BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BOARD 6
ECONOMIC/WATERFRONT/COMM. DEV. & HOUSING COMMITTEE
APRIL 30, 2012
ATTENDANCE:
PRESENT:
R. BASHNER N. BERK-RAUCH P. BLAKE N. COX R. LUFTGLASS D. SCOTTO M. SILVERMAN L. SONES L. TOLKOFF
EXCUSED:
P. CARSON J. FRANCIS G. O’CONNELL
ABSENT:
B. ATKINS L. BUFFINGTON R. CERVONE M. DEPALMA E. FELDER A. FORNECKER
D. REISS
GUESTS:
W. YAKOWICZ A. SCIPIO Y. RIVERS B. LABONTE A. COTTON R. FEARON M. RAPFOGEL D. ANDERSON J. IRVIN
J. MARGOLIN
MINUTES
Presentation and discussion with representatives for the Barclays Center on the job hiring process and other employment and economic development opportunities at the arena.
Presentation and discussion with representatives of Barclay’s Center regarding job opportunities and hiring plan.
Rick Luftglass chaired the meeting. Guests representing Barclays Center, their consultants and operators included Ashley Cotton, Brigitte Labonte, Roberta Fearon, Jason Sandovar, Jenny Irving, Lorraine Vega, Julie Margolin, Andrew Hirsh and David Anderson.
Ashley Cotton made introductory remarks, the following summarizes her presentation and the questions asked during it:
The center will open in about 5 months. They expect significant participation of MWBE contractors. All hires will be union.
Q: Any idea of FTE (Full Time Equivalent) rate? A: Not at present.
There the main operating entities will include Levy’s Restaurants for food service and AEG for security.
Q: Are all jobs union? A: Yes.
Job fairs will be held at which potential employees can meet with employers to arrange for interviews. There are planned partnerships with SBS Workforce 1 and NYCHA and BUILD. Local hiring will be prioritized. The hiring process will be the same for all entities operating at the arena.
Q: How is NYCHA publishing opportunities and reaching their residents? A: The process is just starting - no job postings as of yet.
Job fairs will be held on a variety of days at different times to maximize ability for people to attend. There are approximately 2,000 jobs available among the operating entities: 1,900 part time and 100 full time. Part time jobs are event based.
Q: What are benefits of F/T versus P/T, and what kind of benefits? A: F/T will include health care, P/T will not. Benefits will be the usual: health, dental, etc.
Q: Are jobs available for the disabled? A: Yes, it depends on the job description; they would be P/T jobs.
All employees will be trained by Disney Institute. Hourly wages will be set by union collective bargaining agreement. The number of people working at an event varies by the type of the event. There will be a quarterly report on employment: no. of people, where they are from, etc.
Q: How will reports be made accessible? A: Website.
Q: Will you be hiring from ‘within’ (meaning current employees moving into new positions)? A: We are primarily looking for local hires but there could be some hires within; these are primarily management positions.
Q: How many hours/year for P/T? A: Hard to answer that - depends on events. P/T employees will have a lot of control over their schedules.
Q: Regarding reporting, what about including information about retention rate, promotions. A: We haven’t thought about that, will get back to you.
Q: Seems like a low number of F/T positions. A: That is the number of positions we need.
Q: Any training programs? A: Depends on circumstances - all employees will be trained for their specific jobs.
Q: Any training for disabled? A: Depends on the job - all employees will be trained.
Q: What about P/T employees who work more hours than typical for part time - will they get benefits? A: Yes, as required by labor law.
Q: We have a concern about the organization limiting employees’ time to keep them at P/T status. A: The number of hours worked is a function of scheduling and the requirements of the events.
Q: What will be approximate wages relative to minimum wage/living wage? A: Can’t say at this time, will be determined by the collective bargaining agreement which can’t be started until there is a pool of employees. Wages will certainly be greater than minimum wage.
Q: Are there any union deals yet? A: We should have agreements in place by July or August.
Q: What is initial wage offering? A: Not set; the union has to be established and agreements concluded.
Q: Will wages vary by time of day as in other venues? A: Don’t know yet.
Q: If you have worked with unions before, what is the approximate pay scale? A: Union wages will always be above minimum wage.
Q: Where will jobs be posted? A: Website and other locations.
Q: Are all management jobs local, not remote? A: Yes. Other contracts will be let for things such as uniforms, housekeeping, drycleaning to local businesses.
Q: How many jobs for these contracts? A: These jobs are included in the estimate given earlier.
Q: Will people with felony records for non-violent infractions when they were young be excluded? A: We will do background checks, will consider employees on a case-by-case basis. No automatic exclusion due to a record.
Q: What is the time frame for hiring? A: Job fairs June and July; hiring and training July and August.
Q: Can report break down jobs by entity and subcontract? Can it include hours worked? A: Yes.
Comment from Board member emphasizing that we expect local hires to be retained and replacements to also come from the local community.
Q: Will food supplies be sourced locally? A: Yes, looking to feature local products and culinary talent.
Q: Any limits on food trucks around the center? A: Will look into it; DOT regulates.
Q: Will you use neighborhood papers to notify of job openings? How will you publicize information about what is expected from applicants in terms of preparing for the job fairs? A: Will publicize where possible in order to get to the largest possible pool of candidates.
Q: Why are Red Hook Houses not on the list of housing projects that you are contacting? A: The list was established in the Community Benefits Agreement; we’ll try to reach out to all.
Meeting adjourned.
Minutes submitted by Norman Cox.