| Verano 1999 | |||
 From the President, Amy Gutierrez |
Still, there are some serious challenges evident in the statistics. We have so much to improve. In 1997, among a poll of 25 to 34 year olds, only 17 percent of Latinos had completed a college education vs. 39 percent of non-Hispanics. 40 percent of Latino children now live in poverty, the highest rate ever. A lower percentage of Latinos vote in US elections than other non-Hispanic citizens. Latino girls have recently passed blacks with the highest rates of (Continued on page 3)
If you're going to the CEA picnic on Sept. 11, you'll pass this sign. See page 6 for more info on directions. No se pierdan. |
 On Point by Gil Moreno |
|
 f you
caught the July 12th issue of Newsweek, you
already know that Latinos are in the news. As our numbers grow, others are taking
notice of our cultures and backgrounds, our languages and customs. Today there are 31 million Latinos in the United States, and that number is projected to hit 96 million by the year 2050, an increase of more than 200 percent! 61.6 percent of the overall US Latino population are of Mexican descent. 37 percent of Latinos live in Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami. With more than a third of the Latino population still under 18, the boom has just begun. By 2005, Latinos will be the largest US "minority," with an influence that is already shaping US culture and presidential politics. According to Newsweek, Latinos are changing the way the country looks, feels, thinks, eats, dances and votes. We are proud of our Latino heritage, and have become a potent, increasingly unpredictable political force. We come from 22 different countries of origin, including many hybrids. Millions of Latinos are moving into the middle class, speaking English, inter-marrying, and spending lots of cash. US Latinos pump $300 billion into the US economy per year. The Latino Generation X, called Generation Ñ--and known locally as Generation Mex--is making its mark, making all things Latino hip. Everyone is dancing salsa, and most kids know the lyrics to "Living La Vida Loca." |
 ow and
then, a promotional opportunity comes along. After you read the bulletin, if you're
interested in the position, you file an application before the deadline, await your score
and then, alas, the news isn't so good. (Well, sometimes.) You're in a low
band. Your score stinks. You get angry and you want justice. It ain't fair, you
think, after all you've done for the department. The resentment is palpable, como un grito que llevas en la alma, to paraphrase a Luis Miguel song.1 Your score should provide notice that you may appeal the score. But you can't wax poetic about your alma with the appeals process. You have to act fast. You have the right, under the civil service rules, which have the force and effect of law, to review the scoring material with some exceptions. Unless you're afflicted with total recall (as someone put it), you won't remember what your AP rater said about you. Ask for a copy or take notes. If you don't, then it is next to impossible to file a meaningful appeal. One problem I have encountered is that some departments refuse to give (Continued on page
2) |
||
