Questions and Answers on Sponsorship (contd)

The AA (General Service conference approved) booklet: Questions and Answers on Sponsorship)

Extract:

“Should a sponsor intercede with an employer?

By the time an alcoholic turns to A.A., he or she may already have lost a job or be in danger of losing one. If there is a job, it may involve working for an employer who is uninformed about problem drinkers and knows little or nothing of A.A.

Whether or not a sponsor should intercede to preserve another alcoholic’s job depends upon the individual circumstances of each case. A surprising number of employers, anxious to restore competent employees to maximum efficiency, welcome the news that a worker has turned to A.A., and are interested in knowing more about the recovery program.

An informative pamphlet, “Is There an Alcoholic in the Workplace?,” has been prepared to acquaint employers with the help that A.A. can offer."

Comment: Again are you nuts? If someone has lost their job because of their drinking we'd guess that their ex-employer would be somewhere on their amends list (that's if they choose to take that approach to recovery). If someone loses their job (drunk or sober) it's up to them to take responsibility for persuading their employer to give them a second chance, not some complete stranger (with or without an AA pamphlet). The person concerned is the best judge of what to do and how to deal with their previous work colleagues. This section sounds like AA is touting for business – which of course we're not supposed to be doing are we! Remember that bit in Tradition 12:

“Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to let our friends recommend us.”

(our emphasis) 

Come to think of it this brings into question the whole function of the public information representatives in intergroups. Should they be approaching employers, schools etc at all (as some do) rather than merely responding to enquiries from outside agencies? From the above it would seem not!

But remember: a sponsor is NOT ESSENTIAL to recovery. And NO sponsorship is better by far than BAD sponsorship!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

(to be continued)