Kootenai Leaders Lukewarm On Minority Hiring While The Time May Have Come, They Say They Wish It Hadn’t Come Here

Recruiting minorities to work in North Idaho is fine - albeit unnecessary - as long as the practice doesn’t take large numbers of jobs from locals.

That seemed to be the general opinion of a handful of Kootenai County business and government leaders surveyed last week.

“I’d prefer that we didn’t have to do it, but there have been a lot of inequities in the past,” said Coeur d’Alene Mayor Al Hassell.

A quick telephone survey last week of politicians and businessmen revealed few had given the concept much thought. Many struggled with conflicting feelings.

No one could name a county business except Washington Water Power that actively worked to bring minority workers to North Idaho. Only one leader suggested going out of the way to do so was important.

Yet while opinions ranged from aggressive support of minority recruiting to qualified support of its chief critic, image-conscious leaders seemed to share one overwhelming sentiment: They’d rather the question had not been raised.

“I don’t see this as a community-wide issue,” Hassell said.

“In a small way I think talking about this hurts us more than it helps us,” said Post Falls Mayor Gus Johnson.

“I think it’s a nonissue, as far as I’m concerned,” said Kootenai County Commissioner Dick Compton.

County Commissioner Ron Rankin last week blasted the Panhandle National Forests’ minority hiring program, hoping to spark debate over race-based, taxpayer-financed recruitment.

But his efforts fell flat as a freshly cut pine tree.

The reason? Nobody wants to talk about it.

“I think it adds more to a bad image when a public person speaks out about it,” said Bob Potter of Jobs Plus. “It creates more of a perception that we’re not focused on human rights. The sad part is, we are.”

Rankin took issue with the forest hiring full-time staff members with taxpayer dollars whose time is partially spent seeking out minority high school and college students from outside North Idaho who long for a career in forest-related fields.

Instead, Rankin argued, those forest jobs - which pay an above-average wage for Kootenai County - should be given to local people because the region is suffering from unemployment that nears 10 percent.

But forest managers suggested his comments showed a misunderstanding about forest hiring practices.

Every year, North Idaho forests hire about 300 seasonal workers to work on trails and other projects. The salary range generally is $7.15 to $9.80 an hour.

Because national forests are an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, those job openings must be posted nationally - usually on the Internet - so candidates from across the country can apply.

Typically, more than 1,200 people each year apply for those jobs, said Jackie Woods, who heads up the temporary hiring program.

Some of those hired are from North Idaho, she said, while some are not. Almost all are white.

To promote diversity, a Hispanic employment manager also recruits students from southern Idaho high schools and colleges, and from areas like Texas and California. Last year, about 30 minority recruits were hired on the forest.

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Potter said. “There are plenty of other summer jobs for local people.”

Potter added that he would like to see the agency screen its initial 1,200 applicants so that as many as possible were hired from the region.

But Potter said he didn’t think it was necessary for area businesses or other public agencies to promote diversity by actively seeking minority job candidates.

“I don’t think we need to go out on a special mission to recruit people,” he said.

Most area leaders agreed.

“I am a firm believer in hiring people who can do the job - no matter who they are,” said Johnson, in Post Falls.

Hassell, in Coeur d’Alene, said, “When I need to hire somebody, I go out and find the best person for the job, regardless of the color of their skin.”

While many seemed not to mind the Forest Service program, only Paul Anderson, with WWP, lauded it.

“It’s a good thing, and I’m glad they’re doing it,” Anderson said.

With North Idaho’s cultural homogeneity, Anderson said, “it’s an absolute necessity and the socially responsible thing to do.”

WWP has a worker who is responsible in part for bringing in minority workers, he said.

Minority populations and migration to the United States from foreign countries is expected to rise dramatically in coming years, Anderson said.

“We believe very strongly that, as a company, we’ll be much better off by embracing diversity,” he said. Those who don’t “will be the poorer for it,” he said.

, DataTimes