department and Social Services to develop a plan for notifying AFDC recipients of job openings per the, requirements of the consent decree Provide access and training to Internet for County employees regardless of their job classes or shifts Provide training to employees on long term health care planning Initiate review of criminal justice system to identify, reasons minorities are sentenced longer, and initiate legislation to correct the bias Request the appointment of minority judges in Contra Costa County Initiate and support preventive , programs in the Sheriff and Probation Departments to train ,youth and/or provide alternative programs to incarceration Request quarterly reports from Probation and Sheriff Departments on their employee selections, particularly when minorities and females are being interviewed for positions. Provide ongoing basic reading, writing,and communication workshops for County employees Require more cross training among County employees at every occupational level