Arco From the Inside - Los Angeles Times

Until “Workers at Arco Speculate on Who Will Stay, Who Will Go” (May 6), I was unaware that The Times had renounced the virtues of objective journalism and become a teller of stories, much

like the brothers Grimm. You know the theme--some not-so-nice events glossed over with pretty words and concluding with happily-ever-after. I am not arguing the need of the company to

reorganize. Arco, always a forerunner of trends, is responding as its management feels necessary in order to effectively compete in the oil industry. Rather, the short-sighted, inadequate

coverage of the issue is the focus of this letter and my anger. I know many Arco employees whose lives have been drastically changed as a result of the reorganization and who are facing some

very difficult alternatives. Surely the author of the story has the acumen to realize that only one perspective was being presented. What about those who were at the height of their

careers, who will not be able to find comparable jobs, who never expected to have to reevaluate their professional and personal goals and the means to achieve them at such a late point in

life, who will never be able to achieve them because they have been felled by circumstances beyond their control? From another point of view, what of those who, like many of us, have

mortgages to pay, children to send to college, and who _ now_ look forward to golden retirement years, supported by Social Security? No, it is not a gambling pool to see who stays and who

goes. It is a devastating, painful adjustment with many far-reaching effects. See if you can give it another try, and this time, apply some of the heartfelt sympathies that are heaped on our

fellow man across the seas. This time, the suffering is right next door. S. ELIZABETH MONTAGUE South Pasadena MORE TO READ