Fired for hiring a black plumber
Sounds strange doesn't it in this day and age. Though I did grow up in the 60's during my high school years and saw plenty of news about civil rights, opening schools to all races in the South. Busing to integrate neighborhoods, and a lot of news about the Vietnam war every night. It was like the world was one big fight. We had a famous fighter that had won a gold medal for us in the Olympics, and then he came home and was refused a meal in a restaurant because of his color. He then chose not to fight in a war against people of a different race than him, and was stripped of his world boxing title.
One of my customers was barely in high school, too young to be arrested for refusing to sit in the back of a bus. She and her friends would get on the bus and try to sit up front. The bus driver would stop the bus, call the police and have them take her and her friends off the bus. But that was in the South, and I grew up in the Seattle area where it's more subtle.
So perhaps twenty years out of high school, and in the the construction field for a good amount of time too, I also ran up against the problem. What problem? It kind of depends on your viewpoint I guess. In the 70's I worked for a large plumbing company that was trying to integrate it's workforce. That company asked if we knew of good workers we could hire that were in the minority. That company was wanting to hire people of color.
So now going forward about ten more years and I'm in charge of hiring for a different plumbing company. A company that is looking to expand their plumbing department. Previously I had been one of four plumbers for this company. Most of their work was HVAC, heating and cooling. Some of my favorite jobs for that company had been installing kitchens for processing meat for sale in grocery's. I would go in and lay out the job, get the slabs saw cut, the plumbing roughed in, concrete poured and then the fixtures set. Each store had a grease trap and three compartment sink. I was fast and they knew it. I did these between Woodinville and Tacoma, and even in Bremerton where I took a ferry to the job.
Like all things that change, a few years had passed where I worked other places, and came back to this place of work as a supervisor. I had been hiring plumbers at a very busy time in the construction industry for Seattle. The really good plumbers were working steady. I was having to hire new to the area plumbers that simply were not as fast, or as strong as I was. I was a few months into this new job title and lo and behold, I get a new person applying for a plumbing job that looks to be as big as me. Most of my crew were on the small side, and sometimes you just could use something more. I was also looking to add more skill to the team. After talking to the new man in my office, I decided to hire him........
Did I mention that the new man in my office that I was offering a job to was black?
Well, anyway, the moment I told him he was hired, I heard.
"Terry! Come in here right now!"
So yes, I abruptly leave that room and go see my boss.
"Get your things and clean out your desk! You're fired. Get everything!"
I was told to stay there until they could give me a check for two weeks of pay and the reminder that I was fired. I never found out what happened to the man that I had hired, so I'm guessing they told him a story and asked him to leave. I also think that he had heard me being fired, so maybe he didn't stick around after that. It was a very strange thing to happen.
Always before, I pretty much got any job I ever applied for, and here when I was doing the hiring, I was the one that got fired for doing what I thought was a good thing. I had no idea that hiring a black plumber would be an issue. And I would do it again.
Anyway, that's my story about white privilege. I could pretty much work and do anything I wanted, unless I was wanting to integrate a plumbing company. I wish I knew who that plumber was. After all these years, it would be fun to sit down with him and trade war stories. I hope he did well. And really, I'm sure he did.
Terry Love
http://plumbinghacks.com/
Sounds strange doesn't it in this day and age. Though I did grow up in the 60's during my high school years and saw plenty of news about civil rights, opening schools to all races in the South. Busing to integrate neighborhoods, and a lot of news about the Vietnam war every night. It was like the world was one big fight. We had a famous fighter that had won a gold medal for us in the Olympics, and then he came home and was refused a meal in a restaurant because of his color. He then chose not to fight in a war against people of a different race than him, and was stripped of his world boxing title.
One of my customers was barely in high school, too young to be arrested for refusing to sit in the back of a bus. She and her friends would get on the bus and try to sit up front. The bus driver would stop the bus, call the police and have them take her and her friends off the bus. But that was in the South, and I grew up in the Seattle area where it's more subtle.
So perhaps twenty years out of high school, and in the the construction field for a good amount of time too, I also ran up against the problem. What problem? It kind of depends on your viewpoint I guess. In the 70's I worked for a large plumbing company that was trying to integrate it's workforce. That company asked if we knew of good workers we could hire that were in the minority. That company was wanting to hire people of color.
So now going forward about ten more years and I'm in charge of hiring for a different plumbing company. A company that is looking to expand their plumbing department. Previously I had been one of four plumbers for this company. Most of their work was HVAC, heating and cooling. Some of my favorite jobs for that company had been installing kitchens for processing meat for sale in grocery's. I would go in and lay out the job, get the slabs saw cut, the plumbing roughed in, concrete poured and then the fixtures set. Each store had a grease trap and three compartment sink. I was fast and they knew it. I did these between Woodinville and Tacoma, and even in Bremerton where I took a ferry to the job.
Like all things that change, a few years had passed where I worked other places, and came back to this place of work as a supervisor. I had been hiring plumbers at a very busy time in the construction industry for Seattle. The really good plumbers were working steady. I was having to hire new to the area plumbers that simply were not as fast, or as strong as I was. I was a few months into this new job title and lo and behold, I get a new person applying for a plumbing job that looks to be as big as me. Most of my crew were on the small side, and sometimes you just could use something more. I was also looking to add more skill to the team. After talking to the new man in my office, I decided to hire him........
Did I mention that the new man in my office that I was offering a job to was black?
Well, anyway, the moment I told him he was hired, I heard.
"Terry! Come in here right now!"
So yes, I abruptly leave that room and go see my boss.
"Get your things and clean out your desk! You're fired. Get everything!"
I was told to stay there until they could give me a check for two weeks of pay and the reminder that I was fired. I never found out what happened to the man that I had hired, so I'm guessing they told him a story and asked him to leave. I also think that he had heard me being fired, so maybe he didn't stick around after that. It was a very strange thing to happen.
Always before, I pretty much got any job I ever applied for, and here when I was doing the hiring, I was the one that got fired for doing what I thought was a good thing. I had no idea that hiring a black plumber would be an issue. And I would do it again.
Anyway, that's my story about white privilege. I could pretty much work and do anything I wanted, unless I was wanting to integrate a plumbing company. I wish I knew who that plumber was. After all these years, it would be fun to sit down with him and trade war stories. I hope he did well. And really, I'm sure he did.
Terry Love
http://plumbinghacks.com/
Last edited: