Open Letter to Rep. Donna Edwards -The Coalition For Change, Inc.

An Open Letter to Representative Donna Edwards


C4C
Of Maryland's 4th Congressional District



The Coalition For





July 23, 2011
Change, Inc. (C4C)
P.O. Box 142
Representative Donna Edwards
Washington DC 20044
5001 Silver Hill Road

Suite 106

Suitland, Maryland 20746
Tanya Ward Jordan

L.O.R., B, A., M.S.
Subject: Assistance In Obtaining Termination Data by "Race" From the Office of
Founder


Personnel Management


Philip Taylor
Dear Congresswoman Edwards:
B.A., M.P.A.

Acting President

This is to inform you that members of The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C), a

majority of whom are your constituents, are appalled by the lack of response the C4C is
Willie Berry, B.S.
receiving from your office. For the last fifteen (15) months, the C4C has sought your offices
Treasurer

assistance in obtaining "termination data by race" from the Office of Personnel Management
Michael Castelle, Sr.
(OPM).
Diversity Chair




Over a year ago (May 22, 2010) several C4C members met with you in your
Milton Hill
Suitland, Maryland office to introduce you to our new organization and some of its leaders.
B.S., M.A., M.P.A.
As we informed you during our introductory meeting, we are a support advocacy group for
Outreach Chair
African-American federal employees. Our mission is to expose and eradicate racism in the


Federal Government that not only injures the affected party, but also hampers the
Ricardo Jones, Sr.
governments ability to promote efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in Federal
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programs and operations.



Arthuretta Holmes-Martin
During our meeting, C4C members courageously shared with you the chronic work
B.S., M.S.
force culture of bias and reprisal taking place within the Federal Government, our nations
Mental and Spiritual
largest employer. We plainly stated our belief -- that managers acting on retaliatory motives
Well-Being Chair

were frequently engineering the removal of African-Americans who filed discrimination

complaints using the pretext of "poor performance". We stated that supervisors were
Cecil Paris
targeting black employees for removal more often than non-minority employees. Aside from
PMP, B.S.
Management and
providing you with examples of overt discrimination, we shared examples of how African-
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Americans had become "collateral damage" amidst a work culture that allowed managers to

use preferences to secure jobs for friends or family members, often those less qualified that

Anthony Perry
African-American applicants.
Communications Chair

CIO Cert. B.A., B.B.A, M.S.
Furthermore, during our May 2010 meeting we discussed the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commissions response to C4Cs Freedom of Information Act inquiry on class

Paulette Taylor
actions filed against federal agencies. If you recall, we shared with you that over 150 race-
A.A., B.A.
based class actions "had been filed by African-Americans in a ten year period throughout
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various Federal Government agencies. {See C4C video Racism in the Federal Government A-


Z on our home page at www.coalition4change.org}. Also, during our May 2010 meeting we
Diane Williams
informed you that thousands of African-American employees, applicants and contractors are
B.A., M.S., J.D.
being adversely impacted by managers engaging in prohibited personnel practices. For these
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reasons and others disclosed in the PowerPoint briefing we prepared for you, we asked that


your office initiate a written inquiry to OPM for termination data by race. When making our
www.coailtion4change.org
request, we expressed concern that OPM did not make performance based or disciplined
C4C@coalition4change.org
based termination data available to the public by RACE. Yet, opportunely OPM offered the
1-866-737-9783
public such termination data by categories (such as age, grade, gender, and location).

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Open Letter
Over the course of 15 months, we continued to request that you write a letter to OPM
Rep. Edwards
for performance based termination data by race. Although you were most amenable to meet
Pg. 2
with our C4C members, at this juncture, your office has failed to write OPM regarding our

request for termination data by race. Your office has failed to write to OPM as agreed despite

several calls to your office and a separate visit to your Montgomery County Office.1 Notably,

the dates below reflect various, but not all, of the e-mails or visits in which I, a constituent in

your district, inquired about OPM termination data by race.





May 22, 2010
Formal request made at meeting w/Rep. Donna Edwards

Dec. 9, 2010
E-mail to M. Speight

Feb. 22, 2011
Inquiry w/Rep. Edwards during "Open House" In Suitland, Md.

March 9, 2011
Email to K. Owens


May 10 2010
Email to K. Owens



June 1, 2010

Email to K. Owens


July 3, 2011

E-mail K. Owens/A. Christian

July 7, 2011

Email to K. Owens



July 7, 2011

Email to A. Christian

July 7, 2011

Email to A. Christian/K. Owens

July 14, 2011
Email to A. Christian/K. Owens





Your offices apparent failure to act on our request and to obtain a response from

OPM caused Ms. Adrienne Christian (Chief of Staff) and Ms. Katrina Owens (constituent

services representative) to give C4C misleading and contradictory information. Notably, Ms.

Christian informed me that an OPM official stated -- OPM does not capture termination data

by race. On the contrary, Ms. Owens claimed that OPM informed your office that- OPM

does capture termination by race and that it is displayed on OPMs website at

www.opm.gov. As we have reiterated to your staff on more than one occasion --- OPM does

not make performance data by race readily available on its website.2 It is for this reason that

C4C members recommended that the administration capture the information on its

www.data.gov site. It is also the reason why C4C petitioned your office for assistance some

15 months ago.




In closing, your office has still failed to respond to our request. Your failure, as

Marylands 4th Congressional District representative, to write a letter of inquiry to OPM

reflects a total disregard for constituents who elected you to advocate on their behalf. It is our

sincere hope that your office will honor your initial commitment and forward to C4C a copy

of the letter.



Sincerely,



| Tanya Ward Jordan |



Tanya Ward Jordan, Founder

The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)








1 Circa April 22, 2011 (Friday) C4C members attempted to visit with staff in your Montgomery County office;

however, based on the non-response upon buzzing the intercom intermittently for entry, your office seemed

unattended. Notably, no one answered the intercom after waiting an hour to obtain assistance.

2 C4C has sent three (3) separate FOIA requests to OPM for termination data by race and has received no response.

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