Letters To The Editor

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Strikes not often due to wages

Two letters of Jan. 11 beg for response.

One letter writer assailed the logic of union workers who thoughtlessly throw away thousands of dollars that will take years to recuperate, while all they had to do to was abandon their principles, lug home those bulging sacks of money and thank Kaiser for throwing 700 of their friends out of work.

Another letter accused the strikers of plunging their families into poverty just to satisfy some egotistical whim that would allow them to dominate their saintly benevolent employer. It also went on to congratulate the loyal and virtuous replacement worker.

In response to the first letter: Despite what most people think, very few strikers ever hit the bricks over wages. They almost always strike because conditions have become unsafe or previously agreed upon benefits are being withdrawn or the company has begun a calculated series of contract changes that will ultimately eliminate all union workers. Kaiser has no plans to produce their products with fewer workers, only fewer union workers! The men and women of unions have given up a great deal more than $11,200 to give all workers a chance at a better life; many have given their lives.

The second letter can be addressed by the parable of a man who waits until his neighbor joins the army to defend his country, so he can move into the man’s house and use his family and belongings, all the while hoping the man will be killed in action! Patrick N.F. Haight Spokane

White-collar crime in action

I would like to set Wayne Lythgoe (Letters, Jan. 11) straight on a few of the issues involved in Kaiser’s strike.

First of all, the money. I have worked at Kaiser for 26 years and in the past 14 weeks have lost $6,065 due to the strike, not the $11,200 Lythgoe quotes. I am an electrician, one of the highest-paid jobs in the plant. I make $15 an hour, and yes, I only count money I can actually take home.

I don’t expect to recover that money in the new contract, before I retire at 30 years. But this strike is not about money, it is about whether I will be able to retire at 30 years. It is about whether I will lose my seniority rights in the new contract and be fired before I can get my 30 years in and retire.

This is white-collar crime in action. This is what Charles Hurwitz, the owner of Kaiser Aluminum, is all about. This is what he has done to every group of workers who have ever worked for him: Simplicity Pattern Co., the Texas Savings and Loan he robbed of $1.6 billion with Michael Milken, Pacific Redwood Co. and now Kaiser Aluminum.

It is a shame and a disgrace that the county commissioners and the state attorneys general are not enforcing the state and county laws designed to protect the citizens of Spokane and Washington state from white collar criminals. Margaret Larive Spokane

Safety an issue of concern

In response to Edward Schafer’s Jan. 11 letter, “Consider the stakes carefully.

I never have complained about my job at Kaiser through the newspaper. As a striking steelworker, I’m concerned about the condition of the plant - especially if Kaiser gets what they want. Right now, as I see it, the managers and the replacement workers are working too many hours, which can’t be safe for them or others.

There are many issues out there, such as: We agreed a few years back to go to a 12-hour shift schedule for more time off when not working, to adjust to working rotating shifts. It wasn’t so Kaiser could eliminate one whole shift and expect the other three shifts to make up the difference. Working more hours and less time off defeats the purpose of working such a difficult schedule. When safety is considered, you need the time off to rest and to adjust.

Some strikers may not have their jobs back; this is at Kaiser’s discretion. They could send you anywhere they want to, or they could fire you for anything you may or may not have done before or after the strike. Some have crossed the picket line only to be taken out by ambulance later.

Kaiser can hire whoever they want, but l.M.A.C., C.W.I., and Labor Ready of Coeur d’Alene, can’t by Washington State Law No. RCW 49.44.110 only hire Washington state residents. Al V. Benjamin Post Falls

Unions can be beneficial

For those people who have nothing good to say about unions, read the article about sweatshops in the Jan. 14 Spokesman-Review. This would never have happened if there had been a union at this factory. Donald G. DeLong Veradale

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Group’s views far from Christian

Having grown up within the Southern Baptist tradition, I am appalled by Vincent Bertollini’s and Carl Story’s distribution of racist and anti-semitic material under the guise of Christianity. The false doctrine of “Christian Identity” misleadingly teaches that people of color are without souls and that Jews are the children of Satan. Identity must be denounced publicly by all Christians as the heresy it is.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Identity was used as a pretense to establish paramilitary extremist camps far removed from the mainstream of society. Today, Identity leaders such as Bertollini and Story, and their false prophets Richard Butler and Dave Barley, are attempting to rid their movement of its paramilitary image and are striving to establish a larger following within our communities. It’s clear from Bertollini’s public comments, especially his assertion of white male earthly rule, that this dogma is destructive and inconsistent with Christian belief.

The Apostle John warned Christians that “…many Antichrist have already come” (1 John 2:18). It’s clear from the un-Christlike activities of Bertollini and Story that the Apostle John is correct.

Christian leadership should be alarmed by these imposters and their misuse of faithful Christian teachings.

We must continue to reject as a sham the pseudo-philosophy “Christian Identity” that simply attempts to pit one part of humanity against another. Bertollini and Story are nothing more than charlatans who hold up Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” with one hand while crushing the Gospel of Christ with the other. Eric K. Ward, regional coordinator Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment, Seattle

Precise estimation is an art

An article in the Jan. 10 Spokesman-Review concerned world geography. The author, Alfred Borcover, was concerned that “Americans’ geography literacy is getting worse rather than better.” As his contribution to solving the problem, he challenged readers with several dozen geography questions - ostensibly to help them increase their knowledge.

However, Borcover may really have been more concerned about motivation, the motivation that sometimes comes when personal ignorance is exposed. After the statement quoted above Borcover, added the following tangential remark: “By the way, the population of the United States is estimated at 271,102,965 (as of this morning).” Gadzooks! The author sees specks in other eyes while a log protrudes from his own.

Please notice that population figure - nine significant figures for what Borcover calls an estimate. Move over geography, and make way for another glaring area of public ignorance - the science of measurement. Such ignorance makes me tremble throughout every member of my 165.3571-pound body (as estimated after yesterday’s dinner). Edwin A. Olson Spokane

Foundation’s service is priceless

I was touched by Gene Fierce’s Your Turn column (Dec. 30) about his wife’s battle with macular degeneration.

My husband also has an eye disease that has led to blindness, but his life has remained full and meaningful through the support and training he received from the Lilac Blind Foundation. The skills taught to him have reduced his disability to an inconvenience. One of our favorite things to do is to travel, at which time I describe what we are seeing so he can enjoy it with me. He also travels by himself to meetings in other cities, and he uses STA and his white cane to travel about Spokane with ease.

We are both retired and he shares homemaking duties with me by doing laundry, cooking and cleaning. He loves to eat out, especially with our grandchildren. He is learning to use our new computer, so that he can e-mail and search the Web, and play games with our grandchildren.

My husband facilitates a support group for visually impaired people, which meets monthly. It is comprised of a variety of individuals, and the topics discussed are subjects of interest to people who happen to be blind. His latest interest is in woodworking, and he has been busy learning to make bird houses. He uses the same safety precautions anyone would use, plus some adaptive techniques.

Sight problems are very difficult. However, the Lilac Blind Foundation teachers can help us and our loved ones say “I can” rather than “I can’t.” The service is free; the results are priceless. Charlotte Ulmer Veradale

LAW AND JUSTICE

Keep score on judges’ decisions

Responsibility, or its denial, is the root cause of many of our ills, as the main problem with responsibility is that it’s always laid at someone else’s doorstep.

When a young girl becomes pregnant, society seldom blames the boy but gladly crucifies the girl.

When a judge releases a sex offender back upon society, a child usually pays with her life while an unconcerned judge still draws a fat paycheck.

Often, when a drunken driver takes a life, he’s back on the highway before his victim is buried.

Our judicial system is as responsible for many of our society’s rampant crimes as the criminals themselves: Too many jurists conduct almost revolving-door trial patterns that release hard-core criminals back into our society almost as soon as they are arrested. This highly computerized nation keeps records on trivia, yet overlooks one area that could cut our crime rates in half: publishing records of every judge’s decisions, the number of felons put back on the streets and of repeat crimes committed after being freed.

Being a judge entails imposing penalties. But what penalty is meted out to judges for their mistakes, which often cost the lives and property of the very citizens who elected them?

Improving the judicial system means improving the quality of the judges by making them accountable for their rulings. If a judge is to enjoy prestige and an excellent income, he should also accept meaningful responsibility for his decisions. Andy Kelly Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Socialism lacks moral justification

As we continue to witness the corrupting consequences of the “age of entertainment,” G.E. Morton deserves accolades for his Jan. 9 letter, in which he eloquently addresses a key issue of the century: the conflict between the natural right of one’s ownership of the fruits of one’s own honest labors (private property rights) vs. the New Age arbitrarily granted “right” to the acquisition of certain kinds of wealth (socialism).

Whether food, clothing, shelter or movie tickets (which the French have determined everyone deserves), any wealth is rightly distributed by trade in an economic environment as governed by the Christian-Judeo principle, “as you give, so shall you receive”; one consumer’s wealth in accordance with what one contributes to (produces for) the marketplace.

Any redistribution of wealth must be by the free choice of individuals under the Christian-Judeo principles, “help your neighbor” and “love your neighbor as yourself,” not by someone else’s vote. Jeff T. Schaller Pullman

Your vote should be gender-neutral

Re: “It’s time for a female president” (Letters, Jan. 13). It’s high time a woman got up the courage to run for president, but that doesn’t mean we should vote for her just because she is a woman.

Women have been discriminated against in the past, but that gives us no right to turn the tables on the male population. Who knows, there may be the perfect male candidate on the next ballot.

Maybe the reason the good old boys of the past haven’t done such a great job is because they weren’t voted for because of their quality, but maybe because they were a Democrat or a Republican, or because they were a war veteran, or whatever. A president’s capabilities don’t depend on those things or their gender, but on the real issues.

So, women, I urge you not to vote by gender as payback next voting season, but on their abilities as president. And Elizabeth Dole, if you decide to run, I wish you the best of luck. Lauren Kohut Sandpoint