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(E) THANKS FOR JOINING US.
IT’S KIND OF LIKE STARTING ALL OVER.
BUT THIS TIME, WITH 5,10,15, 20 OR MORE YEARS IN
THE WORK-FORCE- THERE’S A LOT MORE AT STAKE THAN
JUST YOUR STUDENT LOAN-
YOU’VE SEEN THE LOCAL HEADLINES AND MAY EVEN
KNOW ABOUT IT FIRST OR SECOND-HAND- ROCHESTER’S
COMMUNITY IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM
"DOWN-SIZING"
EASTMAN KODAK, XEROX, BAUSCH AND LOMB- THE CITY’S
LEADING COMPANIES HAVE BEEN HANDING OUT TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF PINK SLIPS OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS- AND
THE TREND MAY HAVE YOU THINKING ABOUT FINDING A
DIFFERENT WAY- TO MAKE A LIVING.
((***SOT***))
John Dimitry/Making A Living: "Once I got my
head around to the fact that I did need to move on
in my life- And be sure that we were going to be
able to take care of ourselves- not that Kodak was
going to take care of us, but that we were going to
take care of ourselves because ultimately we’re
all in business for ourselves.
E) AND DIMITRY IS NOT ALONE- IN ROCHESTER, THERE
IS A DEFINITE TREND FOR LOCAL WORKERS TO MIGRATE
AWAY FROM CORPORATE AMERICA TYPE-JOBS AND SIGN ON
WITH SMALLER, GROWTH-ORIENTED COMPANIES.
FROM 19-87 TO 19-97- LARGE COMPANIES- THOSE WITH
ONE-THOUSAND OR MORE EMPLOYEES HAVE DROPPED
SIGNIFICANTLY IN STAFF- HERE ARE THE NUMBERS-
IN 19-87 THERE WERE 110, 533 LOCAL WORKERS
EMPLOYED BY THESE LARGE COMPANIES-
TEN YEARS LATER- THERE WERE ONLY 84,841 EMPLOYED.
THAT’S A 25,692 DIFFERENCE.
FOR SMALLER COMPANIES- IN 19-87 THERE WERE 210,
815 LOCAL PEOPLE EMPLOYED- AND IN 19-97, TEN YEARS
LATER- THAT NUMBER ROSE TO 254,378-
AN INCREASE OF 43,563 JOBS.
THAT MEANS- IN ROCHESTER, SMALL BUSINESSES ARE
CONTROLLING THE LOCAL JOB MARKET.
PAGE 4
(E) THE MOST RECENT CASE OF BIG CORPORATE
DOWNSIZING HAS HAPPENED AT XEROX. THE DOCUMENT MAKER
IS LAYING OFF FIVE THOUSAND WORKERS ACROSS THE
WORLD.
WXXI AM 1370 REORTER MARK GIARDINA DISCOVERED
THAT MANY OF THOSE LAID OFF WORKERS WILL BE WALKING
OUT THE DOOR---WITH NEW JOB OFFERS ALREADY IN HAND-
((***PKG***))
>>REP: CHANGES IN TODAY’S ECONOMY MEAN
THAT MANY OF THOSE LAID OFF WORKERS WILL BE WALKING
OUT THE DOOR WITH NEW JOB OFFERS- ALREADY IN HAND.
>>Ronald Knight/The Sutherland Group:
"Now—getting experience in different
businesses, experiences in doing different things
turns out to be very much a positive when you’re
looking for a job within a small and up and coming
fast growing firm."
>>REP: RONALD KNIGHT’S SEARCH FOR NEW
EMPLOYEES HAS BEEN MADE EASIER BECAUSE MAJOR
COMPANIES ARE DOWNSIZING THEIR WORKFORCE. THIS YEAR
THE XEROX CORPORATION ANNOUNCED IT WOULD BE
ELIMINATING OVER FIVE-THOUSAND JOBS WORLDWIDE. TWO
THOUSAND OF THOSE LAYOFFS TAKING PLACE IN ROCHESTER.
REP: KNIGHT WORKED FOR THE XEROX CORPORATION FOR
30 YEARS BEFORE JOINING THE SUTHERLAND GROUP- A
14-YEAR OLD ELECTRONIC CUSTOMER REALTIONSHIP COMPANY
LOCATED IN PITTSFORD.
>>Knight: "Loyalty was a big deal. And
in fact you went to work for a company and unless
things didn’t go your way- the expectation you had
and the expectation you were given was that you were
going to stay there for most of your career. That’s
certainly not true these days."
>>REP: KNIGHT SAID ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS
HE HAD TO LEARN WAS THE ABILITY TO ADAPT FROM THE
LARGE COMPANY WORK ENVIRONMENT HE HAD BEEN USED TO.
>>Knight: "I’d say first of all, as
we think of Xerox people, Kodak people, people from
large corporations- to smaller corporations- It is
number one- as far as a must if you’re going to
survive. When you work for large companies- you’re
used to their processes- in fact, you do things
almost by instinct because you ‘re used to the
Kodak way- you’re used to the Xerox way. When you
go to a small company— that’s no longer true!
You have to change the processes and the way you do
things to adapt."
>>REP: IT IS THE COMBINATION OF GROWING
START UP COMPANIES, DOWNSIZING BY MAJOR EMPLOYERS,
AND THE NEED FOR SKILLED WORKERS, THAT HAS ALLOWED
ROCHESTER’S ECONOMY TO ABSORB THE NUMBER OF JOB
LAYOFFS.
>>Christa Carone/Xerox Spokesperson:
"It certainly does have an impact on morale but
since we’re in tight labor market and employees do
realize that other companies are calling with
position openings."
>>REP: CARONE ADDED THAT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY
AFTER XEROX ANNOUNCED IT’S MAJOR RESTRUCTING, A
NUMBER OF SMALL COMPANIES INQUIRED ABOUT OBTAINING
EMPLOYERS WITH CERTAIN JOB SKILLS.
>>Carone: "It does help to couch some
of the concern that employees may have about being
impacted by layoffs."
>>REP STAND UP: SO WHAT DOES THE FUTURE
HOLD FOR AMERICA’S WORKFORCE? ACCORDING TO A
NUMBER OF BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL EXPERTS- IT WON’T
BE UNUSUAL FOR SOMEONE TO BE EMPLOYED AT A NUMBER OF
COMPANIES- AND TO CHANGE CAREERS OVER THEIR WORKING
LIFETIME.
>>Carone: "On average, individuals are
working at anywhere between five and ten different
companies throughout the course of their career and
they’re picking up tremendous experience at each
of those companies."
INTRO TO SET:
THE NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPPED TO 3.9
PERCENT IN APRIL. ROCHESTER KEPT CLOSE PACE WITH
THAT. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S MOST RECENT
RATING FOR MONROE COUNTY IS FOR MARCH – WITH THE
COUNTY COMING IN AT 3.8 PERCENT.
I’M GARY WALKER AND YOU’RE WATCHING NEED TO
KNOW. JOINING ME NOW IN STUDIO IS ROCKO DIGIOVANNI,
DIRECTOR OF MONROE COUNTY’S PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
((***TALK #1***))
(G) HOLD ON TO THOSE THOUGHTS- WE’RE COMING
BACK TO TALK MORE ABOUT MARKET TRENDS- BUT FIRST- IF
YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHANGING
ECONOMY- LOG ONTO OUR WEBSITE—WXXI DOT ORG—CLICK
ON COMMUNITY AND FOLLOW THE NEED TO KNOW LINKS- YOU
CAN ALSO READ A TRANSCRIPT OF THIS PROGRAM. ELISSA-
PAGE 6
SO WE ALREADY KNOW THAT IT’S NOT UNUSUAL TO
CHANGE CAREERS BEFORE YOU RETIRE.
BUT ROCHESTER IS HOME TO SOME EMPLOYEES AND
MANAGERS WHO ARE PARTICULARLY AGILE WHEN IT COMES TO
PROFESSIONAL LEAP-FROGGING. NOW THE STORY OF A
PROGRAMMER, A BARTENDER AND A CONSULTANT—ALL
LIVING IN ONE PERSON. NEED TO KNOW’S MATT CUMMINGS
REPORTS.
((***PKG***))
Time’s A Changing"
Matt Cummings
Dimitry (30:44) "I really believe people are
nimble in this field and that they don’t hesitate
about taking other jobs and moving on."
REPORTER: MOVING ON. IT’S WHAT MANY ROCHESTER
AREA WORKERS HAVE BEEN FORCED AND OFTEN CHOSEN TO
DO. JOHN DIMITRY IS AN ACCOUNT MANAGER OF CONTRACT
SERVICES FOR THE AXIOM CORPORATION, PLACING AXIOM
WORKERS INTO CONTRACT POSITIONS IN MANY OF ROCHESTER’S
COMPANIES. HE’S WORKED FOR FIVE DIFFERENT
COMPANIES HIMSELF IN HIS CAREER. SPEAKING
PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY, HE SAYS IT’S A
WHOLE NEW BALLGAME ON THE ROCHESTER JOB FRONT.
Dimitry (53:29) I think a lot of the corporations
around Rochester are going to continue to resize.
They have to constantly monitor. And I believe the
smaller companies will continue to grow.
<<Butt to (55:59) I think if it catches people
offguard, they haven’t had their eyes very wide
open. I believe that most of the people that I know
are very aware. It doesn’t matter if you’re
working for a large or small company. <<Butt
to (56:24) Companies react so it doesn’t matter
what kind of a company you work for. You have to be
prepared and you should always have your resume in
the ready to share with others and to look for other
opportunities.
STAND-UP: MONROE COUNTY’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
OFFICE REPORTS THERE IS A DEFINITE SHIFT HAPPENING
IN ROCHESTER’S ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE. CORPORATE
DOWNSIZING OF ROCHESTER’S LARGEST COMPANIES HAS
PROVIDED NEEDED WORKERS FOR ROCHESTER’S SMALL
START-UP COMPANIES. WORKERS JUST LIKE JOHN.
REPORTER: HE BEGAN HIS CAREER AT KODAK IN 1966
FRESH OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AS A DATA PROCESSOR IN THE
PAYROLL CENTER AND WORKED HIS WAY INTO A SOFTWARE
PROGRAMMING GROUP. OVER THE NEXT TEN TO TWELVE
YEARS, JOHN CLIMBED THE CORPORATE LADDER INTO A
COUPLE OF MANAGEMENT POSITIONS. IN 1994, EASTMAN
KODAK SOLD THE CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS DIVISION JOHN
WAS WORKING IN TO JOHNSON AND JOHNSON AND FOR THE
FIRST TIME IN ALMOST THREE DECADES, JOHN HAD A NEW
EMPLOYER. BUT IN 1998, JOHNSON AND JOHNSON OFFERED
JOHN AND OTHERS A VOLUNTARY SEPARATION PACKAGE. JOHN
TOOK IT AND NEVER LOOKED BACK.
Dimitry (29:03) In the beginning I was uncertain
obviously where my next job was going to be. And I
was disappointed because I always thought of Kodak
as that mother hen that would take care of me.
<<Butt to (12:48) I think it’s all a matter
of timing. Had this opportunity come up and my
children were younger I would not have been able to
do what I did.
REPORTER: JOHN REALIZED THAT HE WAS AT A
CROSSROADS IN HIS CAREER.
Dimitry (35:53) It was a tremendous awakening…
<<Butt to (32:34) I really believe that when
the downsizing first started of major corporations,
and I think it hit Kodak probably in the late ‘80s,
and when I started to realize that this could happen
you someday. You know you saw people either being
asked to leave or downsized. I felt as though I had
to look at my career. How marketable I was? What
were my skills? And did I need to retool my skills?
REPORTER: UPON LEAVING JOHNSON AND JOHNSON,
DIMITRY WORKED OUT OF HIS HOME AS AN ACCOUNT MANAGER
FOR WHITENACK CONSULTING. AFTER SIX MONTHS, JOHN
LEFT WHITENACK AND TOOK UP BARTENDING AT THE
JEFFERSON ROAD HOLIDAY INN.
Dimitry (4:23) So that was a career change that I
felt was certainly a welcome relief from what I had
been doing. <<Butt to (7:38) I decided the
bartending was a great diversion. It was fun. I
liked the people I worked with. And I like meeting
new people. So certainly in a bartending position
you’re always seeing new faces, having fun with
the customers.
REPORTER: JOHN SAYS PART OF THE REASON HE FEELS
HE CAN BE FLEXIBLE IN HIS CAREER IS BECAUSE OF THE
SUPPORT HE RECEIVES FROM HIS WIFE. GERI SAYS SHE
UNDERSTANDS WHY JOHN HAS EXPLORED OTHER EMPLOYMENT
BECAUSE SHE HAS BEEN THROUGH IT HERSELF. SHE STARTED
HER CAREER AS A REGISTERED NURSE, YET WENT BACK TO
SCHOOL TO GET HER DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND HAS
HAD SEVERAL JOBS WITHIN THAT FIELD.
Geri (52:02) I think nowadays it’s somewhat
acceptable really. You know he was a Kodak almost 30
years and nowadays that’s very unusual.
REPORTER: GERI UNDERSTANDS JOHN’S CAREER
DECISIONS, BUT THEY HAVE ALTERED THEIR PERSPECTIVE.
Geri (50:37) I had a couple of job offers and I
based my choice on the salary point of view because
I knew his income was going to be gong down so I
kinda needed to make a decision based on the income
I would be getting to supplement his decline.
REPORTER: JOHN RECENTLY GAVE UP HIS BARTENDING
POSITION AND BEGAN WORKING FOR AXIOM CORPORATION
THIS PAST FEBRUARY.
JOHN SEES HIS CAREER WORLD OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY EXPLODING, ESPECIALLY LOCALLY. HE SAYS
THAT LEADS TO CONFIDENCE AMONG THE WORKFORCE THAT
THEY CAN FIND OTHER WORK IF NECESSARY.
Dimitry (31:07) I really believe that if things
were to fall apart at my current job, I could find
other work. <<Butt to (34:28) There’s reason
to be nervous, but there’s also reason to be
excited. And I think the excitement stems from
opening up other doors that you never thought you
would venture down.
REPORTER: THAT CONFIDENCE POSES A PROBLEM FOR
EMPLOYERS.
Dimitry (17:25) I think that would the consensus,
that people feel very confident. And the one problem
that that proposes to a lot of employers is people
don’t tend to stick around very long. If they’re
unhappy they know there’s an abundance of other
job opportunities. And that’s why I think
companies are offering stay-on bonuses in addition
to sign-on bonuses.
REPORTER: ROCHESTER’S ECONOMY IS BECOMING MORE
DIVERSE AS SMALL COMPANIES GROW, PROVIDING NEEDED
SERVICES TO LARGER COMPANIES FORCED TO DOWNSIZE .
THAT GROWTH MEANS MORE JOB OPPORTUNITES FOR LOCAL
WORKERS, BUT IT ALSO MEANS AN ADJUSTMENT.
Dimitry (54:06) People are going to have to
change and wear multiple hats. There’s no doubt
about it. I think you have to be ready to learn new
things. You might be hired for one thing but be
willing and ready to do other things outside of what
you were hired for in the perameters of your
original job description. <<Butt to (41:28) It
could be a reduction in your salary from what you
were making. That’s a realization. <<Butt to
(34:44) Knowing that you’re not necessarily
totally taken care of anymore. That you have to get
out there and prove yourself all over again.
<<Butt to (55:25) But I think at some point
you just say this is life. It’s not a dry run so
let’s get on with it.
PAGE 7
INTRO TO SET:
WITH THE COUNTY’S WORKFORCE IN FLUX, IT BRINGS
UP MANY ISSUES BEYOND JUST ECONOMIC IMPACT. I’M
GARY WALKER AND YOU’RE WATCHING NEED TO KNOW.
JOINING ME NOW IN STUDIO TO DISCUSS THOSE ISSUES ARE
BOB LEWIS, PRESIDENT OF REGIONAL MANPOWER STAFFING
SERVICES AND DENISE SCOTT, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
SOCIOLOGY AT SUNY GENESEO.
((***TALK #2***))
TALK POINTS…
MAANY THANKS TO OUR GUESTS …
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS ROCHESTER’S
ECONOMY- JUST VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WXXI.ORG
AND CLICK ON COMMUNITY AND NEED TO KNOW---THERE
YOU CAN DISCUSS YOUR VIEWS WITH OTHER VIEWERS-
(E) AND DON’T FORGET THAT HILLARY RODHAM
CLINTON WILL BE HERE AT WXXI ON MAY 25TH.
SHE’LL PARTICIPATE IN A VOICE OF THE VOTER
FORUM –
VOICE OF THE VOTER IS COLLABORATION WITH THE
DEMOCRAT SND CHRONICLE- NEWSSOURCE 13 AND WXXI.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO ASK THE FIRST LADY A QUESTION-
EMAIL US—AT VOV@WXXI.ORG.
OR CALL US AT 716-258-0250. WE WILL BE TAKING EMAIL
AND PHONE QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND MRS.
CLINTON WILL BE JOINED BY A 100 MEMBER VOICE OF THE
VOTER PANEL FOR THIS TOWN MEETING- MAY 25TH
AT _____
AND THAT CONCLUDES ANOTHER EDITION OF "NEED
TO KNOW"- WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK FOR A
ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION OF THE UPCOMING U.S. SENATE
RACE.
THANKS FOR JOINING US
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