Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

A preponderance of older white males in top management is the most pressing diversity issue at Lane Transit District, according to LTD employees in a recent workplace survey.

The "climate survey" found that most LTD workers enjoy their jobs,

But only 58 percent of respondents agreed that LTD provides advancement opportunities to all employees, with women and short-time employees less likely to view such opportunities as equally open to all.

"There are no managers or department heads who are nonwhite," one respondent said. "The last three director hires were white males over 50."

Public transit is a traditionally male-dominated field, and LTD is no exception. Sixty-five percent of LTD's 326-member workforce is male, compared with 49 percent in Lane County's population at large.

The LTD survey, conducted in January by Lockwood Research of Eugene at a cost of $1,800, was completed by 106 employees, a 32 percent response rate. The surveys were mailed to employees' homes to assure confidentiality.

An eight-member diversity council asked for the survey to help devise strategies for improving workplace diversity. "We felt it was important to understand what the issues are from the standpoint of employees," said Anita Yap, a transit development planner and council member.

LTD is among 11 public agencies in the area that in 2002 established a Diversity and Human Rights Consortium dedicated to promoting workplace diversity. Several of the other agencies - such as Lane County, Lane Community College, the city of Springfield and the Eugene Water & Electric Board - have conducted similar workplace surveys.

It's unclear how many at LTD see workplace diversity as a troubling issue. More than half of all survey respondents, for example, offered no answer when asked what they consider to be the most pressing diversity issue at work.

Lingering perceptions of male dominance persist despite the fact that a woman, Phyllis Loobey, served as general manager for 21 of the district's 37-year history. Currently, there are three women and no minorities among LTD's nine top managers. No minority person has ever held a top management job at the district.

The most recent management hires - Mark Pangborn as general manager, Stefano Viggiano as assistant general manager, George Trauger as maintenance director and Tom Schwetz as planning and development director - went to white males. Pangborn, Viggiano and Trauger were internal promotions.

Pangborn said he's struck by the fact that only one in three employees chose to answer the survey.

"If things were wrong, with people feeling like something is out of whack in the area of diversity, this was a way to comment anonymously," he said. `If two-thirds didn't comment, the thinking may be, `If it's not broke, you don't need to worry about fixing it.' Generally, that's the feedback I get, that things are going fine.'

Pangborn said he is mostly pleased with the responses of those who did choose to complete the survey. "We do our very best to have a labor force that reflects the community in general, and I think we have," he said. "Could we do better? Absolutely."

LTD has hired recruiters and advertised in larger markets to seek qualified minority candidates, Pangborn said. The challenge can be greatest at department-head levels, where candidates generally must have some professional familiarity with transit, he said.

A black male was among the finalists for the assistant general manager job, but he withdrew his candidacy prior to a selection being made, said David Collier, a human relations senior analyst and member of LTD's diversity council.

"We do have women directors, but we don't get a lot of minority candidates," Collier said.

Part of the challenge at LTD is a low turnover rate - 6.3 percent last year, and only 4.4 percent when retirements are excluded. "More of the retirements have been in the lower ranks - in terms of management, we've not seen that bubble burst," Collier said.

Yap, who is Chinese-American, said she has given presentations, moderated panels and written articles about diversity issues for professional trade groups. While the survey's suggestion of limited diversity at LTD rings true to her, "it's a bigger picture" than just one employer, she said.

"We have changing demographics in this country where the minorities are not going to be the minority anymore," she said. "This is such a big shift, and my concern is whether we're prepared to serve this new kind of population."

Yap, whose previous workplaces include the Lane Council of Governments and the cities of Coburg and Bend, said LTD is the first place she's worked that's created a diversity council, which she called "a big step." But the test, she said, is whether policy discussions lead to actual change.

Other survey findings:

Thirty-four percent of respondents said they had seen or heard of instances of sexual harassment in the past year. That was higher than the percentages who said they had heard racial or racist comments (29 percent), had seen or heard of racial discrimination (20 percent), or seen or heard of discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation (27 percent).

Only 56 percent of LTD respondents said they believe managers ensure that acts of harassment don't take place. But 77 percent said they would feel safe taking complaints about being harassed to someone at work.

The perceptions of sexual harassment "indicate to us that that's an issue we need to look into a little further," said Viggiano. "It's a concern if even one person thinks that."

Hannah Bradford, a graphic artist and diversity council member, said LTD began as a small, family-like organization where people "were very informal and comfortable telling jokes."

Now the district has grown to a midsize agency and is evolving in its understanding of what is and isn't appropriate workplace behavior, she said.

When asked if they'd heard co-workers make negative comments toward others in the past year, 29 percent said they had heard such comments related to ethnic background, race or color. But a higher percentage - 30 percent - said they'd heard negative comments tied to political affiliation.

Bradford hypothesized that last year's tumultuous national elections, viewed by many as a referendum on the Iraq war, and labor-related comments made just a year after LTD bus drivers went on strike, might have contributed to that high rating.

Bradford and others said the survey provides a baseline that will help managers and the diversity council create a multiprong plan for improving workplace diversity.

"I'm just real excited," she said. "We have some work ahead of us, but for the most part people are open and willing to learn more about this."

LTD LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

District's top managers include three women, no minorities

Mark Pangborn, general manager

Stefano Viggiano, assistant general manager

Jo Sullivan, executive assistant

Diane Hellekson, finance director

Mary Adams, human resources director

George Trauger, maintenance director

Mark Johnson, operations director

Tom Schwetz, planning/development director

Andy Vobora, service/marketing director