In 1970, a lawsuit was brought against the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission that “alleged that the municipalities engaged in discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices whilst staffing their respective fire departments.”[2] Blacks and Latinos were virtually excluded from the fire service, making up 0.9 percent of the total number of firefighters in Boston in 1970.
[3] This lawsuit resulted in "the entry of an omnibus consent decree" that revised the hiring practices of municipalities, also referred to Boston Chapter, NAACP v. Beecher, 371 F.Supp.
C. Certification Ratios The Consent Decree mandated that minority and non-minority candidates be certified “one minority to every three non-minority to Boston and Springfield.”[4] Also, the Civil Service Commission‘s lists must be in a specific order: near the head of the list were disabled veterans, children of public safety officers killed or injured in the line of duty, veterans, etc.
[5] All progress made through the court order was threatened by the passage of Proposition 2 1/2, a state tax reduction law mandating layoffs.
[7] The US District Court Order was issued August 7, 1981 that required the department to maintain the 14.7 percent ratio.
Mayor Kevin White declared that two hundred layoffs would be made in total, in a time span of about two weeks.
In 1982 the Tregor Bill granted the city of Boston money and called for the rehiring of firefighters who were laid off because of Proposition 2 ½.
This was prompted by a "reverse discrimination" suit filed by white men Quinn and O'Brien, who argued that even though they had higher scores, minority candidates were hired over them.
Internal documents state "most ethnic groups recognize that civil service is a stepping stone to a Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard in two or three generations".
The Vulcans defined recruitment as including the enrollment, training, preparation for tests, guidance and counsel throughout until the applicant becomes an employee.
These agencies included The Neighborhood Youth Corps, churches, Urban League, community colleges, adult education programs, etc.
The Vulcans implemented year round civil service training, a 10-week course for 2 hours per week that cost $15.
Many events were used to create awareness of the organization in the community, such as setting up a booth at the Annual Boston Kite Festival.