Fresh Start Handicapped Workers
Fresh Start Handicapped Workers
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"OUR PLEDGE TO YOU..." As a
Christian organization, we answer to a higher authority. In every thing we
do you will see a reflection of our beliefs. With:
we have seen that God's people can and will triumph over physical, mental and social handicaps if only given the opportunity. But we must never forget, "that
the greatest of these is love." please click |
December 8, 2003, Monday EDITORIAL DESK Don't Hang Up, That's My Mom CallingBy Bobbi Buchanan ( Op-Ed ) 495 wordsLOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The next time an annoying sales call interrupts your dinner, think of my 71-year-old mother, LaVerne, who works as a part-time telemarketer to supplement her Social Security income. To those Americans who have signed up for the new national do-not-call list, my mother is a pest, a nuisance, an invader of privacy. To others, she's just another anonymous voice on the other end of the line. But to those who know her, she's someone struggling to make a buck, to feed herself and pay her utilities -- someone who personifies the great American way.In our family, we think of my mother as a pillar of strength. She's survived two heart surgeries and lung cancer. She stayed at home her whole life to raise the seven of us kids. She entered the job market unskilled and physically limited after my father's death in 1998, which ended his pension benefits. Telemarketing is a viable option for my mother and the more than six million other Americans who work in the industry. According to the American Teleservices Association, the telemarketing work force is mostly women; 26 percent are single mothers. More than 60 percent are minorities; about 5 percent are disabled; 95 percent are not college graduates; more than 30 percent have been on welfare or public assistance. This is clearly a job for those used to hardship. Interestingly enough, the federal list exempts calls from politicians, pollsters and charities, and companies that have existing business relationships with customers can keep calling. Put this in perspective. Are they not the bulk of your annoying calls? Telemarketing giants won't be as affected by the list but smaller businesses that rely on this less costly means of sales will. The giants will resort to other, more expensive forms of advertisement and pass those costs along to you, the consumer. My mother doesn't blame people for wanting to be placed on the do-not-call list. She doesn't argue the fairness of its existence or take offense when potential clients cut her off in mid-sentence. All her parenting experience has made her impervious to rude behavior and snide remarks, and she is not discouraged by hang-ups or busy signals. What worries my mother is that she doesn't know whether she can do anything else at her age. As it is, sales are down and her paycheck is shrinking. So when the phone rings at your house during dinnertime and you can't resist picking it up, relax, breathe deeply and take a silent oath to be polite. Try these three painless words: ''No, thank you.'' Think of the caller this way: a hard-working, first-generation
American; the daughter of a Pittsburgh steelworker; a survivor of the
Great Depression; the widow of a World War II veteran; a mother of seven,
grandmother of eight, great-grandmother of three. It's my mother calling. |
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