Page 6
March 2006
The AC Phoenix
Suzanne Stafford
STAFFORD TO HEAD RUSSIAN
BUSINESS ACADEMY CREDENTIALS
PROGRAM AT FORSYTH TECH
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (February 21, 2006)
-Suzanne Stafford has been promoted to
director/trainer of international corporate training
with Forsyth Technical Community College’s
Corporate and Continuing Education’s Community &
Economic Development Department. She will be
responsible for coordinating the college’s
international training efforts.
Stafford Is no stranger to international
relationships. Prior to joining Forsyth Tech, Stafford
owned a consulting business in which she assisted
American companies wanting to open businesses in
the former Soviet Union. At Forsyth Tech, she helped
oversee a U.S. State Department grant for an
exchange between the former Soviet Union and the United States.
Stafford’s first project will be with GAZPROM Corporation of Russia. Forsyth
Tech and GAZPROM will offer a two-week Business Academy Credentials Program
for foreign nationals hosted by the Volgograd College of Oil and Gas in Volgograd,
Russia. The new program, accredited by the Russian Federation, was established
to promote foreign business in Russia and is among the country’s first efforts to
provide the legal certification that Russian Federation law requires for foreign nation
als to conduct business in that country. GAZPROM is the world’s largest produoer
of oil and gas, with 500,000 employees.
Stafford can be contacted at (336) 734-7906 or sstafford@forsythtech.edu.
Forsyth Technical Community College offers associate degrees, diplomas and
certificates in more than 150 programs of study. Forsyth Tech’s Corporate and
Continuing Education programs promote personal and professional development
with non-credit courses and seminars and provide customized training for business
and industry. Forsyth Tech serves more than 30,000 students with approximately
1,150 fuli-and part-time faculty.
New Frontiers of Employment
Discrimination
By Mia Brydie and Debra Carr
You like me, right now you like me!
If you aren’t an Oscar Awards fan, you probably don’t know who shouted these
words during her acoeptance speech in 1985. But you probably do know the feeling
of wanting to be liked. Most of us are consumed with being beautiful, hip, rich, and
in style—likeable. Fortunately for African Americans, our music, our men, and our
hips and lips are what’s “in”—even though most people would not want to actually
be Black in America. They like us—but only for “right now.”
But what if they don’t like you.
Flave you ever needed a job, were well qualified, had an excellent and truthful
resume, but could not get an interview because—“we regret to inform you that
according to your personality test results, you are not suitable for employment with
us at this time.” Personality test?
It gets better. In the British Isles police academy candidates must take personality
tests to determine if they are racists. Yes, racism is bad, but this sounds a bit like the
“write the preamble to the constitution” and “count the bubbles in a bar of soap”
tests used at election board offices across America years ago. If racism were a hiring
factor in America, nobody—red and yellow, black and white— would have a job.
The reality is that most of us like people who are like us. We sit with them, eat with
them, and attend church with them. When I was in college, the students self-segre
gated during meals in the cafeteria. The problem is that limited social interactions
lead to limited social skills. We get offended at the way certain ethnicities talk with
their hands, or others don’t make eye contact. Some others may be so expressive
that they seem insubordinate. This may have been what happened to my friend
Debra.
In Debra’s Own Words
i worked for Best Job Inc. (BJI) for nine years. The job was great. We had medical
benefits, paid time off; we had core values, a mission statement, and an open door
policy where an employee could talk to management without fear of retaliation. The
last two years, found myself fighting for my rights as an employee. I tried resolving
the concerns with my immediate managers but it always led to Fluman Resource and
changes were made on my behalf, i would not allow management to put false informa
tion in my employment file; I was considered a problem. Eventually I was let go.
IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
Continued from Page I
She hopes that through education we might be able to diminish its
affect on our community.
It is evident when talking to her that she really cares about her
patients and her community. Dr. Powell says, “I want to empower
people to learn more about themselves through our holistic
approach. If we search our history we will discover this is the way
we have done it for thousands of years. The name of the practice,
“House of Life,” comes from ancient Egypt where people like
Imhotep used the same name for their holistic healing practices.
Why are we the sickest people when we used to be the healthiest?”
The House of Life Family Practice’s goal is to “empower people
to live healthy lives through a holistic approach to medicine. Unlike
some physicians, her goal is to prevent you from having to take
medications, be placed in the hospital, or endure surgery when there
are other viable options. She wants to change our mindsets. If she
can change our thinking from unhealthy thinking to healthy thinking,
from thinking sickness to thinking wellness, we’re well on our way
to becoming a healthier people.”
Dr. Michelle Powell was born in New York and raised in Florida.
She has been here for six years. She attended Nova Southeastern
University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and completed her residency at
Duke University. She ran a practice in Lexington for three years
before opening her current practice in February 2006.
As an individual who is currently searching for a good primary
physician and prefers African-American doctors because they seem
to be more attentive to my needs and concerns as an African-
American male, I am glad to know she is in town. Is there a doctor
in the house? Yes there is and her name is Dr. Michelle Powers!
House of Life Family Practice can be reached is located at 1800
Hawthorne Rd. in Winston-Salem. They can be reached at
765-3430.
Website address: www.life.familydoctors.net
Email address: houseoflife1800@bellsouth.net
Legal vs. Illegal Discrimination
EEOC says its mission is “the elimination of illegal discrimination from the
workplace.” Why not get rid of all employment discrimination? Why not force
employers to have legitimate reasons to terminate the employment arrangement. We
have been led to believe that here in NC we work at-will—end of story. That
however, is not the case. Employers must not discriminate against workers for
following public policy or for being in an EEOC protected class. These classes are
constantly expanding and other states have two other exceptions to employment-at-
will. North Carolina can broaden its labor law also.
Even though I am over forty, African-American, a woman, and felt retaliated
against, EEOC says my termination was not discrimination. However, it was wrong
ful. BJI and I had what other states call a “Covenant of Good Faith.” I relocated hours
away from my family with BJI to this area, was a supervisor, had developed special
skills just for this position at BJI, and I had been with the company almost a decade.
We had an implied contract that precluded the NC employment-at-will standard.
Everything must change
There was a time when slaves toiled for local tobacco and cotton companies, and
local banks profited off slave misery. There was a time when paid laborers worked
from Sam to 7pm with a thirty-minute break for seven days a week with no overtime
pay. There was a time when women were beat and raped on the job with no recourse.
There was a time when workers had no toilets and were locked in plants. There was
a time in America where 100 industrial workers died daily in the harsh work condi
tions.
There was a rainy day in 1968 when two Black sanitary workers were crushed to
death in a Memphis trash truck. Jim Crow did not allow them to seek shelter in a
white neighborhood. These situations have changed thanks to individual citizens who
took the challenge. Things can change and we have to change them.
Victories Do Unfold
If you think you may have been discriminated against at work, file an EEOC
complaint in person at the office in Greensboro today. If you are still not satisfied keep
a journal and consult an attorney that specializes in Civil Rights and Labor.
Also, support North Carolina workers like Debra. Email and call your North
Carolina state senator and representative today. Ask for the “implied contract” and
the “covenant of good faith” exceptions to the employment-at-will standard in this
state.
And yes Sally Fields, I liked you, especially in Smokey and the Bandit.