- LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los
Angeles officials have asked that manufacturers, suppliers and contractors
stop using the terms "master" and "slave" on computer
equipment, saying such terms are unacceptable and offensive.
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- The request -- which has some suppliers furious and others
busy re-labeling components -- came after an unidentified worker spotted
a videotape machine carrying devices labeled "master" and "slave"
and filed a discrimination complaint with the county's Office of Affirmative
Action Compliance.
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- In the computer industry, "master" and "slave"
are used to refer to primary and secondary hard disk drives. The terms
are also used in other industries.
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- "Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity
of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label,"
Joe Sandoval, division manager of purchasing and contract services, said
in a memo sent to County vendors.
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- "We would request that each manufacturer, supplier
and contractor review, identify and remove/change any identification or
labeling of equipment components that could be interpreted as discriminatory
or offensive in nature," Sandoval said in the memo, which was distributed
last week and made available to Reuters.
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- The memo did not include any suggestions for alternative
labels.
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- Dennis Tafoya, director of the affirmative action office,
said in a separate memo that an "exhaustive search" had been
undertaken to find all such labels and replace them with more "appropriate"
ones. A form was sent to all departments to identify equipment carrying
the labels "master" and "slave" or any other offensive
terms.
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- Faced with an avalanche of complaints from vendors and
the general public, Sandoval told Reuters in an interview that his memo
was intended as "nothing more than a request" and not an ultimatum
or policy change.
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- "I do understand that this term has been an industry
standard for years and years and this is nothing more than a plea to vendors
to see what they can do," he said. "It appears that some folks
have taken this a little too literally."
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- Sandoval said that he had already rejected a suggestion
that the county stop buying all equipment carrying the "master"
and "slave" labels and had no intention of enforcing a ban on
such terms with suppliers.
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- "But we are culturally sensitive and we have 90,000
employees," he said. "We have to take these things seriously."
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- Sandoval added that in addition to the e-mails he's received
"telling me how stupid I am and how I should be fired" he has
gotten a positive response from some companies willing to reexamine their
labels.
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- In June, the Los Angeles city council unanimously passed
a law requiring that any companies doing business with the city disclose
profits they may have made from slavery in the 19th Century. In 2000, the
council supported federal legislation seeking reparations for descendants
of slaves.
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