Resolution No. 27
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT: Resolutions
Re: Censure of Rhoda Mae Kerr, Chief of The Austin Fire Department, Austin, TX –
Substitute Adopted Unanimously
1 | WHEREAS, IAFF Local 975 represents 1,129 |
2 | members of the Austin Fire Department who proudly |
3 | serve and protect over 850,000 citizens of Austin, |
4 | Texas; and |
5 | WHEREAS, Austin Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr |
6 | has made a multitude of decisions and taken actions |
7 | that have been detrimental to the safety of fire |
8 | fighters and citizens of Austin; and |
9 | WHEREAS, one of Chief Kerr’s first actions as |
10 | Austin Fire Chief was to attempt to reduce 4-person |
11 | staffing on certain engine companies; and |
12 | WHEREAS, Chief Kerr passed over more than a |
13 | hundred qualified higher-ranking officers, including |
14 | thirty Battalion Chiefs and five Division Chiefs, and |
15 | appointed two Lieutenants to the rank of Assistant |
16 | Chief, leading to a race-discrimination lawsuit by |
17 | two Battalion Chiefs, which resulted in a legal |
18 | settlement ordering the Fire Department not to |
19 | discriminate on the basis of race when making |
20 | discretionary appointments to the ranks of Division |
21 | Chief or Assistant Chief for seven years and costing |
22 | the taxpayers $850,000; and |
23 | WHEREAS, Chief Kerr oversaw a cadet hiring |
24 | process in 2010 that was plagued with |
25 | mismanagement at every step, including a leaked |
26 | exam, improperly calculated rankings, and a poorly |
27 | selected oral interview panel that resulted in a failed |
28 | process that cost the taxpayers over $800,000; and |
29 | WHEREAS, Chief Kerr oversaw a subsequent |
30 | hiring process in 2012 that resulted in investigations |
31 | by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
32 | and the Department of Justice and a subsequent |
33 | proposed consent decree alleging that under Chief |
34 | Kerr’s leadership, the Fire Department has engaged |
35 | in “unlawful employment practices” in violation of |
36 | Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and |
37 | WHEREAS, Chief Kerr encourages and supports |
38 | the subcontracting of Austin fire fighters’ jobs, which |
39 | allows the City of Austin to annex without building |
40 | new Austin fire stations; and |
41 | WHEREAS, Chief Kerr acceded to the use of |
42 | non-union civilians to perform wildland fire fighting |
43 | activities within the City of Austin; and |
44 | WHEREAS, Chief Kerr acceded to the use of |
45 | non-union, non-Fire Department employees to |
46 | perform wildland fire fighting activities within the |
47 | City of Austin; and |
48 | WHEREAS, during the Labor Day wildfires of |
49 | 2011, Chief Kerr was out of town on a golfing |
50 | vacation and decided not to return to duty, leaving |
51 | the subordinates to coordinate the response to the |
52 | fires, which destroyed hundreds of homes and |
53 | charred thousands of acres in Travis and neighboring |
54 | counties; and |
55 | WHEREAS, these decisions and actions have |
56 | violated Collective Bargaining Agreements between |
57 | Local 975 and the City of Austin, leading to |
58 | grievances and litigation resulting in Local 975 being |
59 | unnecessarily forced to engage in constant battles |
60 | with the Austin Fire Department and the City of |
61 |
Austin to protect the interests of its members |
62 | and the citizenry; therefore be it |
63 | RESOLVED, That The International Association |
64 | of Fire Fighters formally censures Fire Chief Rhoda |
65 | Mae Kerr; and be it further |
66 | RESOLVED, That notice of this censure be |
67 | disseminated to Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr, all IAFF |
68 | affiliates, and the International Association of Fire |
69 | Chiefs (IAFC). |
Submitted by: Local 975, Austin, TX
Cost Estimate: None
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