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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0346.006 1996-1998 May 23, 1997 "Evil Flourishes When Good Men Do .clothing." Dear Mr. Ron Takahashi: This letter is written with sad and heavy heart. However, it is being done u. because it is the right thing to do. O C? c -~1 The night before the Captains promotional interview preceding leg'? actual promotion (circa 1995), I received a telephone call from Alb`e~t ("Kama") Kaaihili, then Fire Equipment Operator (FEO) and now ~ Captain. He was preparing for the Captain's interview. ~l His question was... "What is SARA Title III?" I am well known as t~iie. of the Department experts on Hazardous Materials, and wrote the = HAZMAT Standard Operating Procedures for the department after a protracted 3 year battle to cause them to comply with Federal law (they still haven't). I explained what SARA Title III was to Kama, and then the conversation continued. At one point he made the statement that... "I knew everything, but when I came to that I was stuck." Which brings to mind the question, "Well what are you looking at?" which I did not voice. Following the Captains interview, and upon our return to work after our 4 days off, a member of my shift, Mr. Thomas Beach (FEO, having placed first on the written portion of the Captains exam 4 times, but passed over based on the interview), asked me... "Mike, what the hell is SARA Title III? It was asked during the interview yesterday, but I haven't had any training regarding this and can't find anything in the memo's or the training library." It seems that some people know what to study ahead of time. Although the National Fire Protection Association (which sets standards for the Fire Industry) recommends against the use of interviews in the promotional process, Hawaii County Fire Department continues to use them. In fact, interviews are essential to maintaining political control because the results of the written tests can largely be negated. Given the evidence of tampering with interview questions/answers revealed by the incident in 1995, the present crisis over the FEO interview, and the successful civil suit won by a group on non-Japanese firefighters some 15 ~w 3 46.0 6 >ni~ na. f 1 _ Ne( Presented F~ tint. Dote JUN 1 7~. years ago (during which a conspiracy to distribute answers and promote only Japanese was admitted to on the witness stand by Gary Yoshimura), I believe that the situation in the Hawaii =ounty Fire Department meets the criteria of an "ongoing enterprise to commit crime' necessary for the offenses to fall under the RICO ?~ws (i.e. Labor Racketeering). As such, I believe t'.lat this situation should be reported to the Federal Authorities (FBI). Secondly, I believe that the ongoing and long standing pattern of unfair behavior laid bare by the above incidents and the recent incident at the FEO interviews may constitute administration with differential impact." It is worthwhile to note that there is not a single person above the rank of Captain in our department who is not Japanese or part Japanese. This is hardly representative of the general population of the island. Is this imbalance maintained through tactics like the above? The high-handed and arbitrary nature of the promotional process can also clearly be seen in the current status of the Job Performance Review (JPR) process in the Hawaii County Fire Department. If I were to go for a promotional interview, neither I or the administration would have any idea what kind of worker I am. This is because I have not had a JPR in 8 years. Do those who get promoted have JPR's on file? Or is actual Job Performance and the JPR so absolutely irrelevant to promotion that the administration has paid no attention to it as a management tool? The JPR's are themselves possibly unable to stand up in court, because they are a generic form and current case law requires that JPR's be tuned to the job description in question, rather than generic in nature. In HFD, we use the same (i.e. generic) form for all ranks. I am a 12 1/2 year veteran (a 15 year firefighting vet, with a Masters degree in Information Systems, 2/3 of an MBA, and I have taught Executive Planning at the National Fire Academy, in Maryland, 1995) of the Hawaii County Fire Department who refuses to take the promotional exams because of the present situation in our department. Myself and many others have sustained emotional and financial damages because of the above patterns of abuse. I would appreciate it if you would clean this mess up... R pec lly, Michael oriar FF/EMT North Kohala Fire Station cc: Francis Kennedy, HFFA Bob Bailey, HFFA HAWAII ALL-PURPOSE ACKNOWLEDGMENT State of ~/~1-!N•¢// ss. County of ~/f l~Q } On this a•3r day of M.4-Y 1 g 9 7 Day Month Vear , before me personally appeared Neme of Signer (2) and /VIA , Name o! Signer 1-- to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn or affirmed, N did say that such person(s) executed the foregoing instrument as ' the free act and deed of such person(s), and if applicable in the capacity shown, having been duly authorized to execute such instru in ch capacity. SignaWre Notary Public My co ssion expires: ~ -0?8•' y ~ OPTIONAL Though the information in this section is not required by law. it may prove valuable to persons ~ ~ relying on the document and could prevent fraudulent removal and reattachment of this /orm Top of numb Here Top of mumb Here to another document. Description of Document and Signer DocumentTitle/Type: rC~TTFJP Dater/~~97No. Pgs.: a Signer(s) Other Than Named Above: /V~/4 Signer's Capacity: Representing: N t~ 1995 Nal,onal Notary Assooauon • 8236 Rammet Ave PO. eon ]184 • Cenoga Park. 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