Dumped because of gender and race

The idea of a newspaper actually caring about a freelancer's race is a bit farfetched to me. I've never heard of anything remotely like that.

 

I sure know Findlay isn't Cleveland -- I've lived in both!

There also aren't people dying there. The flood hit, but it was slow and though people have lost property, there was plenty of time to evacuate if needed. In Findlay at least the floodwaters weren't all that high. It's a small town so there aren't thousands of people who need to move; just a few hundred. And it will be hard to see someone who isn't white interviewed b/c the town is 90-95% white.

BTW, here are some pics from the Findlay flood. It ain't exactly New Orleans!

 

Well now you have. I would love if this weren't true. The editor in charge of this operation cares, as I posted above, because of appearance (it runs head shots of writers, me included, and doesn't like the all-white look). I don't disagree that current roster is far from ideal, if you want to "count" by race, but this is even more wrong, seems to me. Why not add someone outright, or wait for opening, instead of bumping me off simply because of race to open the spot?

 

Presuming this is all true, you'll need to be able to document what was said. If this is a union shop, you might talk to the steward - freelance writers have rights, too. But not many. You might also take it to someone in HR. Failing all that, you might find an attorney willing to take the case on a contingency basis.

 

And if there were other people around to hear what the editor said and will back his story, is that not proof?

 

This is a good point if in fact it is a union shop. The Guild (and many other unions) has often made cases to reclassify freelancers as part of the bargaining unit. It depends on things like how often and reguarly you contributed, scheduling, etc.

 

Top, I think that was meant to be written in blue.

 

Is it possible that you sucked at said freelance job and nobody wanted to tell you, so they played the "diversity" card to get rid of you?

 

It would seem to me much safer to tell someone, ``You suck, you're fired," than to tell him it's because of race and potentially open yourself up to possible legal action and other repercussions.

 

"Fair" and "equal" aren't necessarily synonmous.

If you build a stadium with, say, 7,500 stalls for men and 5,000 stalls for women - based on historical trends and data on the number of men and women who attend games - you haven't provided an equal number of stalls.

But you have provided a fair number of stalls.

Likewise, say you closed society to one group of people for 400 years. It would take more than 40 years of inclusion before an equal number of opportunities is the same as a fair number.

I'm not suggesting that employers break the law, hiring and firing based on race. And I know my beloved white brothers feel it's "unfair" for employers to consider race at all. I'd feel the same way.

But fair and equal aren't always the same thing. Ditto unfair and unequal.

 

You don't even have to fire a freelancer. You just simply don't use them anymore. Or don't renew a contract or whatever.

Seriously, it's kind of weird because all the person had to say was they are going in another direction or something.

 

Wasn't because I sucked -- copy editor who handled the articles said that, of the group of us freelancers, mine were consistently strong. (Only say that because of the possible rationale raised by Cadet.)

That copy editor and one other person were the people who told me the reason, as it was told to them. Top editor: "We need to have a writer of color in that spot."

I never said it was a firing, by the way. It was a dumping of a freelancer, several years into the working relationship. Believe me, if I had been a full-time employee or had a contract, I wouldn't have relied on SportsJournalists.com to tell me to think about a lawsuit. But the freelance aspect made it less clear. I'm thinking it is a lousy thing to do that might not be illegal, but still something that top editor wouldn't want widely known. Not too good for a reputation, no matter how PC.