NAACP Slams BP For Sticking Minorities In The Most Hazardous Clean-Up Jobs

The NAACP accuses BP of disproportionately assigning its most hazardous, low-paying cleanup jobs to minorities and is requesting an urgent meeting with Tony Hayward to address the problem.

In a letter to Hayward dated July 8, Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP, outlined a number of concerns related to BP's treatment of minorities, including allegations that "contractors of color are not receiving equal consideration for opportunities to participate in mitigation efforts" and that minority workers are not being provided with appropriate protective gear.

Jackie Patterson, director of climate and justice for the NAACP, said the allegations were not based on "intense research" but, rather, anecdotal observations.

"The people who are out there are saying they're always seeing people of color lifting the boom," she said. "They're seeing more people of color on the cleanup crews instead of in the managerial positions. And, in terms of beach cleanup, none of them are given standardized protective masks or clothes."

Jealous writes in the letter that he visited the Gulf Coast, met with representatives from multiple minority communities there and personally witnessed the ongoing discrimination.

"I emerged from that visit dismayed and outraged by what I heard and saw," he wrote. "We understand and appreciate that BP has been engaged in numerous efforts to address the oil spill and its impact on communities -- including the concerns that were shared with me. But we urge BP to take further steps."

The letter then outlines some of NAACP's recommendations, including that BP establish "monitoring mechanisms" to ensure that minorities are not being relegated to the most strenuous, menial positions and see that minorities are given a fair amount of cleanup contracts.

BP has not yet responded for comment.

Comments

[argon66]

03:07 AM on 07/19/2010

The NAACP would be crying foul if there were too few blacks cleaning up the beaches also. This organization has taken on a nefarious undertone in recent years. Most recently with the rush to judgment on the Duke lacrosse affair....and a lack of apology for the falsely accused.

[notalwaysfittoprint]

08:52 PM on 07/18/2010

I have a problem with the cleanup workers not wearing respirators.

[nameunused]

11:07 PM on 07/17/2010

When does it ever end? We hear the black community was hardest hit by this recession. And now we have to attack BP for hiring them to help with the clean up!?

Please, we have brains. This is insulting race baiting, nothing more.

[holyghostie]

07:20 AM on 07/16/2010

The NAACP was most effective when it researched and litigated change. Thurgood Marshall as the head of their legal department bought many successful suits. Brown vs. Board of Ed stands out.

After their recent dormancy its nice to see them getting involved again, I just think their cause would be served better by stories NOT BASED ON ANCEDOTAL EVIDENCE.


The other night when I pointed out that the NAACP litigates while PUSH extorts, one person called me a liar. A moderator called me a racist. When I posted the court cases and evidence about PUSH. The moderator just had my comment scrubbed. How can we have a good debate if people are so angry they resort to namecalling and cheap tricks?

[mp60mp32]

06:04 PM on 07/17/2010

After reading the article twice, I agree with your assessment that anecdotal evidence is not the best measurement to use in this accusation. However, in order to quantify who is given the hazardous duties versus those who have the easier clean up jobs, a survey should be done by the NAACP and disaggregated in order to show a breakdown of race, sufficient resources per worker, and whatever else is relevant. Then a proportion must be displayed representing each ethnic group.

I wouldn't totally dismiss an anecdotal observation, however scientific measurements must be made in order to correct the issues that are being brought forth by the NAACP.

[optimiskeptic]

12:27 AM on 07/18/2010

BP has been overly secretive about their operations from Day 1. And you think they're going to turn over their hiring records for NAACP--or anyone else--to review?? Ri-i-i-i-i-i-i-ght!

[holyghostie]

07:54 PM on 07/15/2010

First of all scraping Tar Balls off a beach is NOT THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB in this disaster.
Nor is unloading boom. THe most dangerous job was rescue and recovery at the well. The second most dangerous job is probably the controlled burns.

Secondly, another term for ancedotal evidence is HERESAY, not admisable in any court.
Sadly journalism now reports ancedotes as fact....much to the detriment of important dialogue.

Here is the one fact we do know. New Orleans has a large minority demographic. The two disasters and the recession mean unemployment is very high. A good journalist or a sincere activist could very easily gather the demographics of the hires, and confirm whether the safety gear is available at the asking. I have seen numerous reports that it is...but people don't wear it because its hot and bulky OR because they don't want to look bad to the boss.

To assert racism like this article purports will not be borne out by facts if anyone cares to look.

[optimiskeptic]

01:03 AM on 07/18/2010

No, you're mistaken; the journalist here did not report anecdotes as fact, but as anecdote per se. And journalists do not operate by the same rules as our court system. The primary aim of a journalist is to accurately describe the factual truth of a matter; the purpose of the court is above all to protect the innocent, and a court's rules are fashioned to do so, even sometimes at the expense of determining the truth of the matter. Besides, Jealous is not threatening court action.

You said that a good journalist or activist could "very easily gather the demographics of the hires." Jealous himself, an activist, "personally witnessed the ongoing discrimination." So then why do you not accept his word?

But it's not just the workers doing the dangerous work that are at issue. The article also said it is claimed that "contractors of color are not receiving equal consideration for opportunities to participate in mitigation efforts." That would be another indication of discriminatory hiring practices. If there are minorities capable of being in charge, why aren't they being hired?

Again, as for assessing the situation more accurately, the problem is that there seems to be nothing in place to facilitate doing so. Specifically, the NAACP is simply asking for just that; for "monitoring mechanisms" to be put into place which could more accurately assess--and confirm or deny--the "anecdotal evidence" Jealous has so far gathered.

[Rabbi Kool]

05:35 PM on 07/15/2010

Giving all those jobs to minorites is more audacious than hope! They should be given to white workers!

That's what I got out of this.

[nexxtep54]

05:24 PM on 07/15/2010

RU4 International Standardized Drilling Regulations ???? Take the quick poll at this interesting new website that just launched today . . . . idea clearinghouse and NOT A BP OR GOVERNMENT WEBSITE : http://www.bpspillsolutions.com/BPspill/mainPolls.asp

[froggyola]

05:12 PM on 07/15/2010

Get educated and you won't have to do jobs like this. simple.

[optimiskeptic]

01:23 AM on 07/18/2010

Well, won't it be fun when we're all educated and living in filth because no one wants to clean up.
--I think instead that anyone willing to do a dirty job should be very well paid for it. The risks should be very clear, and people doing such work should be treated with respect and gratitude by the rest of the community. It never hurts to tell someone, "thank you for your work."

[Gordon Soderberg]

01:45 PM on 07/18/2010

An education dose not guarantee you a job. It only helps you to understand why you don't have a job.

[raffa657]

02:33 PM on 07/15/2010

Par for the course.
The end of affirmative action will make this kind of thing more prevalent.
It's easier to take advantage of less educated and desperate people.
Unfortunately, a lot of these people are minorities.

[INDIVIDUALTERRY]

01:10 PM on 07/15/2010

Dont worry Heyward. A couple million bucks and the problem will go away.

[urscrued]

11:22 AM on 07/15/2010

Yeah cuz, there are a lot of white collar workers wanting to sling oil.

[MiddlePassage]

11:15 AM on 07/15/2010

I've thought from day one, why is all the suffering in the Gulf given a white face and the silent clean up workers mostly a black face. This problem is systemic and structural, in our mass media as well as our corporations. Since keeping records black unemployment in good and bad times has always been twice as much.

[DIAGER]

11:05 AM on 07/15/2010

I applaud the NAACP for finally speaking out on some of the most obvious discrimminations, but seriously, in that dept. BP isn't doing a thing the rest of this country isn't doing, and according to the T partiers and the gop, they're PROUD AS HECK of the track record.

[mustardhead98]

10:55 AM on 07/15/2010

Give me a break! What happened to the once proud NAACP? And all of the wonderful civil rights work they did? Now they've succumbed to the progressive political ideology that all things conservative or big business are involved in racism of one form or another.

Before these last two years I never saw people as "black" or "white"...now, the country has been so divided and charges of racism (most completely unfounded) are thrown around more than I've ever seen, it's become the most polarized nation on earth. So much hatred it is sad.

[Tee McDonald]

10:49 AM on 07/15/2010

My last attempt to put the NAACP's efforts on behalf of oil cleanup workers in perspective. Blue collar workers have always been the most exploited type of labor in this country. Labor unions support their members in the same way by ensuring workers are safe and fairly treated. We should appreciate these organizations that are willing to confront the big corporations and their battalions of lawyers on behalf of "the little people" who often do work that that makes your lives better and that also puts their lives at risk. These workers are working without any protections for a foreign company that just killed 10 of its workers and endangered the lives of everyone else on that rig, a company expert in covering up its misdeeds. Yet in protecting cleanup workers, suddenly many here are suddenly willing to give BP the benefit of the doubt.

I am not an active member of the NAACP but am a lifetime member out of respect for its role in shaping this country's view of human rights. My grandmother was also a lifetime member, a teacher, who regularly tithed the church and the NAACP who led the peaceful protest against Jim Crow in her hometown in Tennessee. We should respect such organizations that give pro bono support to workers who can't afford legal representation to protect their basic rights.