Voice from the Past

Re: "More Changes at the "Planet'" (June 14-20)

I was shocked and dismayed to learn of the departure of Susan Dix as WP's publisher. Not only did I have the honor of working under Ms. Dix as Associate Editor for WP, I also considered her a friend, as many Planet staffers surely do as well. Ms. Dix was an exemplary leader who embodied fairness, quality and devotion in all her undertakings.

A further insult to not only my intelligence but also those of the readers and employees of the Planet was Ben Eason's proclamation that "her creativity and spirit of adventure will be sorely missed." Is this how Eason treats all of his valued employees?

It truly saddens me to hear that all the groundwork for a truly alternative company culture based on equality and respect among WP staffers that was fostered by former co-owner Terry Garrett has been destroyed by Eason's greed, elitism and egoism. The Planet's content may strive to be alternative, but its corporate philosophy is, to use one of John F. Sugg's favorite cliches, business as usual and very, very mainstream.

Roxanne Escobales
London

Ben Eason's response: Needless to say, I have a rather different take about events at the Planet. The Planet is one of the truly special alternative newspapers in the country for its culture, editorial, design and spirit. We will always stand above the other newspapers in our industry and be the most innovative.

Susan Dix is a talented person and will find her place in journalism. Being the publisher of a newspaper is a very difficult job and is not for everyone. That does not mean that everyone in the company is a villain or traitor to be supportive of Susan or the paper.

It Ain't About Fairness

Re: "Picking a Fight" by Rochelle Renford (June 7-14)

The piece has some good points, but it makes some mistakes that taint the whole work as a propaganda piece as opposed to reporting. This will, ultimately, hamper the cause of the Farmworkers. Farmworkers probably have a legitimate issue by not having the same overtime rules as other industries. But that important fact is buried in a piece that contains lines like "forced to work for wages that could barely sustain them." That statement is untrue right on the face of it. People are not forced by any means at all to work in a given industry. You repeat the same sin with "(workers) now being forced to come to the United States to work." Forced? BY WHOM? Certainly not the farm owners! Not the workers already here. People might feel trapped into an industry, but it is not coercion by force, nor is it the doing of the farm owners.

You quote Benitez who claims that people have "the right to a fair wage for a fair day's work." He is correct in that you have the right to receive what you negotiated and earned, and not a thing beyond that. If you negotiated a deal for subsistence wages, you are entitled to that. But when Benitez uses the word "fair" he doesn't mean it the legitimate sense of honest trade for services; he means it in the socialist context.

You say the Farmworkers don't have the right to unionize. That is not true. What do you think the coalition is, a good times club? It's a union. You also state that an employer cannot be compelled to bargain with a unionized workers. THAT IS HOW PRIVATE PROPERTY WORKS. Do you own a car? When it needs repair you are not told by the government you have to take it to a specific worker that owns a shop are you? Why would you want to compel a farm owner to work with someone he may not want to work with? If he can get the same service from a different source for a better price then he should.

I'm glad to hear that the coalition is formed and growing. Collective negotiation is the right thing to do, not asking the government to infringe on property rights and the free market.

Char-Lez Braden
Sarasota

Correction Susan Dix was Managing Editor of the Weekly Planet for two years and Editor for three years. A notice in last week's paper incorrectly stated her position.

This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2001.