A rendering of the new Miami Marlins Ballpark.
With the opening of the new Miami Marlins Ballpark just months away, a job fair held by the organization last week brought out thousands of hopeful jobseekers. But there was also plenty of controversy after many looking for jobs saw postings on the ball club’s website that they say were discriminatory.
“I only speak English and I don’t know what else I can do,” said Bradley Washington, a 33-year-old job seeker. “On the site it clearly said they are looking for people that speak Spanish in addition to English so I guess they don’t want me.”
Juan C. Martinez, Marlins director of multicultural marketing, said seeking bilingual job candidates was a priority for the team because of its Spanish-speaking base.
“Of the hundreds of potential job opportunities available at the new ballpark through the Marlins, CSC event management and other ball park positions, only three positions require that the candidate be bilingual,” said Derek Jackson, 36, Vice-President and General Counsel, Miami Marlins. “The Marlins’ commitment to the Black community is the same as it is to every ethnic group represented in South Florida. The Marlins want every community to be represented at the new ballpark.”
The nearly-completed stadium is located in Little Havana on the site that previously was home to the Orange Bowl. But close by is the historic community of Overtown whose Black unemployment rate hovers at nearly 20 percent. Many of those residents stood in line hoping to secure a job with at the Marlins Ballpark.
Miami Marlins Logo
“This is a sensitive issue for many Black job seekers,” said Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, 69, who represents the 17th District of Florida.
Both Overtown and Little Havana are part of her district.
“I personally believe that candidates should be evaluated based on their qualifications for getting the job done rather than their linguistic abilities.”
Commissioners sound off
As a result of the Marlins’ perceived preference for bilingual employees, several Miami-Dade County commissioners’ officers were flooded with complaints.
“It [the posting on the website] really caused a lot of phone calls to come to my office,” said Barbara Jordan, 68, Miami-Dade county commissioner, District 1. “If you speak English only or speak English and Creole it appears as if you are not welcome to apply. There are a lot of public dollars that are tied into that stadium. I got a visit from Marlins’ representatives that let me know that the listings on their website were done in error. They told me it was not their intent to limit their applicants based on language.”
Jordan says that she plans to follow up with the Marlins to monitor whether Blacks were fairly treated in their job search efforts.
“This is insulting frankly because there is so much public information that tied into this stadium,” said Jean Monestine, 48, Miami-Dade county commissioner, District 2. “There shouldn’t be any bias in this. I hope this was just a mistake. This is the public community whether you were for it or against it but it is still the public’s money.”
By Randy Grice
rgrice@miamtimesonline.com
John
November 25, 2011 at 10:55 am
Yours truly was reared in South Florida from the late 1970′s until May 1987 when I joined the Air Force. Ever since my arrival into South Florida I cannot remember any time a concerted and consistent effort was ever made to support or hire blacks, hence my choice to join the Air Force. The hired city officials throughout South Florida always have an excuse for not including blacks in any means of true support. What I judge as support, is the concentrated effort of this article towards Hispanics. Dade County/Miami city officials decided to build this stadium in a predominantly black neighborhood yet the focus is to hire those of Spanish decent. The better action is to hire the blacks of the surrounding community so they may provide a means to support their family and instill pride within them. The city officials of South Florida do not support the black community, yet will not hesitate to refer to the black community as downtrodden and follow up with actions that do not demonstrate a concerted effort to provide a means for the black community to uplift themselves. Occasionally I view the online version of the Miami Herald, especially when family and friends point me to a particular article. Never have I seen articles that support blacks of Miami or South Florida. The consistent effort in South Florida lends itself toward promoting the Spanish & Caucasian community of South Florida; therefore, I request a change.
william Blake
December 14, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Life is over for blacks in Miami as we know it. This state is full of discrimination and segregation against blacks. Many of the older generation blacks have seen it all before in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, discrimination in housing, jobs, gov, etc. Have you been to an auto dealership lately? gas station, grocery stores in your own community? we don’t see us. Even Miami Dade College provides free classes in English to Hispanic’s who don’t speak English making them bi-lingual, but no Spanish classes to non-Hispanic’s, providing an uneven playing field in the job market for blacks. Last I heard you had to speak English to be an American citizen. Who are these non-citizens getting so much assistance. History is just repeating itself. This time instead of whites discriminating against us, it’s Hispanics. Where are our black leaders and the so called NAACP? Unfortunately this generation will understand what Blacks as a people went through back then, unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it now, Its to late. Hispanics are too powerful politically and economically. For Blacks to have an equal opportunity as Hispanics in Miami we have to teach our children to speak Spanish. We cant beat em so we better join em.