FDNY Chief Paul Mannix who railed against diversity increase wins seat on Uniformed Fire Officers Association's executive board
Chief Paul Mannix, a 29-year veteran of the FDNY, founded Merit Matters in 2009.
(MARINO, JOE)
An FDNY chief who has railed against making the FDNY more diverse has won a seat on the Uniformed Fire Officers Association’s executive board, officials said.
Chief Paul Mannix, a 29-year veteran of the FDNY, won the slot during union elections last week, beating the incumbent officer by a vote of 326 to 73, the union confirmed.
The union represents FDNY members with the rank of captain or above.
In 2009, Mannix founded Merit Matters, a group dedicated to preserving what he said were the best hiring standards and often protested what he saw was an attempt to remove merit-based standards from the FDNY’s hiring and promotion practices.
“We strongly supported diversity in the department, but we disagree about how best to accomplish that goal,” he said at the time.
Mannix dissolved Merit Matters after being censured by the FDNY.
Last year, the FDNY found Mannix guilty of making “statements that are disruptive to the department or that would disclose personal information” and forced him to surrender 50 days in wages — a loss of about $30,000.
He was also fined for “conduct bringing reproach or reflecting discredit upon the department” for leaking information that led to negative stories about the FDNY, officials said.
Last year, the FDNY found Mannix (c.) guilty of making “statements that are disruptive to the department or that would disclose personal information” and forced him to surrender 50 days in wages — a loss of about $30,000.
(TODD MAISEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
The FDNY in recent years had fought a spate of leaks that resulted in negative news stories about the department’s diversity hiring.
Personnel and medical details of specific firefighter candidates, most of them women and minorities trying to join the FDNY, were revealed — in some cases a violation of medical privacy laws.
The FDNY was a defendant in a long-running Title VII discrimination lawsuit brought by the Vulcan Society, the fraternal association of black firefighters.
That lawsuit was settled in favor of the Vulcans — setting off the whisper-campaign among some rank-and-file who said it would result in lowered hiring standards.
A union spokesman did not think that Mannix’s election would affect relations with the FDNY.
“The membership of the FDNY officers union voted for (Mannix) and we look forward to working with him,” union spokesman Todd Shapiro said. “We have a good relationship with the FDNY and the administration and will continue to have one going forward.”
Mannix could not immediately be reached for comment.
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