Pension Parity Sought by Retired Black Police Officers
posted by Paul Secunda
[Cross posted on Workplace Prof Blog]
To those who believe that the bad ol’ days of segregation and unequal treatment of minorities is behind us, I give you this story from the LA Times about retired black police officers in Georgia who are still trying to get a remedy for past injustices:
A “whites only” sign was still hanging on the precinct house water fountain in 1964 when James Booker joined the suburban College Park police force. He soon learned it wasn’t the only thing off limits to Georgia ’s new black recruits.
Until 1976, black officers were blocked from joining a state-supported supplemental police retirement fund. Today, white officers who entered the fund before that year are taking home hundreds of dollars more every month in retirement benefits than their black counterparts.
The now-retired black officers have been lobbying hard to change that, but eight years after they began an effort to amend the state constitution and give them credit for those lost years is stalled in the Legislature. The Georgia Constitution prohibits the state from extending new benefits to public employees after they have retired.
If lawmakers don’t take action in the final weeks of the legislative session, the battle will move to the courthouse this spring, said state Rep.Tyrone Brooks, an Atlanta Democrat and civil rights activist leading the officers’ campaign.
Come on, Georgia, do the right thing. Give these police officers who gave the best years of their lives the pension payments they have always deserved. If not, this situation will continue to be an unwelcome reminder that much still has to be accomplished in the area of racial justice in the workplace, especially in the South.
March 3, 2008 at 11:01 am
Posted in: Civil Rights
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Responses (3)
Maryland Conservatarian - March 3, 2008 at 11:35 am
“Until 1976, black officers were blocked from joining a state-supported supplemental police retirement fund.”
…in other words, they were blocked during Jimmy Carter’s ENTIRE term as governor?
jm - March 4, 2008 at 12:19 am
Yes, during his term as governor – when he had no control over the mayor. Maynard Jackson. It was under Jackson’s term (1974-1982) that this was solved, at least in Atlanta. However, that was only in part. These guys are long overdue an apology. And some cold hard cash.
lakeguy3 - March 4, 2008 at 3:15 pm
It is a shame that this occured. I would suggest that these officers be allowed to “buy back” their time, at the rate the white officers paid during that time period to be a member of the fund.
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