No security at Forum

No security at Forum
EDITOR:
I read with interest last Sunday's column by Mr. Sweeney and, frankly, I question his sincerity.
I was also was born at Northside Medical Center and have come to care a great deal about Forum Health and its future. In 1975 I was hired into a part-time position at Southside Hospital while I attended YSU. My goal was to pursue a career in law enforcement and I did work for several police departments in the area while maintaining my job at Southside. I went on to become a member of the Security Department in 1982. I was confident that the area would always need health care and as long as I was a good employee, I would have a job.
I believe I did my job well. I didn't abuse my sick time, having numerous years of perfect attendance. I worked extra when necessary. I went the extra mile when I could. I've been spit on, punched, kicked, bitten, scratched, cursed at, threatened, etc. Some of my co-workers have even needed surgery for injuries they sustained. We all took it in stride; it was part of the job. I cared, we all cared, as you find with most employees, especially in health care. We give more than an eight-hour day for eight-hour pay.
My thanks for this, after better than 30 years service, along with my department, was & quot;you do an fine job, but we can't afford you, good-bye. & quot; I was devastated, as were my co-workers and, I'm sure, those in security at Trumbull Memorial. Our severance package, unlike so many "executives" before us, wasn't in the hundreds of thousands, it was some accumulated vacation time, if you had any, and a good chunk of that went to taxes.
We gave our best and it didn't matter. What else do we have to give, but our work ethic? Which brings me back to Mr. Sweeney, Forum Health's board, and the executive staff over the last dozen years -- where have they been?
These problems aren't new. Why did it have to get to this point for people to start aggressively dealing with it? I did my job. My co-workers at Northside and Trumbull Memorial did their jobs. Do these people feel they have done theirs?
WILLIAM M. PETKO
Boardman
An appeal from 'survivors'
EDITOR:
Blessed Sacrament Church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Maron's Parish have accepted the challenge of the American Heart Association to assist with its mission to reduce death and disability from heart disease and stroke. We are participating in the 2006 Heart Walk and we would like to challenge our sister parishes in Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties to participate as well on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Youngstown State University, 10 a.m. until noon.
This important community event brings together walkers from all over the tri-county area to support the fight against our nation's No. 1 cause of death -- heart disease and stroke. Cardiovascular disease touches everyone, men and women, directly and indirectly. The American Heart Association's goal is to reduce coronary heart disease, stroke, and risk by 25 percent in the State of Ohio by 2010.
For the 2006 Heart Walk, we are asking your assistance to form a team of walkers, secure pledges, and help meet the overall walk goal of raising $218,000, which is needed to fund heart disease research and education right here in the Mahoning Valley.
Participating in the walk is a great way to help our community and build community among your parish friends. Our parish members have enjoyed participating over the years and we're excited to take on the challenge again in 2006. Please join us in this fight against heart disease and stroke. There is no minimum required and no registration fee to participate.
For more information, log on to http://walk.americanheart.org or call the American Heart Association at 330-965-9230.
The Rev. DON KING, pastor
Blessed Sacrament, Warren
Deacon JOSEPH NOHRA
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Maron's Parish
Youngstown
X Both writers describe themselves as heart survivors.
Tariffs won't solve problem
EDITOR:
Sen. Schumer has proposed a tariff of 27.5 percent on Chinese goods. That would level the playing field between American manufacturers and Chinese, he claims. There are a few problems with this. One is that the so-called Chinese manufacturers are Americans who have moved their plants to China to take advantage of the low wages and other opportunities. There are plenty of other places they could move to in order to get those same advantages if it got to that.
Seventy percent of China's manufacturing is owned by American and European investors. That is why the GNP of China is much smaller than the GDP. One of the great problems with globalization is that capital is free to move anywhere in the world to obtain rock-bottom wages, while labor is forced to remain rooted to one place due to immigration laws, etc.
Is the problem really that the yuan is undervalued or is it rather that the Chinese worker is undervalued? People are forced to work 70 to 90 hours a week at below subsistence wages. Rather than raise a tariff, we should work to see that Chinese workers get paid a decent living wage. Only when there is parity between American and Chinese workers will there be a level playing field. It used to be believed that union scale wages had a beneficial effect in raising the wages of non-union people as well. Unfortunately this is no longer true because globalization forces all of us to go lower and lower.
Should a national economy raise the standard of living of the people within that economy? Or to force them to work longer and longer hours to survive (barely) so that billionaires can make a killing? That is the trillion dollar question.
ROGER LAFONTAINE
Youngstown
There oughta be a law
EDITOR:
Recently I saw that people from a church out West are disrupting the funeral services for servicemen killed in the war. Being a veteran of World War II, I think this is a crime.
I also think that politicians should pass a law making it a crime.
If these church members could be helping a lot of people with the money they spend running all over the country.
If they don't like this country I am sure that lots of people would buy them a one- way ticket out of the country.
EARL R. BAKER
Canfield