Seattle (Wash.). Civil Service Commission

In 1975, Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman and the City Council ordered the Seattle Fire Dept. to begin hiring women as firefighters. Seattle Personnel/Civil Service, the Fire Dept., and the International Association of Firefighters began recruiting women and minorities for firefighting work. However, of forty-five women who applied, only nine were able to pass the physical examination, and none of the seven who entered the recruit class completed the program. Physical ability and mechanical ability were cited as "deficiencies" that made completion of the training difficult for women recruits. Personnel and Civil Service created a Pre-Recruit Firefighter Program which would involve both physical training and mechanical education; the program, begun in Jan. 1977, was intended to prepare women recruits for further training as firefighters. The Fire Dept. administered the program, while Personnel and Civil Service provided support. Dr. T. Lee Doolittle of the University of Washington prepared a physical training program; training took place at YMCA facilities and was supervised by YMCA staff. Covered in the mechanical section of the program were plumbing, electricity, and lumber, as well as hoses, ropes and knots, and ladders. Two of the three women enrolled in the initial pre-recruit training program resigned; the remaining recruit, Bonnie Beers, completed the program in 1977. Beers went on to complete recruit training and became Seattle's first woman firefighter; she became a lieutenant in 1981 and a Battalion Chief in 1996. Throughout 1977 and 1978, recruitment of women continued and the pre-recruit program was further refined and developed. In 1979, the city's personnel system was reorganized with the creation of a Personnel Dept. independent of the Commission. The Commission was reorganized with jurisdiction to hear employee appeals relating to demotions, terminations, suspensions, certain lay-offs, and violations of personnel rules. Also in 1979, a three-member Public Safety Civil Service Commission was created to deal with personnel issues in the police and fire departments. The Commission's duties include classifying positions in each department, preparing and giving examinations to prospective employees, hearing appeals, and making rules for appointments and discharges.

From the description of Public Safety Civil Service Commission women firefighters project records, 1976-1977. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 166428912

City charter of 1896 created the Civil Service system and established the Civil Service Commission and Civil Service Department to administer the system; reorganization in 1979 abolished the Civil Service Department replacing it with the Personnel Department and established the Civil Service Commission as a separate city agency.

From the description of Civil Service Commission annual reports, 1896-1973. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70961816

Established by the 1896 city charter to promulgate rules and regulations, prepare registers of those passing exams, provide for merit promotions, conduct hearings and investigations, and employ a chief examiner; city's personnel function reorganized in 1979 and the commission's primary activity now is to hear appeals relating to civil service rule violations.

From the description of Minutes, 1902-1974. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70925138

The Civil Service Commission was established in 1896 to oversee the Civil Service Dept., which administered the city's personnel system, including the fire and police forces, laborers, inspectors, and clerical, electrical, and library workers. The commissioners classified city services and employees, coordinated and administered physical, medical, and competence examinations, dealt with appointments, promotions, and removals, and conducted investigations in the event of an employee appeal. The ensuing years brought new employment issues, including those of wartime employment conditions and women in the workforce. During the Commission's early years, it faced some opposition; in 1912, charged with wastefulness and inefficiency, the Commission underwent an investigation by the City Council. Subsequently, a 1917 report reclassified city services and employees. Other difficult times in the Commission's history included the first and second World Wars, as well as the Great Depression; budgets were often tight, and many city employees joined the armed services or found business opportunities in other industries. In 1937, the city's services were again reclassified. In 1979, the city's personnel system was reorganized with the creation of a Personnel Dept. independent of the Commission. The Commission was reorganized with jurisdiction to hear employee appeals relating to demotions, terminations, suspensions, certain lay-offs, and violations of personnel rules. Three members, serving staggered three-year terms, comprise the Commission. One member is appointed by the mayor, one by the City Council, and one is elected by city employees.

From the description of Civil Service Commission scrapbooks, 1934-1947. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 123410718