Amazon’s efforts to attract 600 employees to its new New Stanton warehouse are a double-edged sword for Westmoreland’s economy: wonderful for task creation but potentially difficult for small businesses that will have to compete for staff. talents with the billionaire giant.
“It’s wonderful that they chose New Stanton,” but there are considerations that the package delivery company will attract workers from their existing jobs at small businesses, said Daniel DeBone, president of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce.
Attracting and retaining remains a top challenge for businesses, DeBone said.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. We must ensure that our small businesses continue to thrive,” he said.
Amazon is for workers at a time when there are still many symptoms of seeking help in businesses in the county, where the unemployment rate is 3. 5%. To do this, Amazon is planning some other hiring occasion from 11 a. m. to 11 a. m. m. a 3 p. m. Aug. 2 at the PA CareerLink workplace at Westmoreland County Community College on Pavilion Lane near Youngwood.
Amazon representatives were pleased with the reaction from potential job seekers at a recruiting event last week, said Janice Albright, site manager at PA CareerLink near Youngwood. About 140 more people got information about jobs at Amazon, Albright said.
Amazon, which is seeking to fill 600 seats in New Stanton, “should have minimal impact” on businesses in that rapid dominance because New Stanton is readily available in other counties, said the equity director of Allegheny, the Majestic Lane Conference on Community Development, a Pittsburgh-based organization. Regional Organization for Economic Progression. Allegheny County staff can reach the New Stanton, Pennsylvania Turnpike; those in Washington County have access to the site via Interstate 70; and downtown Fayette County is connected via Route 119. Lane said its attraction could even extend to Ohio and West Virginia.
“Companies can locate other personnel. We don’t expect a negative impact” on the task market, Lane said. In May, there were 6,500 unemployed employees in Westmoreland County, plus 20,000 in Allegheny, 2,200 in Fayette and 3,400 in Washington, according to the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis. the state.
The owner of Castle Co-Packers LLC, a Latrobe-based beverage packaging company such as tea, sports drinks and energy drinks, agrees with Lane’s assessment of its impact on the labor market.
“I don’t think Amazon has had any effect on employment,” said Brian Dworkin, president of Castle Co-Packers.
Dworkin said his challenge in locating staff predates any attempt through Amazon to rent staff for its 1 million-square-foot warehouse near the New Stanton turnpike exit.
“We would have opened three more if we had the employees,” Dworkin said.
Amazon’s call to work hard probably won’t make it any harder for Mark Petros to find workers in his Greensburg machine shop.
“They will have a lot of applicants because you don’t have to have school education or training,” Petros said of Amazon.
While Amazon’s pay for entry-level jobs at its inbound transportation facilities is $17. 75 an hour, with benefits that include fitness insurance and paid time off, Dworkin said he’s concerned that Amazon’s pay distribution the delivery company makes it more difficult to locate workers. Castle Co -Packaging workers make more money as their skills increase, Dworkin said.
Amazon’s starting wage is above the average of $15. 38 per hour for entry-level jobs for shipping truck workers and handlers, according to state employment data. The average salary in Pittsburgh’s seven-county domain for experienced warehouse staff and handlers is about $22. one hour, according to state data.
While there would possibly be wage pressures on some small businesses that can’t compete with Amazon’s pay structure, Lane said the new employer is pumping $1. 8 million a month into the economy. In the domain you can also simply help businesses, as those staff will likely spend their money locally.
“Wages are a way to balance the market. That’s something that’s up to the workforce,” Lane said.
There may be an effect on the existing pay design each time a new employer enters the labor market, said Brianne Summy, human resources director at Rochling Machine Plastics in East Huntingdon, a manufacturer of traditional plastic components.
“It’s about seeing what other employers are offering. . . to adapt our benefits to more competition,” Summy said.
Summy said he doesn’t think the company is likely to lose veteran employees to Amazon. The plastics company is in the same staff pool as Amazon, to fill jobs.
“It’s for everyone,” Summy said.
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