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Letters to the Editor

no short cuts
Re: "who's overseeing the trainers?" (October 2007)

I read with great enthusiasm your article on forklift training. I have been operating forklifts for 41 years and now do forklift training at the Lehigh Career & Technical Institute for adults who want to make a career change or just need a job. A lot of my students have never touched a forklift before they come into the class. Here in the Lehigh Valley, there is a great need for forklift operators and many of the local companies hire out of my classes because they know my students are getting 36 hours of safety training.


I agree 100 percent with you that forklift trainers should be regulated by OSHA. I work very hard at training my students to be good, safe operators and then I see companies out there training people in six-hour classes. I am sorry, but it is impossible for a person who never drove a forklift before to become a "certified" forklift operator in this short period of time.

David Rubright, Workforce Education Coordinator, Lehigh Career & Technical Institute

leading by example
Re: "some very special employees" (October 2007)

John Johnson is right on target to highlight the Walgreens DC program. We need to emphasize how good corporate citizenship is good for the United States and that doing the right thing ends up being right from all aspects, including business.

There are other companies that take a strong stand and lead by example in this area. I happen to be quite familiar with one, Cisco. The branding of "welcome to the Human network" is not just a pitch. At Cisco and in other socially conscious firms, commitment starts with the leadership, but it has to be a company culture to be sustaining.

Please keep up the promotion of these programs and companies. We can all use the examples; whether big plays or minor miracles, they all count.

John Sweitzer, Director, Global Alliances, Intermec

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