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In a memorandum to Committee, Employee Relations and Diversity Programs Administrator Harvey Pye, Deputy General Manager/Administration and Development Teri Mantony and General Manager Celia Kupersmith presented staff’s recommendation to approve a three-year Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Program (Program), from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2009. The District is required to submit a Program to the FTA every three years for review and approval, as mandated by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under Circular 4704.1 and in order to receive federal and state funding.

The Program stated that as of June 30, 2006, the diversity profile of the 792 current regular employees (Regular employees are full-time, part-time and limited-term works assigned to Board-authorized positions.) is as follows:
   •   23% are female;
   •   77% are male;
   •   42% are minority; and,
   •   58% are non-minority.

The report noted that some of the key changes to the proposed three-year Program include:
   •   employee representation in certain employment classifications and categories changed in part due to reductions in the District’s workforce, beginning 2003 – 2005, as a result of a major budget deficit;
   •   demographic changes in the availability of women and minorities in the labor market, using the 2000 U.S. Census;
   •   the requirement to report applicant data which represents a more broadly defined geographic region;

A copy of the staff report, including a copy of the PowerPoint presentation, is available in the Office of the District Secretary and on the District’s web site. In addition, a copy of the draft Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Program of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2009, is available in the Office of the District Secretary.

• President Middlebrook made the following comments and inquiries:
  • She inquired if the goal availability figure shown for women and minority not only represents the population, but also represents the necessary skill sets. In response, Mr. Pye stated that, in regards to goal availability, it is important to identify those individuals in the population that have the necessary skill sets, as well as what percentage came from either the external or internal pool. In addition, Ms. Kupersmith stated that the job categories, which are established by the Federal government, have very broad definitions as compared to those of the District. As an example, she pointed out that the job category of Protective Services at the District is limited to the Patrol Officers and Bridge Sergeants. She also stated that, although the District conducted an extensive outreach for the Bridge Patrol Officer recruitment, only a small number of women applied for the position.
  • She inquired as to why women are not listed in the problem area category even though there is an under-representation in some categories at the District. In response, Ms. Kupersmith stated that the Federal government dictates that only minorities must be identified in the problem area category. The minority groups might include women, as well as men, since only the minority aspect is being considered, not gender.
    

• Director Newhouse-Segal requested that Mr. Pye provide a detailed description of the criteria used for listing minorities in the problem areas column of the District’s goals for the Program.  In response, Mr. Pye stated that staff calculates the current representation against the goal availability for all minorities, and then breaks out the figures into sub-groups by individual minority to show what ethnic group has under-representation.  

• Director Grosboll made the following comments and inquires:
  • He inquired as to whether the District has discretion in the figures for the goal availability and whether the District will take into consideration hiring minorities in the job categories that are under-represented. In response, Mr. Pye stated that the figures are driven by the data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, Ms. Kupersmith stated that the District has been successful in promoting employees from within the organization, which can affect under-representation by women and minorities throughout the job categories. She also stated that, as employees move up through the organization, staff performs extensive outreach in an effort to attract minority candidates to fill those vacant positions, many of which are entry-level positions.
  • He inquired if the District was required to adopt the goals set forth by the FTA, as these goals present under-representation for women and minorities in certain job categories in the District’s workforce. In response, Ms. Kupersmith stated that the Board is required to adopt a Program in order to remain eligible for federal funding. She also stated that it is more challenging to increase percentages of women and minorities with the passing of California Proposition 209, which prohibits preferences on the basis of race or gender in public employment, thereby limiting the District’s ability to perform targeted hiring. Ms. Kupersmith described the District’s recent employment and promotion activities, along with the percentages regarding women and minorities.
  • He inquired as to what are the ways in which staff plans to improve employment outreach. In response, Mr. Pye stated that staff plans to attend more job fairs, perform more extensive outreach to the minority communities, promote employees to pass along applications to qualified candidates and develop internship programs. In addition, Ms. Mantony stated that the District has taken advantage of internet services and specialized professional organizations to reach a larger demographic pool of candidates. In addition, she stated that staff will continue to review the recruitment process to address the opportunity for internal promotions. Furthermore, Ms. Kupersmith stated that the District has developed a more comprehensive relationship with the Canal District community in San Rafael, which is a large immigrant population, for potential job opportunities to explore language issues and to provide the community with relevant information regarding employment.

• Director Boro commented that he provides job announcements to the leadership in the Canal District, and suggested that the job announcements be printed in both English and Spanish to foster better communications.

• Chair Pahre commended staff on their outstanding efforts in assembling the Program.  Further, she thanked staff on way they presented the Program, focusing not only on the problem areas, but also on the successes.

The Rules, Policy and Industrial Relations Committee recommends that the Board of Directors approve a three-year Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Program (Program), for the period of July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2009; and, authorize staff to submit the Program to the Federal Transit Administration.

Action by the Board - Resolution
NON-CONSENT CALENDAR