Labor, management must come together at Forum

Labor, management must come together at Forum
EDITOR:
A business cannot be successful and survive when its costs consistently exceed its revenues. Likewise, a business cannot survive for very long when its revenues are much lower and its costs are much higher than its competitors.
As a member of the Forum Health Holding Company and former member of Forum's Board of Trustees and the Western Reserve Care system, I have long experience on several key committees. I also am the CEO of the Youngstown Area Development Corporation and the financial officer of nine different corporations, including seven nonprofit organizations.
From this experience, I can understand why Forum Health is having difficulties competing in this health care market because I know what it takes to survive and succeed in business.
Business success comes down to the cost of doing business, and labor accounts for a significant portion of those costs.
We have known for years that Forum's labor costs are much higher than our competitor's costs. These costs came about because labor contracts were inadvisably negotiated and the responsible parties failed to bite the bullet and keep costs in line with the competition.
Clearly, during periods when Forum faced declines in revenue and increases in labor costs, these issues should have been faced and resolved in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, they were not.
I cannot hold myself blameless for not insisting on corrective actions which would have kept the ship (Forum) on a financially stable course. The ship is not sinking, but it is drifting. And with decisive actions and sacrifice, the ship can and will continue on a course of financial stability while carrying out its health care mission.
I do not doubt that all Forum employees have the best interest of Forum Health at heart and that they will make whatever sacrifices are required to continue to provide the best medical care to the residents of the Mahoning Valley.
Forum has made changes in management and additional changes must be made. Management and labor must come to an agreement -- today, not tomorrow -- that makes it possible for Forum to continue to provide quality medical services.
JAMES GLENN
Liberty
Fight noise with noise
EDITOR:
It's time to Beep Out the Boom Boys and Rise Up Against the RapCrap cars. Most people with audio systems that rattle the windows of cars and wake up neighborhoods are young males and, of course, the window rattling is more about getting attention than making music. It's that "screw the establishment" rebel mentality that most of us had at that age -- whether it meant growing your hair long, organizing a sit-in or whatever.
Agitating the over-40 crowd is as American as apple pie. Of course, now that I'm over 40 I have a different perspective. When one of the Boom Boys rolls up next to me at a red light and overpowers my conversation or disturbs my peace, I don't like it.
The other day I decided, "I'm just not gonna take it anymore." As Boom Boy rolled up next to me with an audio system that was worth more than his car and the "kabooms" shook my car, I heard portions of a rap song with more f-bombs than you could imagine.
So I decided to follow some good advice: don't get mad -- get even.
I leaned on my horn and left it there. Not short bursts, but a steady continuous blast.
The Boom Boy driver looked over at me like I was crazy. I smiled and waved (with one finger). He raised the volume on his RapCrap, but soon other drivers at the same red light caught onto the idea and started leaning on their horns as well.
It wasn't long before Boom Boy got the message, turned down the volume, slunk down in his seat and drove away as soon as the light turned green.
So what I'm suggesting, my fellow post-40 rebels, is that you might want try my method (at your own risk) the next time one of these vehicles is in front, behind or next to you.
Let's Beep Out the Boom Boys and Rise Up Against the RapCrap with our own factory-supplied boom boxes -- our horns.
Some of you will probably say this is a childish way to handle things. It may even be illegal. Maybe you're right. All I can tell you is, it sure feels good.
GEORGE FARRIS
Boardman
Demonizing the messenger
EDITOR:
Bertram de Souza's May 14 column, "Talk can be cheap, or expensive," criticized remarks that I made in two interviews with Forbes magazine. Since I have been in China for several weeks speaking at Peking University and doing research on the Chinese auto industry, this is my first opportunity to respond.
Jim Cossler of the Youngstown Business Incubator and I completed long interviews with Forbes, talking for more than an hour about the successes and failure of economic development in the area. We were both troubled that the Forbes reporter included only the most negative material in her article.
As part of my interviews with Forbes, we discussed whether a prison economy contributes to or inhibits future economic development. This is a fair and important question that continues to be asked locally and nationally as the Youngstown-Warren area remains 198 out of 200 on economic development 25 years after the mill closings and almost 10 years after the prisons were built.
My remarks didn't deserve the personal attack by de Souza and others in the media on my qualifications and on the Center for Working-Class Studies. I have been an award-winning professor of business for over 25 years, I am among the most published faculty in the Williamson College of Business administration (having been awarded YSU Distinguished Professor awards three times), and I co-wrote "Steeltown USA: Work and Memory in Youngstown." I think I deserve more credit than de Souza and others suggest.
But more importantly, de Souza's remarks reflect a tendency in the Mahoning Valley to demonize anyone who asks for accountability on the part of those in charge of economic development.
JOHN RUSSO
Youngstown
Quit picking on good kids
EDITOR:
In rebuttal to the May 28 letter to the editor, & quot;Parents: help save gas, & quot; I was wondering, first, if the writer has any children of driving age. Then I thought that he should take a good look at how many of these kids drive other kids to school with them, including younger brothers and sisters. Have you recently driven past other area schools? You can barely see an open parking space. Meanwhile, less than half of SLHS is filled, and this includes school employees' cars.
Also, look at how full Springfield Local buses are that come in and out of the intermediate/high school parking lot. My daughter couldn't wait to be able to drive to school, being that her bus was so overfilled on the way home that she had to sit on the floor. Now that's safe.
Most of these kids are good students and are driving economy cars that probably get better gas mileage than their parents' cars. And on last note, take a real good look at how many of these kids don't use tobacco products.
KATHY YOUNG
Springfield Township