Employment Archives - Page 29 of 36

Opinion

By BusinessWest Staff September 27, 2010

Opinion

Don’t Put the Brakes on Science, Progress

In light of the latest developments of the on-again, off-again, on-again government funding of human embryonic stem-cell research, it is time to consider the devastating implications of this chaotic funding environment. And to do that, one needs to understand how a modern research lab operates.
A typical lab has 20 to 40 people, led by a senior researcher (the ‘principal investigator’). Most people in a lab are doctoral students or postdoctoral students who are pursuing careers in science.
Labs have many different projects under investigation simultaneously. Most labs have annual budgets of $1 million to $5 million, with most of that money coming from grants from institutions like the National Institutes of Health.
The NIH allocates money to researchers whose proposals are reviewed by a panel of scientists knowledgeable in the field. A typical grant proposal is 25 single-spaced pages and takes months to prepare. The NIH responds in approximately 9 months.
Because the demand for money exceeds the supply, only 20% of the proposals get NIH funding. A researcher receiving his or her first major NIH grant is more than 40 years old, on average.
Lab leaders spend a great deal of their energy recruiting the right people for their lab, nurturing a portfolio of interesting projects, and raising money. Most principal investigators, even the most successful ones in the world, spend at least 25% of their time trying to get money. If they can’t get money, they lay off people and cancel projects.
Now imagine you are a post-doc in a lab and are working on a project to use human embryonic stem cells to cure diabetes by creating new beta cells in the pancreas.
This is difficult work that is high-risk, but high-reward. You have come to grips with the many ethical considerations in working with stem cells derived from embryos that were created during IVF procedures and were destined to be destroyed before the donors agreed they could be used for research. You have begun to get traction in your career, and have been a prominent co-author on several articles in well-respected journals.
When you read the news that your research is now illegal, you are horrified. You are back at square one. Years of research are potentially wasted.
You have no viable research projects underway. It will take well over a year to begin a new research stream, and there is a low probability you will get funded in a new area. You may be fired. In short, your career is in danger of total meltdown.
That is the real cost of our randomized model of research support in the U.S., in which a change in administration or a court ruling can outlaw work that was previously supported by the government. Funding can be canceled with the stroke of a pen.
The projects are less important than the people, particularly people who have invested years in developing their careers and selecting an area on which to focus. People need predictability — not in the research ideas they pursue, but in basic human issues like pay and employment.
It may be possible to restart projects with private funds, but that is by no means certain. Raising philanthropic dollars can be as hard and time-consuming as raising money from the NIH. And these projects will have to be set up with duplicate equipment in geographically separate areas.
Sadly, great people will abandon promising projects. Great people will leave basic research and move to more predictable pastures. And some great young people will decide not to go into research careers at all. The precipitous shift in the legal and regulatory environment for human embryonic stem-cell work will have adverse implications for years to come.
Unpredictability inflicts a heavy cost on scientific progress, whether in domains like stem-cell research or in searching for safe alternative fuels. It damages the country’s competitive position because great projects won’t be completed in the U.S., and, more importantly, great people won’t do the kind of work that is necessary to make progress on our most intractable challenges.
Society pays a high price for randomization of research support — a fact that, sadly, is not recognized by the public, the media, or politicians.

William A. Sahlman is senior associate dean for external relations at Harvard Business School.

By BusinessWest Staff September 13, 2010

Departments

Workers Paying 14% More for Health Insurance

WASHINGTON — American workers will pay about $4,000 to get health insurance for their families through work this year, 14% more than in 2009, according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Employees’ average share of the premium costs for family coverage is $482 more than last year as economic conditions continue to push companies to pay less of the bill, the report said. Total premiums for family policies, including both worker and employer contributions, increased 3% to $13,770. “Businesses have been shifting more of the costs of health insurance to workers through premiums, deductibles, and other cost-sharing,” said Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation chief executive. “From a consumer perspective, the cost of health insurance just keeps going up faster than wages.”

Executives Plan Moderate Hike in Professional Hiring

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Looking toward the final months of the year, 11% of executives interviewed for the Robert Half Professional Employment Report said they expect to increase the number of full-time staff they employ in professional occupations in the fourth quarter. Another 5% anticipate declines, resulting in a net 6% increase in hiring activity, up three points from the third-quarter forecast. Executives’ business optimism level remains high: 86% of respondents expressed at least some confidence in the growth prospects for their companies, rising slightly from 85% reported in the third-quarter survey. The number of executives citing recruiting challenges also rose, climbing from 42% in the third quarter to 47%. The Robert Half Professional Employment Report is the first quarterly executive survey of its size and scope to focus exclusively on professional-level hiring. The survey is based on telephone interviews with more than 4,000 executives from a variety of fields throughout the U.S. about their hiring plans and general level of optimism regarding the upcoming quarter. “Companies that overextended their teams are now selectively adding full-time employees,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. “Businesses are hiring to keep service levels high and boost morale among team members who have taken on extra work in the past few years.”

Economy Needs More Than Modest Spending

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released personal income and outlays for July. Personal income increased 0.2% in July, similar to private-sector expectations, while real disposable income decreased 0.1%. Real personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2% in July and at a 1.3% annual rate from their second-quarter average. Consumer spending adjusted for inflation continues to increase at a moderate pace, according to U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank. She noted that data suggests the economy continues to grow, as consumer spending accounts for 70% of GDP, although the economy is growing at a slower pace than the Obama administration would like. On a related note, many economists, including those at PNC Financial Services Group, say a boost in salaries and jobs will help grow the economy.

Businesses Offered Customer-service Training

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Business Assoc. (GBA) and the Greenfield Community College (GCC) Workforce Development Office are coordinating customer-service trainings for local business owners and their staff members this fall. The cost is free to GBA-member owners/managers and is on a scale for the number of staff per business attending. For businesses with one to five staff members participating in training, the cost is $10 each; for six to 11 staff, $7.50 each; and for 12 or more employees, the cost is $5 each. For non-member pricing, call (413) 774-2791. The owner/manager training is slated for Sept. 27 from 8 to 10 a.m. at the GCC Downtown Center, room 121. The frontline staff training is planned for Oct. 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the GCC Downtown Center, room 121. Business owners can reserve space by e-mailing [email protected] with the names of the person(s) attending and the business they are representing.

Slow Going

By BusinessWest Staff September 13, 2010

Features

The Region Is Still Struggling to Recover from the Great Recession

MassEastWestEconomyDPart

Recent statistics show that the Bay State is outpacing the nation when it comes to job creation and economic expansion since the recession officially ended roughly a year ago. But Western Mass. is not enjoying the same kind of recovery as the Boston area, primarily because its mix of businesses doesn’t lend itself to profound growth, say economists, and job growth has been negligible. This is not surprising, they say, but rather indicative of an east-west divide that this region has historically struggled to close.

Alan Clayton Matthews says Western Massachusetts is probably not officially still in a recession — although it’s very close to the line, by his estimates — but he wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking that it was.
“It certainly feels that way — there’s still negative job growth on the order of 3% year over year, and it may well be that gross output in Springfield is still declining,” said Matthews, contributing editor to the quarterly Mass Benchmarks, which charts the state of the economy in the Commonwealth. He noted that, while the Bay State as a whole has been growing at about a 6% clip for the past few quarters (far ahead of the national pace), Western Mass. hasn’t enjoyed anything approaching that rate of expansion.
“There’s been no recovery from this recession in Springfield to speak of,” said Matthews. “Year-over-year change in payroll employment has gone up 1.2% statewide, while there’s been no growth nationally. In the Springfield area, it’s declined 3.2%, so it’s been quite a different story there.”
Bob Nakosteen, a professor of Economics at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, agreed. He said the discrepancy between what’s happening in the Boston area and in Greater Springfield, “shows more dramatically than ever the east-west divide.”
He chose that terminology to convey the sentiment that this region, known for not having the profound highs and subsequent lows that other regions experience, is simply not recovering from the Great Recession with any degree of vibrancy, and probably won’t for some time to come.
“Employment is going up in Boston, and it’s going down here,” he said, adding that jobs are perhaps the strongest indicator of the divide, but not the only one. “The regions are heading in different directions, and the difference in the numbers shows just how wide that divide has become.”
In the shorter term, Western Mass. will eventually see a bounce, said Matthews, noting that, historically, economic expansions in this state move east to west, and this one will almost certainly follow that pattern. Longer-term, though, the region must further diversify its economic base with technology-related manufacturers and larger employers, he continued, adding that, at present, this area simply doesn’t have the proper mix to generate a job growth and a pronounced recovery.
“In the Boston area, 9.8% of employment [in 2008] was in professional and technical services, and those tend to be high-paying jobs,” he explained. “In Hampden County, that number is only 2.8%; that’s a quite a difference.”
For this issue, BusinessWest looks at the short-term economic forecast for the region, and that east-west divide, the reasons for it, and the prospects for closing the gap any time soon.

Experiencing Some Turbulence
“Headwinds.”
That’s the term Nakosteen chose to describe what this region — and the nation as a whole — will be facing as the fourth quarter approaches, a time when hiring historically picks up.
These headwinds include the dissipating impact of federal stimulus programs, which have provided some sparks and kept things from getting worse than they are, said Nakosteen, as well as an ongoing lack of confidence among consumers, as evidenced by sluggish back-to-school sales, a still-struggling housing market, and a financial-services sector that remains what he called a “mess.”
Nakosteen told BusinessWest that he doubts that the nation as a whole will fall back into recession — the dreaded double dip; “we’re still a long way from that, but it could happen” — but be believes expansion will be modest for at least the next few quarters and slow in coming, especially for the Western Mass. region.
“There are a lot of doubts about whether the economy can sustain itself absent the stimulus,” he said. “In any case, things are going to be very sluggish, and it’s going to feel like we’re in a recession in terms of employment and the housing market, even if, ultimately, we’re not in one.”
The potent mix of headwinds will test the Bay State as a whole to continue its strong, steady pace of expansion, said Matthews, noting that the rate of growth is already slowing and will likely be closer to 4% than 6% for the third quarter, which will end Sept. 30. And for Western Mass., they will make it more difficult to really dig out of the recession and improve on unemployment figures that are north of 10% for the region and above 14% in Springfield, he continued.
Elaborating, he said that expansions do indeed move from Boston westward, “but it takes a while.” And the current conditions may make for a longer while with this cycle than what might be considered typical. “This expansion will have to continue on for quite a while before Springfield sees any real improvement.”
Dissecting the east-west divide, both Matthews and Nakosteen said it is really nothing new, but perhaps more pronounced than ever, due to several factors.
One is the emergence of technology-related sectors, or clusters, in Eastern Mass. that are enabling that region to bounce back more quickly and profoundly, and much smaller numbers of such jobs in this area.
“The largest growth in the first quarter of the year when it comes to national GDP [gross domestic product] was in business investment,” he explained, “and many of those investments came in high-tech areas, and that’s what the eastern part of the state specializes in. We don’t have that kind of mix here; the manufacturing in this region is mostly what would be called ‘low-tech’ in nature.

Work in Progress
Another factor, said Matthews, is that, unlike in the Boston area, major employers in Western Mass. are simply not adding large numbers of workers. In fact, many are still cutting workforces.
This is the case in health care, historically one of the region’s strongest sectors for employment, said Nakosteen, as several hospitals have pared workers or limited hiring in the face of economic pressures resulting from the stagnant economy (see related story, page 43).
“I’ve heard stories about nursing graduates who, two years ago, would have had several job offers, but now can’t get an offer,” he said. “That represents a real change, and it doesn’t bode well for an area so dependent on the health care sector.”
Kathleen McCormack-Batterson, director of Strategic Recruiting at MassMutual, said the financial-services giant did have some layoffs in 2008 and 2009 as a result of the recession, but said there was a pronounced spike in hiring that accompanied a reorganization in 2007, and, overall, hiring at the company has been steady and consistent in recent years.
“I have 125 open requisitions in the system right now,” she said, noting that these slots represent both new hirings and the filling of vacancies created by departures and retirements, and she would consider that number typical.
McCormack-Batterson did note, however, that overall hiring at the company might have slowed somewhat over the past year simply because there was less attrition, because there are, overall, fewer opportunities for existing employees to move on to, and some have put off retirement due to severe hits to retirement accounts.
“Our attrition rate is much lower this year,” she explained, estimating that the number of vacancies created is perhaps half what it was in 2009. “People aren’t leaving here and going elsewhere to pursue opportunities, largely because of the uncertainty of the market, so people are staying with the company, and that means we don’t have as many open positions. Meanwhile, anyone who’s close to retirement age is looking at things and thinking that if they stay a few more years, their 401(k) will rebound.”
Looking at the longer term and this region’s prospects for closing the east-west divide, Nakosteen and Matthews said the Pioneer Valley needs to further diversify its economy with more technology-related businesses, while also spurring new investment in the area.
“There has to be investment, both public and private, in the Springfield area,” said Matthews. “And for that to happen, people have to want to live there, and that takes an attractive quality of life, and that means public investments in infrastructure and public schools that will attract new employers.”
Nakosteen agreed. “The major employers in this region will eventually stabilize and even grow again,” he said, referring to the health care facilities, colleges and universities (many struggling due to state budget cuts), and financial-services companies. “But they’re never really going to be engines of growth. The only way this region has growth prospects is if there’s something new out there that catches on.”
Matthews told BusinessWest that the location of a planned high-performance computing center in Holyoke could be that something new that provides a needed spark in terms of both visibility (the facility may well put the region on the map) and computing horsepower that would draw major corporations, government agencies, or both.
“This is just the kind of investment that could positively effect future growth there,” he said, while acknowledging that there won’t be large numbers of jobs to start. “It could become a magnet to draw other investment in the region.”
Both Matthews and Nakosteen said that a high-speed rail line between Springfield and Boston would provide the connectivity that might spur growth. Such a line would make the region a more attractive place to live (because people could now commute to jobs in the eastern part of the state) and locate businesses, again, because talented workers could more easily access jobs here. But the prospects for such infrastructure improvement is dim.
“It’s just not going to happen,” said Nakosteen, adding that the region will have to find other ways to stimulate investment and create jobs.

The State We’re In
Once again summoning that phrase “a while,” Matthews used it to delineate how long it will take for the current expansion being enjoyed by the Boston area to work its way west and have a real impact on Greater Springfield.
“And a while could be a few years,” he said, noting, as Nakosteen did, that, for the short term, the region will be looking at sluggish growth, at best, that will feel like a recession.
For the longer haul, this area has to find ways to close the gap between east and west, and, as with this recession, creating progress will likely be a long, slow grind.

George O’Brien can be reached
at [email protected]

By BusinessWest Staff September 13, 2010

Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

Debra A. Wajda v. Price Rite
Allegation: Negligence, causing slip and fall: $20,194.55
Filed: 8/25/10

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT

Mandy Boutell v. The Maple Valley School Inc. and Windwood Meadow Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination by failing to accommodate a disabled person and handicap discrimination: $25,000+
Filed: 8/20/10

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Caroline Dauplaise v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Allegation: Wrongful discharge of employment with Mass Turnpike Authority and breach of contract: $100,000
Filed: 7/27/10

Farm Credit East v. Rocky Mountain Wood Co. Inc.
Allegation: Action to recover on promissory note by sale of collateral: $894,254.26
Filed: 7/26/10

Immi Turbines Inc. v. LDH Inc.
Allegation: Texas court default judgment on underlying claims: $596,918.48
Filed: 7/22/10

John’s Trucking of Agawam v. Shawn’s Lawn Inc., RIV Construction Group Inc., and HD Westfield, MA Landlord Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay under the terms of a construction agreement: $561,827.23
Filed: 7/26/10

Lizbeth Rosario, administratrix of the estate of Carmen Velazquez v. Mercy Hospital
Allegation: Negligence and failure to properly diagnose, causing death: $2 million
Filed: 7/27/10

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Galex Inc. v. Precision Metal Goods
Allegation: Non-payment on aluminum purchased and received: $1,113,286
Filed: 8/20/10

Jack Ernst v. Berkshire Electric Cable Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract and non-payment on two promissory notes: $136,346.07
Filed: 8/16/10

Sona Dolan v. Holyoke Community College
Allegation: Employment discrimination and civil-rights violation based on national origin: $150,000
Filed: 8/2/10

TR’s Excavating and Landscaping Construction v. Landmark Health Solutions, LLC and Northampton Care Center, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of services, labor, and materials: $43,700
Filed: 7/23/10

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Bradco Supply v. Edward M. Casti Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $6,653.97
Filed: 7/22/10

Bradco Supply v. RPE Contracting Corp. Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $12,473.69
Filed: 7/28/10

Comcast Spotlight Inc. v. Beverly Golf & Tennis Club
Allegation: Non-payment of advertising services rendered: $2,234.45
Filed: 7/28/10

O’Connell & Plumb, P.C. v. Kushner Realty Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of attorney fees and services: $33,598.03
Filed: 7/20/10

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Mountainview Concrete Foundations, LLC v. W & I Construction Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay for services on construction project: $4,942
Filed: 8/23/10

Curable Condition

By BusinessWest Staff September 13, 2010

Sections Supplements

Health Care Hiring Is Sluggish — for Now

Mike Foss calls the health care job market “cool,” but sees plenty of positive signs for current students.

Through good and bad economic times, health care has always been one of the most robust job markets in Massachusetts. But that has not been the case in the current recession, as hospitals and other organizations have been slow to hire, even resorting to layoffs in many cases. Demographic factors, especially an aging population, are likely to render this sluggishness temporary, but the job market that emerges in coming years might demand far more flexibility from those looking to build a career in health care.

Health care, an industry that accounts for about one in every six jobs in Massachusetts, has long been seen as recession-proof in the Bay State.
The extended economic downturn has tested that, with once-brisk hiring turning stagnant and hospitals across the Commonwealth resorting to freezes and layoffs. Yet, most industry-watchers see the current sluggishness as a temporary swing, if only because people will always need health care.
“Hiring has to pick up,” said Kelly Aiken, director of Health Care Initiatives for the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County. “The economy can’t change how much care people need.”
In fact, despite pockets of layoffs, employment in health fields has ticked up slightly since it essentially ground to a halt last year.
That’s good news to students studying in health programs at area colleges. The robust job market over the past decade has drawn increasing numbers of applicants to those programs, but recent graduates have been navigating scarcer prospects than those who entered the workforce several years ago. Still, there’s reason for optimism.
“Last year, there was definitely a reduction in job availability, and this was pretty much across a dozen fields of health,” said Michael Foss, dean of the School of Health and Patient Simulation at Springfield Technical Community College. “One department chair told me that, since January of this year, there has been an upward swing in job openings, and others were beginning to see that as well.”
That perception is borne out statewide. According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, 486,000 people were employed in health care in January 2009, and the number rose to more than 494,000 in January 2010 before essentially plateauing there.
But as the Great Recession fades, optimists say, certain demographic truths will take hold — specifically, mass retirements by the Baby Boom generation, coupled with an overall aging of the population.
“This whole issue with the Baby Boomers retiring — that’s national, and it’s not industry-specific. But the opportunities to replace those retirees might be greater in health care,” said Jean Jackson, vice president for Workforce Planning at Baystate Health, the region’s top employer.
“People are living longer, and they’re going to need care,” she continued. “So you have a combination of people retiring and living longer, and they’re going to need more people to care for them.”
That adds up to what should be increasing opportunities for health care careers, but job seekers may face a far different landscape when it comes to how and where care is delivered. For this issue, BusinessWest examines some of those trends, and why many observers see the current slow job market as a curable condition.

Day by Day
Foss has observed the cycle of medical hiring long enough to recognize a downturn. “It’s not hot; it’s a cool employment environment,” he conceded.
Meanwhile, many of the available openings, in a number of fields, are for per-diem work, essentially part-time jobs without benefits, he explained. Yet, that’s not necessarily a negative trend.
“I know that in some fields, per-diem is actually highly desirable, especially for individuals with families, or they’re the second person working. They kind of like the idea of not being tied down to a rigid work schedule.”
In addition, “I think a lot of people see that as one way they can prove to an employer that they should be full-time,” he said. “And it’s an opportunity for them to see if this is the environment they want to be in, if it’s the right institution, right office, wherever. It almost gives you an automatic job interview because, when there’s a full-time opening, they see the good work you’re doing and that you’re the person they need to hire.”
But the full-time job openings are slowly increasing, Foss noted. “And Baystate, a very large system with multiple locations, is building a brand-new facility. So we know those jobs will be available in the future.”
Indeed, Baystate’s Hospital of the Future project, set to be completed in 2012, is only the largest of a flood of hospital expansions across the Pioneer Valley over the past decade. From Jackson’s perspective, Foss’ assessment of what that means for hiring is right on.
“You have to look at all the factors — turnover, what the retirement plans look like, what the potential growth will be,” Jackson said. “And when you factor it all in over the next 10 years, we are looking at a projection to hire 15,000 employees.”
However, she added, “many of these jobs in health care require specialized skills and training beyond high school, and that’s another trend: concerns about the availability of workers. At Baystate, part of our mission is to recruit from the local labor market, and our work with education, employers, and workforce-development organizations to find solutions has been absolutely critical.”
Economic development leaders have long been concerned about a ‘skills gap’ in certain career fields — health care and precision manufacturing are two often mentioned in those discussions — that leave available jobs unfilled, and potentially create a deterrent for new employers to locate in Western Mass.
The collaborative workforce projects Jackson alluded to range from the Community Based Job Training Grant, a $1.65 million grant from the U.S. Labor Department that will create awareness of and training opportunities in health fields, to Collaborating for the Advancement of Nursing: Developing Opportunities (CAN DO), a grant program aimed at creating career ladders in nursing. Numerous other regional programs have similar goals.
“Everyone is struggling with the economic environment now,” Jackson said. “Health reimbursements are down, patients are choosing not to do elective surgery, putting things off, and people are delaying retirement. But eventually, they’re going to retire.” And sooner than many realize, she continued, the region will need a strong pipeline of qualified workers to take their place.
Care Where It’s Needed
That future workforce will need to be flexible as well as skilled, Foss said.
“Where they work is going to be different. We’re already seeing a shift from always thinking they’ll work at a hospital. Look at all the long-term care facilities out there now. And the outpatient clinics — in my lifetime, I’d never heard of outpatient surgical centers. No way; you had to go to the hospital. But that’s another place where people will work outside of hospitals.”
Home care is expanding rapidly as well, he noted, again, a reflection of that growing senior population that wants to maintain as much independence as possible. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, opportunities for personal and home care aides will increase by 50% between 2006 and 2016.
“I do think that jobs are going to be located in different places,” Aiken said. “When the recession ends and the economy bounces back, coupled with health care reform, the trend across the continuum will be to deliver patient-centered care, and much of that care will be occurring in many, many different places outside of the hospital setting.
“People who go into nursing thinking their first job will definitely be in a hospital need to look beyond that. They need to look where care is being provided and where the need is.”
Foss said he’s encouraged by this changing face of health care.
“There are niches being filled that never used to be there, and all these wonderful things happening with new technology,” he told BusinessWest. “Even with the cool market, I think it’s an exciting time for health care.”
Aiken agreed. “I think there are going to be changes, new health care occupations that may evolve, that we don’t even know about right now.”
One thing is certain, though, Foss said: no one’s going to work forever, and opportunities will be abundant again.
“The Department of Labor and other pundits, they always come back to health care,” he said. “A lot of people in my age group will be retiring in three or four years, and those who have planned their retirement well — especially now, with health care reform — are going to be using the health care system.
“So while things may be a little cool at the moment,” he concluded, “there are still opportunities out there, and those opportunities are going to increase every single year for the foreseeable future.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at
[email protected]

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff September 13, 2010

Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE
DISTRICT COURT
Debra A. Wajda v. Price Rite
Allegation: Negligence, causing slip and fall: $20,194.55
Filed: 8/25/10

FRANKLIN
SUPERIOR COURT
Mandy Boutell v. The Maple Valley School Inc. and Windwood Meadow Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination by failing to accommodate a disabled person and handicap discrimination: $25,000+
Filed: 8/20/10

HAMPDEN
SUPERIOR COURT
Caroline Dauplaise v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Allegation: Wrongful discharge of employment with Mass Turnpike Authority and breach of contract: $100,000
Filed: 7/27/10

Farm Credit East v. Rocky Mountain Wood Co. Inc.
Allegation: Action to recover on promissory note by sale of collateral: $894,254.26
Filed: 7/26/10

Immi Turbines Inc. v. LDH Inc.
Allegation: Texas court default judgment on underlying claims: $596,918.48
Filed: 7/22/10

John’s Trucking of Agawam v. Shawn’s Lawn Inc., RIV Construction Group Inc., and HD Westfield, MA Landlord Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay under the terms of a construction agreement: $561,827.23
Filed: 7/26/10

Lizbeth Rosario, administratrix of the estate of Carmen Velazquez v. Mercy Hospital
Allegation: Negligence and failure to properly diagnose, causing death: $2 million
Filed: 7/27/10

HAMPSHIRE
SUPERIOR COURT
Galex Inc. v. Precision Metal Goods
Allegation: Non-payment on aluminum purchased and received: $1,113,286
Filed: 8/20/10

Jack Ernst v. Berkshire Electric Cable Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract and non-payment on two promissory notes: $136,346.07
Filed: 8/16/10

Sona Dolan v. Holyoke Community College
Allegation: Employment discrimination and civil-rights violation based on national origin: $150,000
Filed: 8/2/10

TR’s Excavating and Landscaping Construction v. Landmark Health Solutions, LLC and Northampton Care Center, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of services, labor, and materials: $43,700
Filed: 7/23/10

SPRINGFIELD
DISTRICT COURT
Bradco Supply v. Edward M. Casti Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $6,653.97
Filed: 7/22/10

Bradco Supply v. RPE Contracting Corp. Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $12,473.69
Filed: 7/28/10

Comcast Spotlight Inc. v. Beverly Golf & Tennis Club
Allegation: Non-payment of advertising services rendered: $2,234.45
Filed: 7/28/10

O’Connell & Plumb, P.C. v. Kushner Realty Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of attorney fees and services: $33,598.03
Filed: 7/20/10

WESTFIELD
DISTRICT COURT
Mountainview Concrete Foundations, LLC v. W & I Construction Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay for services on construction project: $4,942
Filed: 8/23/10

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff September 13, 2010

Departments

Workers Paying 14% More for Health Insurance
WASHINGTON — American workers will pay about $4,000 to get health insurance for their families through work this year, 14% more than in 2009, according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Employees’ average share of the premium costs for family coverage is $482 more than last year as economic conditions continue to push companies to pay less of the bill, the report said. Total premiums for family policies, including both worker and employer contributions, increased 3% to $13,770. “Businesses have been shifting more of the costs of health insurance to workers through premiums, deductibles, and other cost-sharing,” said Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation chief executive. “From a consumer perspective, the cost of health insurance just keeps going up faster than wages.”

Executives Plan Moderate Hike in Professional Hiring
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Looking toward the final months of the year, 11% of executives interviewed for the Robert Half Professional Employment Report said they expect to increase the number of full-time staff they employ in professional occupations in the fourth quarter. Another 5% anticipate declines, resulting in a net 6% increase in hiring activity, up three points from the third-quarter forecast. Executives’ business optimism level remains high: 86% of respondents expressed at least some confidence in the growth prospects for their companies, rising slightly from 85% reported in the third-quarter survey. The number of executives citing recruiting challenges also rose, climbing from 42% in the third quarter to 47%. The Robert Half Professional Employment Report is the first quarterly executive survey of its size and scope to focus exclusively on professional-level hiring. The survey is based on telephone interviews with more than 4,000 executives from a variety of fields throughout the U.S. about their hiring plans and general level of optimism regarding the upcoming quarter. “Companies that overextended their teams are now selectively adding full-time employees,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. “Businesses are hiring to keep service levels high and boost morale among team members who have taken on extra work in the past few years.”

Economy Needs More Than Modest Spending
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released personal income and outlays for July. Personal income increased 0.2% in July, similar to private-sector expectations, while real disposable income decreased 0.1%. Real personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2% in July and at a 1.3% annual rate from their second-quarter average. Consumer spending adjusted for inflation continues to increase at a moderate pace, according to U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank. She noted that data suggests the economy continues to grow, as consumer spending accounts for 70% of GDP, although the economy is growing at a slower pace than the Obama administration would like. On a related note, many economists, including those at PNC Financial Services Group, say a boost in salaries and jobs will help grow the economy.

Businesses Offered Customer-service Training
GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Business Assoc. (GBA) and the Greenfield Community College (GCC) Workforce Development Office are coordinating customer-service trainings for local business owners and their staff members this fall. The cost is free to GBA-member owners/managers and is on a scale for the number of staff per business attending. For businesses with one to five staff members participating in training, the cost is $10 each; for six to 11 staff, $7.50 each; and for 12 or more employees, the cost is $5 each. For non-member pricing, call (413) 774-2791. The owner/manager training is slated for Sept. 27 from 8 to 10 a.m. at the GCC Downtown Center, room 121. The frontline staff training is planned for Oct. 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the GCC Downtown Center, room 121. Business owners can reserve space by e-mailing [email protected] with the names of the person(s) attending and the business they are representing.

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff August 30, 2010

Briefcase Departments

AIM’s Business Confidence Index Stumbles in July

BOSTON — The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index dropped 5.2 points in July to 48.5, falling below 50 — neutral on its 100-point scale — after moving into positive territory in May and June. This is the index’s most significant monthly setback since it bottomed out in February 2009, according to Raymond Torto, global chief economist at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. and chair of AIM’s board of economic advisors. Despite 14 gains in the previous 16 months, Massachusetts employers’ doubts about the strength and staying power of the economic recovery have been evident throughout, and those concerns are now coming to the fore, he added. Torto noted there are global as well as domestic issues in play; the fate on the euro, for example, will affect Massachusetts exports. The quarterly Massachusetts Consumer Confidence Index, released by Mass Insight, showed similar backsliding. Mostly due to concerns on jobs, the July Consumer Confidence Index fell 19 points to 61, its lowest level since last year. Torto added that weakening consumer confidence, nationally and here in Massachusetts, is a grave concern for employers because there can be no real economic recovery unless consumer spending picks up. AIM’s Business Confidence Index has been issued monthly since July 1991. Its historical high was 68.5, attained in 1997 and 1998; its low was 33.3 in February 2009. The Index was up 3.7 points from July 2009 and 4.1 over two years, but down 6.5 from July 2007. All of the sub-indices based on selected questions or respondent characteristics lost ground in July along with the main index, but there was marked variation in the magnitude of the declines. The Current Index of conditions prevailing at the time of the survey was off 2.2 points to 49.1, while the Future Index of expected conditions six months ahead plunged eight points to 48.1. The Massachusetts Index of business conditions prevailing within the Commonwealth fell 6.1 points to 41.7, but remained above the U.S. Index of national conditions, which lost 6.6 to 38.2. The Company Index, which measures survey respondents’ overall confidence in the situations of their own operations, was down 3.9 points in July to 55.0. The Employment Index held up well, edging off eight-tenths to 53.7, but the Sales Index dropped seven points to 54.4. Confidence was lower in July among manufacturers (down 4.3 to 52.5) and among other employers (down 6.2 to 44.2). Manufacturers were more likely to call current conditions for the companies ‘good’ (50% to 35%), were more positive about sales and employment, and foresaw less deterioration of conditions ahead. Respondents outside Greater Boston were slightly more confident (down1.6 to 49.5) than those within the metropolitan area (down 7.9 to 47.8). Employers of all sizes were less confident in July, with an especially steep decline among small companies. The monthly Business Confidence Index is based on a survey of AIM member companies across Massachusetts, asking questions about current and prospective business conditions in the state and nation, as well as for respondents’ own operations.

Former Mastex Site Chosen for Computing Center

HOLYOKE — After months of speculation, state officials revealed announced recently that the former Mastex Industries Inc. facility on Bigelow Street would become the site for a highly anticipated high-performance computing center. Gov. Deval Patrick, flanked by state and local officials, including Holyoke Mayor Elaine Pluta, U.S. rep. John Olver, and UMass President Jack Wilson, made the announcement, calling this “one of the most excitinjg developments in Western Massachusetts.” The project, which will entail an initial investment of $168 million, has a number of partners, including the state, UMass, MIT, Harvard, Boston University, Cisco Systems, and EMC Corp. Officials expect that the center will create only about 20 full-time positions, but that the computing capacity may eventually lure other companies and perhaps government agencies to the area.

Callaway Announces More Job Cuts at Chicopee Plant

CHICOPEE — Callaway Golf Corp. announced recently that it will substantially reduce its workforce in Chicopee over the next 12 to 18 months as it continues to expand golf ball and club manufacturing operations at its location in Mexico. The cuts are expected to leave the plant, which employed roughly 600 people as recently as the fall of 2008, with 150-200 workers. In a prepared statement, the company, Callaway cited a softness in the golf industry as one of the reasons for the move to Mexico.

Bay State Continues to Add Jobs

BOSTON — Massachusetts employers continued to add jobs for the sixth consecutive month in July, continuing a pace of growth that is well ahead of the nation’s. The state gained more than 13,000 jobs in July, while data revisions showed that employment growth in June, nearly 3,000 jobs, was far stronger than initially estimated, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The state unemployment rate held steady at 9%.

Legislation Reduces Health Care Costs for Small Businesses

BOSTON — Governor Deval Patrick recently joined legislative leaders and small business owners to sign legislation that could save small employers up to 12% on insurance premiums, increase transparency among providers and insurers, and improve the quality of health care for residents across the state. The law also makes small businesses eligible for savings on health care premiums, and will allow them to be able to pool their resources and establish cooperatives for the purpose of purchasing health insurance. As part of his efforts to control skyrocketing health care costs, Patrick has instructed the Division of Insurance to review rates from carriers using the Division’s existing authority..

Picture This

By BusinessWest Staff August 30, 2010

Departments Picture This

One Book at a Time

Program participants engaged in a number of learning activities with youngsters there

As part of a program called “Putting the Accent on Literacy, One Book at a Time,” BusinessWest and its Difference Makers from 2009 and 2010 coordinated a book drive in conjunction with the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative, which links young people with books during the summer months, when they are away from. On August 13, more than 500 books were delivered to the Dunbar Community Center in Springfield, where program participants engaged in a number of learning activities with youngsters there, including book readings, games, and even a play (at left) involving Rosa Parks and her famous decision not to ride in the back of the bus.

Sally Fuller, project director for the Cherish Every Child

Sally Fuller, project director for the Cherish Every Child initiative for the Davis Foundation, one of the Difference Makers for 2010, listens intently as one of the young students reads Where the Fern Grows.

BusinessWest advertising consultant Gwen Burke, left, and Nikia Davis, the magazine’s senior designer

BusinessWest advertising consultant Gwen Burke, left, and Nikia Davis, the magazine’s senior designer, engage several students in a game of Scrabble Junior.

Maura Geary, project coordinator for the Regional Employment Board and one of the architects of the literacy program, gets to know several of the students involved with the summer reading initiative.

‘Nathanial’ proudly displays the book

‘Nathanial’ proudly displays the book he chose to read to BusinessWest staff writer Joe Bednar. Each child was given a book to take home.

A Matter of Trust

By BusinessWest Staff August 30, 2010

Sections Supplements

Visiting Angels Franchise Stresses Delivery of Compassionate Care

Joe Arduino says he wants his employees to treat clients as they would treat their own family members.

In 1983, Joseph Arduino’s father was dying of congestive heart failure.
“He was a hospice patient, and we had an aide from a local hospice agency taking care of my father,” Arduino said. “I was taken back and amazed at the compassion of this home health aide, how she treated my father and our family like it was her own family.”
He didn’t realize then that he would someday make a career of helping other families find similar comfort and help during difficult times. But in 1999, Arduino — at the time a copier salesman who had an itch for entrepreneurship — was on a plane when he stumbled upon a magazine ad for a fledgling chain of home-care services called Visiting Angels. He didn’t even wait until he got home to call the number in the ad, and later that year, he was in charge of the company’s ninth franchise.
“Here it is, 11 years later, and we’ve seen substantial growth,” he told BusinessWest.
Indeed, his franchise, which now employs just under 90 staffers and caregivers, has served more than 1,100 clients in the past 11 years. “We provide services to adults in any age range. Many are 65 years and up, but we have many younger clients as well, adults with disabilities or in need of assistance during a period of recovery from illness or injury.”
Still, he noted that the elderly demographic — particularly those 85 and up — is growing quickly, and many Baby Boomers entering their retirement years have long been independent in spirit, and don’t want to give that up, especially if their daily needs don’t yet require assisted living or skilled nursing care. That’s where home care has a real opportunity to explode in growth.
“Mostly, it’s our clients’ desire to remain in their home environment, and our job is to help them accomplish that goal of independence with dignity and safety, and to try to improve their quality of life, through good caregiver matching and a good, positive relationship with the caregiver.”
The success of the Visiting Angels chain reflects that outlook. It had surpassed 100 franchises just three years after Arduino came on board, and now boasts nearly 400 locations across the U.S., Canada, and countries as far-flung as Brazil and South Korea.
“When we first started in this business, it was a risk because the company was so new,” he said, noting that he and his wife, Michelle, “bet the farm” on Visiting Angels, taking out a second mortgage and cashing in their retirement funds to get started. But it has turned out to be a winning bet; after launching their venture in Worthington and later moving it to Westfield, they opened a second branch in Springfield in late 2006.
“The day we opened [in Springfield], gas prices shot up to $4 a gallon, ‘recession’ was plastered all over the evening news, and our sales had fallen off,” said Arduino. “But since that time, we’ve experienced steady growth in the Springfield office, and this year, our sales are up 24%.
That success has come despite the fact that the economy continues to struggle and joblessness remains high. And that’s due partly to the fact that home care is simply a growing need that families increasingly can’t live without.
For this issue, BusinessWest takes a look at why Arduino is optimistic about the future of his business, and why he’s committed to showing clients the kind of compassion once shown to his own father.

Caring Touch
Although Visiting Angels typically serves clients with chronic health problems or experiencing an acute health crisis, it is not licensed to provide medical care. But such individuals often need help handling other daily tasks.
“We provide personal care such as bathing, assistance with dressing, hygiene and toileting, meal preparation, medication reminders, routing housekeeping, companionship, and transportation to appointments,” he said. “Our care recipients are able to choose their own caregiver, and we remain available for customer inquiries after hours, with a 15-minute response time.”
Michelle Arduino, who had previously been the postmaster of Worthington, is Joe’s business partner, responsible for finances, human resources, and compliance. “She’s very business-savvy,” he said. “She really understands the balance sheet, and she has a keen sense of forecasting financial trends within the company.”
The fact that those trends have been largely positive, despite the economic downturn, is something that Arduino credits partly to the strong relationships Visiting Angels has forged over the past decade with referral sources.
“I can’t thank them enough,” he said. “We work with local rehabilitation facilities and nursing agencies, and have provided supportive home-care services with their patients as they’re discharged home.” Arduino cited other factors in the franchise’s success, from the professionalism of his administrative staff to the reputation the company’s caregivers have developed for compassionate care.
“Our clients, their families, and our referral sources trust Visiting Angels,” he said. “They trust us to send compassionate, honest, and reliable caregivers into their homes. And we take this very seriously. I say to the people in charge of hiring at our company, ask yourself this question: ‘would you send this person to your own parents?’ If they can’t say yes to that, they don’t work for Visiting Angels.”
Determining that level of trust in each individual job applicant starts with the most basic work values. “We look at how they’re dressed. Did they show up on time? Do they return for the second interview on time? We use those things as a guide when making decisions,” Arduino said, noting that, if someone doesn’t treat a potential employer with respect, how can they be trusted to care for a vulnerable person in their home?
Even more important, perhaps, are the criminal and backgrounc checks the company runs, which go beyond the CORI requirements of the Mass. Department of Public Health. “We also provide a national criminal database searcg, a national identity check, a motor-vehiclem search, and a drug test,” he explained. “We’re trendsetters when it comes to employment screening. We really check people out. It’s very difficult to get a job with Visiting Angels as a caregiver.”
That’s because Arduino knows what drew him to this industry in the first place – the remarkable comfort he felt that his father was in good hands. So, he says, he’s built his business around cultivating that same sense of trust with clients.

Life Lessons
Around the time he opened his franchise, Arduino’s mother required home care due to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, making two parents who used such services, and at different stages in their lives. The potential of this care model was more obvious to him than ever.
“I’m very positive about the future growth of the private-duty home-care industry,” he said, noting that some 79.6 million Baby Boomers have either retired or are preparing to enter the ranks of retirees. “The demand for supportive home-care services will increase dramatically over the next several decades, and consumers as well as health care providers will look to private duty to provide for this population.”
In addition, he told BusinessWest, “I envision further cutbacks in Medicare and Medicaid services and reimbursement rates, which will increase the pressure on health care facilities to just discharge patients at a faster rate. This will put pressure on families to provide care for their loved ones and also contract with private-duty home-care agencies such as Visiting Angels.”
And it all started with his father’s illness, and what he learned about compassionate care.
“At the time, I didn’t realize that this would happen, my decision to start a home-care agency. It’s just something that happens to you in your life,” he said. “Later on, I knew I wanted to start my own company, and I saw an opportunity with Visiting Angels.”
Clearly, betting the farm was a risk worth taking.

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff August 16, 2010

Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

Helena Borek v. Wholesale Kitchen Supply Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract and unfair and deceptive trade practices: $8,274
Filed: 5/11/10

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT

Nike USA Inc. v. 1793 Corp.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $33,835.64
Filed: 6/18/10

Ricky Greenwald v. RTB Design
Allegation: Breach of contract and fraud arising in construction dispute between the homeowner and the designer/builder: $393,055.72
Filed: 6/1/10

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Weddingpages Inc. v. Sakura Bloom, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of advertising services rendered: $5,324.40
Filed: 7/1/10

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Adam P. Clermont, Esq. v. Robinson & Donovan, P.C., et al
Allegation: Legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty: $150,000
Filed: 6/1/10

Clinton Mitchell Jr. v. Associated Electro-Mechanics
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $25,000+
Filed: 5/25/10

Estate of Raymond F. Bolas v. The Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. and Elizabeth Warga, Margaret Bonney, and Stephen M. Brown
Allegation: Negligence, conversion, and breach of fiduciary duty: $350,000
Filed: 5/26/10

MicMac Mechanical Insulation, LLC v. Fontaine Brothers Inc. and Federal Insurance Co.
Allegation: Non-payment of labor and materials supplied on a public construction project: $15,355
Filed: 6/3/10

Noonan Energy Corp. v. Howard Fuel Service Inc.
Allegation: Fraud and negligent representation: $89,167.40
Filed: 5/11/10

Orchard Variety Inc. v. Good Deal Auto
Allegation: Checks fraudulently cashed on closed accounts: $87,146
Filed: 6/2/10

Roberta Kerry v. Friendly Corp.
Allegation: Employment discrimination and harassment: $25,000
Filed: 5/25/10

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Caroline Wenck v. Warner Brothers, LLC, Allstate Asphalt Inc., and Gallagher Bassett Services Inc.
Allegation: Negligence in sidewalk construction project, causing injury: $21,005.39
Filed: 6/7/10

Carlos Casillas v. Steve Lewis Subaru Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination based on race, color, nationality: $25,000
Filed: 6/17/10

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT

AEC One Stop Group v. Dynamite Records
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $17,881.60
Filed: 7/2/10

Bailey Nurseries Inc. v. Keyes Perennial Farm
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $5,146.99
Filed: 6/30/10

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Bradco Supply Co. v. C.S. Alexander Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $10,789.04
Filed: 6/11/10

Collins Enterprises Inc. v. Niley’s Fashion
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $8,400
Filed: 6/10/11

National Vinyl Products Inc. v. Griswold Glass & Aluminum Co.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $7,441.65
Filed: 6/14/10

Salemi Appliance Service Inc. v. Shedd Plumbing & Heating Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment on appliances: $3,783.15
Filed: 6/11/10

Thurston Foods Inc. v. J.T.’s Bakery & Café
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $3,646.88
Filed: 6/10/10

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Capital One Bank NA v. Auto Specialties
Allegation: Non-payment of goods and services charged on a credit account: $6,861.81
Filed: 5/18/10

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff August 16, 2010

Departments People on the Move

People’s United Financial Inc. of Springfield recently named John P. (Jack) Barnes as President, CEO, and a member of the Board of Directors. Barnes was also named President, CEO, and a Director of the company’s subsidiary, People’s United Bank. Barnes has served as interim President and CEO since April.

•••••

Werner Maiwald of The Gaudreau Group, Inc. in Wilbraham has achieved membership in the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table, the premier association of financial-services professionals. Maiwald has also earned recognition from the American Assoc. for Long-Term Care Insurance for the work he has done on the national and state level in helping to meet his clients’ needs.

•••••

Jeffrey Trant of Human Resources Unlimited in Springfield was recently named a program surveyor in the Employment and Community Services Division at the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Trant was among 23 industry experts who were selected from a candidate pool of more than 2,000 professionals across North America to participate in comprehensive training. He will conduct surveys of organizations seeking CARF accreditation. Trant has served as manager of HRU’s Lighthouse Clubhouse on State Street in Springfield for two years.

•••••

Dee Dee Mares, Managing Partner of Songline Emu Farm in Gill, recently attended the American Emu Assoc. national convention in Iowa. During the annual meeting, Mares was elected Vice President of the Board of Directors. She also serves as President of the New England Emu Assoc.

•••••

Michael Reilly has been appointed Divisional Sales Manager for the South/Central Region for Springfield’s MassMutual Retirement Services Division. He is responsible for managing the Chicago field office and the territory encompassing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Eastern and Central Wisconsin.

•••••

lia sophia announced the following:
• Dorothy Hastings has received top honors among its Excellent Beginnings Program Achievers for sales accomplishments and professionalism; and
• Cathy Cardenuto has received top honors among its Excellent Beginnings Program Achievers for sales accomplishments and professionalism.

•••••

Jeff Ferreri has joined Peter Pan Bus Lines in Springfield as Regional Sales Manager of Charter Sales and Operations.

•••••

Florence Savings Bank announced that the following were elected to serve on the institution’s board of directors:
• Willard Plumley, proprietor of Plumley Consulting and a certified public accountant; and
• Carol Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

•••••

Anthony Elder, a Cambridge College graduate, recently published the book Your Intangible Assets; Five Simple Ways to Succeed. A successful businessman and life coach, Elder discusses how business professionals, entrepreneurs, and individuals can use their courage, determination, creativity, and other intangible assets to enhance their lives professionally and personally.

•••••

Molly H. O’Brien has been named Advertising Supervisor for equine health care products at W. F. Young Inc.

•••••

Borawski Insurance Agency in Northampton announced the following:
• Lynne Colesano has joined the company as Employee Benefits Director; and
• Mark Rosa has been appointed Marketing Director.

•••••

Barbara A. Baran, Business Development Officer at Holyoke Credit Union, received the 2010 Henry A. Fifield Award for Voluntary Service from the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce at its 120th annual meeting. Baran co-chairs the chamber’s Ambassadors’ Club, a group of 20 business and professional people who support and advocate for the chamber.

•••••

Robert C. Holub, Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, has been elected to a one-year term as Secretary of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts.

•••••

Walter Tomala Jr., of TNT General Contracting of Westfield, was recently sworn in as President of the Home Builders Assoc. of Massachusetts for 2010-2011.

•••••

Nick Graveline has joined the East Longmeadow office of RE/MAX Prestige.

•••••

Attorney Gary M. Weiner has been named President of the Board of Governors of the Commercial Law League of America. Weiner is Managing Shareholder at Weiner & Lange in Springfield.

•••••

Michael J. Roy has joined Easthampton Savings Bank as the Compliance Officer.

•••••

New board members of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority include:
• Vanessa Otero, owner of a consulting firm in Chicopee;
• Michelle A. Shell, a Vice President at Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, and the new board chair;
• Ann Conlon Roosevelt, an environmental advocate and owner of a Cambridge real-estate firm;
• David R. Giblin, general manager of the Boston Marriott Copley Place;
• Paul J. Sacco, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Lodging Assoc; and
• Mark Erlich, executive secretary-treasurer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

•••••

Mary Jenewin-Caplin has been appointed Area Agency on Aging Director for Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc. She will oversee the operation of Meals on Wheels and congregate nutrition programs, oversee the long-term care ombudsman program, and administer federal grants for community organizations that provide services to older adults.

•••••

Carol Swistak, Manager of the McDonald’s at 299 East Main St., Westfield, and Ismael Flores, Manager of McDonald’s at 2392 Main St., Springfield, were recently honored with Outstanding Restaurant Manager awards by McDonald’s USA. The awards recognize managers whose McDonald’s restaurants operate at an outstanding level and exemplify leadership following McDonald’s key initiatives. The top 10% of restaurant managers are bestowed with the honor.

•••••

Attorney Peter W. Shrair, a Managing Principal at the law firm of Cooley Shrair in Springfield, presented a seminar titled “Fraud in the Workplace: Assessment and Prevention” for the Financial Executives Institute, sponsored by the Paperboard Packaging Council in Springfield.

•••••

Andrew Crane recently received the Home Builders Assoc. of Massachusetts Legend of the Industry Award.

•••••

Stephen J. Caldeira has been named President and CEO of the International Franchise Assoc.

•••••

The Depositors Insurance Fund announced the following:
• John F. Heaps Jr., President of Florence Savings Bank, has been elected to the Board of Directors; and
• William J. Wagner, President of Chicopee Savings Bank, has been elected to the Board of Directors.
The Depositors Insurance Fund provides excess deposit insurance to 65 Massachusetts-chartered savings banks. At member banks, all deposit amounts above FDIC insurance limits are insured in full by the Depositors Insurance Fund.

•••••

Women recently named to the Leadership Institute for Political Impact include:
• Daryl Essensa and Shenandoah Sluter, both of Greenfield;
• Susan Mareneck of Leverett;
• Ingrid Brandenberg of Montague;
• Joanne Sunshower and Lori Tuominen, both of Shutesbury;
• Corinne Wingard of Agawam;
• Karen Jarvis Vance and Elizabeth Dineen, both of East Longmeadow;
• Maria Salgado, Yaraliz Soto, and Peggy Vezina, all of Holyoke;
• Wanda Banks, Kimberly Barbato, Natasha Clark, Ivette Cruz, Denise Hurst, Jennifer Kirby, Kathryn Kirby, and Haydee Lamberty Rodriguez, all of Springfield;
• Carla Doyle and Kristin Palini, both of West Springfield;
• Laura Mecham of Wilbraham;
• Virgenmina Perez of Amherst;
• Ashley Fay of Belchertown;
• Wendy Gannett of Easthampton;
• Gloria DiFulvo and Susanne Rondeau, both of Hadley;
• M. J. Adams-Pullan, Mollie Fox, and Anja Waechter-Bourbeau, all of Northampton;
• Jennifer Dexter of South Hadley; and
• Norma Adler of Hatfield.

•••••

Dr. Mark Novotny, vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, announced that several new physicians are affiliating with CDH. Novotny said the hospital seeks to grow a number of specialty services as part of a broader re-positioning. The physicians specialize in areas the hospital has targeted for growth. They include:
• Dr. Timothy Abbott, Anesthesiologist;
• Dr. Kelly Bishop-Bartolomei, General Surgeon;
• Dr. Jacob Chapman, Emergency Medicine;
• Dr. William Dean III, Neurologist;
• Dr. Julia Gates, Interventional Radiologist;
• Dr. Tae Kim, Emergency Medicine;
• Dr. Andrew King, Anesthesiologist;
• Dr. Erin Leahy, Adult Hospitalist;
• Dr. Sean Mullally, Hematologist/ Oncologist; and
• Dr. Sarah Workman, Adult-Pediatric Hospitalist.

Competing to Compete

By BusinessWest Staff August 16, 2010

Sections Supplements

Controversy Brewing over Non-compete Agreements

Tim Murphy

Non-competition agreements are controversial. This issue has divided lawyers, judges, and academics for a long time. The controversy has spread to the business world, where non-competition agreements have been an accepted practice for years. Our state Legislature has weighed in on the controversy by proposing a bill that would change this accepted practice by significantly restricting the enforceability of non-competition agreements in Massachusetts.
Recently, an active and organized segment of the business community has come out supporting restrictions on the use of non-competition agreements. This support has given traction to the proposed legislation.

Why Non-competes Are Used
To protect themselves from competition by departing employees, Massachusetts employers frequently require employees to sign non-competition agreements. As the name suggests, these agreements restrict the ability of former employees to work for a competing business.
Judges do not particularly like these agreements because they tend to limit an employee’s ability to earn a living in his or her chosen field; however, judges will enforce non-competition agreements if they protect the legitimate interests of the employer, and they are otherwise reasonable in the duration and geographic scope. The courts will not enforce non-competition agreements if they are only designed to protect a company from ordinary competition.

Protecting the Business
Proponents of non-competition agreements cite the role they play in protecting trade secrets, confidential information, and goodwill. They argue that, if businesses cannot protect these business assets, they will be unable to compete against businesses that can, and if businesses cannot protect their trade secrets, confidential information, and goodwill, job loss and economic stagnation will follow.
Business groups like Associated Industries of Massachusetts are wary of any change in the enforceability and use of non-competition agreements. They argue that reform is unnecessary because our courts can and do strike the right balance between protecting employers’ interests and employee freedom of mobility. They further caution that it would be unwise to make it harder for businesses to compete in the current challenging economic climate.

Non-compete Agreement Opponents
On the other hand, there are those in the business world that think non-competition agreements stifle economic growth. The Alliance for Open Competition (opencompetition.wordpress.com), a self-described group of entrepreneurs, employees, investors, and executives dedicated to fostering innovation, sees non-competition agreements as a barrier to entrepreneurialism because they force potential entrepreneurs who are subject to non-competition agreements to risk legal and financial ruin in order to start or join competing ventures. California is held up as the model because that state prohibits most non-competition agreements, and the theory is that this prohibition resulted in a vibrant entrepreneurial economy, although California’s economy is certainly less than vibrant today.

House No. 4607
Legislative proponents of reform, among them Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera of Springfield, appear to have gotten behind House No. 4607, which is a consolidated version of two other bills authored by Coakley-Rivera. House No. 4607 reflects a middle ground between those in the business community who want no change at all and those who seek to eliminate non-competition agreements altogether. But make no mistake; if enacted, House No. 4607 would force major changes in the use of non-competition agreements.
Among the changes that House No. 4607 would bring, if enacted, would be to prohibit the use of non-competition agreements with employees who earn less than $75,000 a year. In addition, House No. 4607 would limit the duration of non-competition agreements to six months. Any agreements for a longer term would be presumed to be unreasonable.
Employers that require the signing of non-competition agreements as a condition of employment would also have to notify prospective employees of this requirement before the employees quit their current jobs, and, for existing employees, employers would have to offer a financial inducement for them to sign: at least 10% of annual compensation.
Moreover, if an employer sues to enforce a non-competition agreement, House No. 4607 would require the payment of the former employee’s attorneys fees if the employer acts in bad faith or the court does not enforce a term of the agreement (unless it is presumptively reasonable as defined in the bill). If the former employee sues to have a non-competition agreement invalid and wins, the employer would also have to pay the former employee’s attorneys’ fees.
House No. 4607 would not affect non-competition agreements arising out of the sale of a business or business assets. It would also not limit an employers’ ability to use non-solicitation agreements to prevent former employees from poaching existing customers or employees.
As this article is being written, passage of House No. 4607 this summer appears to be a long shot. A recent effort to attach it as an amendment to another bill under consideration failed. Whether House No. 4607 passes or not, the controversy surrounding non-competition agreements is likely to continue.

Timothy F. Murphy is a partner at the law firm Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a boutique firm that practices only labor and employment law and represents only the interests of management. The firm’s practice areas include all aspects of labor and employment law, including traditional labor law, contract negotiations, union avoidance and arbitrations, employment litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, employment counseling, policy review, and training; (413) 737-4753; [email protected].

Putting Ideas in Motion

By BusinessWest Staff August 16, 2010

Features

The Region’s Plan for Progress Continues to Change and Evolve

Tim Brennan says the Plan for Progress is in a constant state of evolution.

Originally drafted in 1994, the region’s Plan for Progress, authored and administered by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in conjunction with area economic-development leaders, is anything but a static document. It is being constantly changed and updated to reflect new priorities, challenges, and opportunities. Recent additions and amendments have been made to address workforce-development trends and concerns, the desire to create a ‘green’ regional economy, and the need to connect the region to other urban areas in an emerging ‘mega-region.’

Tim Brennan says the Plan for Progress, the comprehensive regional strategic economic plan for Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties, receives a major overhaul every 10 years; the last one came in 2004, a decade after the plan was originally drafted.
There are smaller, yet significant, updates every five years, said Brennan, director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) and the document’s lead author, noting that the most recent of these came in 2009. But in reality, the plan is constantly changing — the word he chose to describe it was “fluid” — because it needs to reflect new p
riorities, challenges, and opportunities.
Take, for example, the somewhat recent national and regional emphasis on all things ‘green.’
Indeed, as of June 2009, ‘the plan,’ as it’s called, has a “strategy to develop a green regional economy.” There is a stated goal — to “establish a regional economy where sustainable living and business practices combined with clean-technology opportunities are core to our economic, environmental, and cultural vitality” — as well as identified action steps in six key areas: business development, agriculture, education and workforce development, management of natural and built resources, transportation, and communication.
Brennan said plan administrators want to take the regionwide clean-energy plan put in place in 2008, as well as several existing clean-energy companies, such as FloDesign Wind Turbine, Qteros, and others, and use these as a starting point from which to build a green cluster over the next decade or so.
“We started looking at it from the standpoint of how we can use this to our economic advantage, to grow new businesses and create more jobs,” he explained, adding that the new chapter in the Plan for Progress was added to keep the initiative in the region’s collective consciousness.
The informal plan moving forward is to take the various components of a ‘green sector,’ everything from existing companies to the planned high-performance computing sector in Holyoke to the annual Energy Connections Conference in Springfield, and shape them into something larger than the component parts.
“As someone said to me at a recent event, ‘there’s a lot of stuff going on in the region in this green sector; we need something to take all the snowflakes and make a snowball out of them,’” said Brennan. “I thought that was a good way to explain how we’re trying to get some traction and push this from an economic-development standpoint as well as an energy standpoint.”
The new strategy to develop a green regional economy is just one example of how the Plan for Progress is in a continual state of flux, said Brennan, adding that is in many ways like a roadmap in that it is always being amended to reflect changes in the landscape.
Other recent changes to the document include a rewrite of the plan’s workforce component to address issues such as the retraining of area residents for jobs in the knowledge-based economy; intensified efforts to brand the Knowledge Corridor and connect it to other urban centers in the Northeast “mega-region,” as Brennan calls it (more on that later); a new emphasis on the creative economy; and a commitment among plan administrators to turn plans into action and also measure what they’re doing.
“The plan is the roadmap to the future,” he said. “Once we finish doing the plan, I feel like there should be no more planning; instead, let’s get on to doing.”
For this issue, BusinessWest takes a look at some of the recent additions and adjustments to the plan, and why annual upgrades are needed to make sure the region is putting its attention — and its energy — in the right directions, and making more of those snowballs.

Connecting the Dots
As he talked about the plan’s new green component, Brennan said that emerging strategic initiative is predicated on the belief that, perhaps sooner than later, the region and nation will be moving away from fossil fuels to alternative, cleaner forms of energy.
The consensus seems to be that it’s not a question of if that will happen, but when, he told BusinessWest, adding that the plan’s new green component was added to “give the region a competitive edge” when that day comes.
Making the region more competitive is the simple, yet also quite complex, overriding purpose of the plan, said Brennan, as he traced the steps in its development. Putting things another way, he said the plan was put in place, and is continuously updated, to put the region out front, or ahead of whatever curve it was confronting, and be as prepared as possible to answer the proverbial ‘what’s next?’
As an example, he cited the plan’s long-term focus on improved rail service and connecting the region to points south and east, a strategic initiative that paid off when the Obama administration announced a serious commitment to rail-system improvements.
“We’ve been working on this rail plan for five years now,” he said, referring to an initiative to connect Springfield with New Haven and thus New York. “You wake up one morning and Obama says, ‘we’re going to put $8 billion into rail projects.’ Because we had been planning, we could flip our plan into a grant application and get it; Connecticut gets $40 million, Massachusetts gets $70 million, and Vermont gets $50 million. We’re the only corridor in New England to get funded.”
By continually tweaking the Plan for Progress, its administrators can script more success stories like the rail grant, said Brennan, adding there are many forward-looking strategic initiatives being considered, most all of them focused on the emergence of the so-called mega-region.
In a recent presentation to the Springfield Business Roundtable — and in other talks and documents — Brennan has identified 11 of these mega-regions: The Northeast, ‘Piedmont Atlantic’ (slicing through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama), Florida, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, the Texas Triangle, ‘Front Range’ (in the Rockies), the Arizona Sun Corridor, Southern Calif., Northern Calif., and ‘Cascadia’ (the Seattle area).
The names given to these regions vary with the individual or group referencing them, he continued, but most analysts looking out 40 or 50 years believe these regions will be the main forces driving the economy, and it will be incumbent upon smaller regions within those areas to be players in those regional economies — or get left out of the party.
“Our work is designed to make the Knowledge Corridor more than a brand,” he told BusinessWest, acknowledging that, even a few years ago, awareness building was the primary objective when it came to the Hartford-Springfield partnership. “We want to make it real, make it connected, and make it a much bigger powerhouse from an economic point of view, and make sure it’s part of this constellation here in the Northeast corridor. We’re working to position ourselves to be not just a bystander, but a player.”
To thrive in the Northeast mega-region, said Brennan, Western Mass. must be effectively connected to other parts of the region, especially Boston and Hartford.
“We can’t end up as a cul-de-sac,” he said, using ‘we’ to mean the corridor, and implying that, while there is a degree of connectivity already, it needs to be improved.
To achieve the connectivity Brennan described, the region has to take full advantage of vehicles such as high-speed rail, improved broadband service in Western Mass. (a $71 million plan to do just that is on the drawing board), highways, and other forms of infrastructure. And with connection can come collaboration with other cities and regions, he said, which is how economic development is really achieved.
As part of the broad action plan on bolstering the corridor, officials on both sides of the border will be applying for a federal grant to create a sustainable development plan for the cross-border initiative. There will be considerable competition for such grants, said Brennan, adding quickly that he’s optimistic about the region’s chances.
“We’re going into this with our eyes wide open,” he said. “We’re going to be competing against the Chicagos, the LAs, and the Atlantas, but I think we have a story to tell, and we have some impressive accomplishments for a medium-sized area.
“The Knowledge Corridor brand now has some traction,” he continued. “The challenge now is to get a product that goes with that brand that has a lot of substance.”

For Good Measure
While moving beyond the brand is a top priority within the plan, there are many other initiatives as well, said Brennan, adding that they involve everything from keeping college graduates in the region to helping more area residents become workforce-ready to Connecticut River cleanup.
Returning to the new green strategic plan and that snowball he referenced, Brennan said there will likely be a number of components to a green cluster in the region, from new products and services, such as the Scuderi engine and FloDesign’s new wind turbine design, to existing products that could be ‘greened’ to help them achieve a larger market, to available green power that can be used to attract companies that want to reduce their carbon footprints.
“The high-performance computing center is coming to Holyoke for essentially one reason — low-cost, clean energy,” he said, adding that area municipal officials and economic-development leaders must look for ways to leverage that asset and others across Western Mass.
And when the computing center is up and running, it will become another huge asset to leverage. “There will be a number of businesses that will want to plug into that kind of computing power, and that’s where the job growth could come from if there can be a path to accessibility.”
The green strategic initiative is the most comprehensive new addition to the Plan for Progress, but there have been other tweaks, including revisions made earlier this year to a strategic initiative to integrate workforce development and business priorities.
Overall, said Brennan, the plan is putting more emphasis on devising methods to close the skills gap in the region, a gap that is keeping many unemployed, underemployed, and displaced workers from finding solid job opportunities.
“We need to address how to retrain workers who wake up one morning to find that what they’ve been doing for 15 or 20 years is now being done by machine, or is being done in Asia, or isn’t being done at all because some other product or service has trumped it and knocked it off the boards,” he said. “Figuring out to get people more gainfully employed if they run into some kind of quicksand is something that needs more attention.”
The revised strategy calls for several steps, including the creation of a regional workforce-development plan; engaging the business community, civic leaders, and various industry sectors to be involved in the plan’s development and implementation; and work to identify funding for regional workforce and educational planning. It also recommends formation of a workforce-development strategy team as a subcommittee of the Plan for Progress that will oversee the progress of the strategic initiative by working with various workforce and educational institutions, such as the regional employment boards.
Still another adjustment to the Plan for Progress is a greater sense of accountability, or measuring results, said Brennan, adding that the Web site www.stateofthepioneervalley.org has been created to show how the region, through various implementing agencies, is doing relative to key issues.
“We’re trying, 24/7, to show how we’re doing in these various categories,” he said of the indicators. “We’re trying to access whether we’re making progress with any of this, or if we’re in a steady state and need to try harder.”
Measuring is that third leg of the stool behind planning and doing, he said, adding that they are all equally important to achieving the larger goals of attaining progress and giving the region competitive edges.

When a Plan Comes Together
The next big overhaul for the Plan for Progress won’t come until 2014. But it’s safe to say that the document, if it can be called that, will see a number of changes and additions before then.
Keeping the plan current to reflect new challenges and opportunities is critical, said Brennan, to the ongoing efforts to make the region more competitive, at a time when the competition is mounting.
Planning, doing, and measuring, the three parts of this equation, are all keys to progress, or enabling sound ideas to snowball — literally and figuratively.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Prototype for Progress

By BusinessWest Staff July 19, 2010

Cover Story

Manufacturers’ Collaborative Puts Pieces Together

Cover July 19, 2010

It’s called the Pioneer Valley Precision Manufacturing Collaborative, a bold initiative whereby four small area machine shops will market themselves as what amounts to one larger enterprise, one with capabilities ranging from injection molding to the machining of tiny components for medical devices to the production of parts that help NASCAR vehicles go faster. The collaborative is expected to help participating companies gain contracts they couldn’t garner on their own, while also making them better-able to compete on what has become a truly global stage.

Tom Langevin says the idea is to take what he calls “big-company philosophies” and bring them to exponentially smaller businesses.
This is the main motivation behind the Pioneer Valley Precision Manufacturing Collaborative, or what Langevin described as an ambitious pilot program that involves four small area manufacturing outfits: Boulevard Machine & Gear and Thorn Industries, both in Springfield; Mechanical Drive Components Inc. (MDC) in Chicopee; and Creative Machining & Molding Corp. (CMMC) in Westfield.
Each of these companies is successful and profitable, and enjoys a solid reputation in their respective specialties, said Langevin, who takes the title ‘technology innovation application engineer,’ and works for the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County (more on all that later). However, they, like most other small manufacturers in the under-20-employees category, live “day to day,” as he put it, a corporate lifestyle Langevin noted while surveying area companies in his first assignment with the REB as point person for efforts to expand and strengthen the region’s precision-manufacturing sector.
“All of the companies I surveyed really hadn’t planned beyond the current year,” he said. “There were no three-, four-, or five-year plans, meaning marketing plans or engineering-research plans, or anything else,” he explained. “Everyone was in the same predicament; they didn’t really have a business system in place to take them through the next several years.
“It became clear that we needed to come up with a way to help these companies develop a business system that would help them strategically plan for the future,” he continued, adding that the methodology chosen was the collaborative.
It should, in effect, enable the four companies, working in unison, to achieve progress in the key areas of revenue growth and cost reduction that they likely could not accomplish on their own, he explained, adding that, in addition to thinking and acting like bigger companies, those enterprises in the collaborative should be able to generate opportunities generally reserved for much larger corporations.
Chris Araujo, owner of CMMC, a unique outfit that handles both precision manufacturing and injection molding, agrees, and he says he’s not speculating when he talks about the collaborative’s chances for success; he speaks with the voice of experience.
“This is something I’ve done very successfully in my career,” he said of the concept of collaboration. “By bringing together several smaller companies as we have, we can go after work that none of us could go after individually. As a group, as a collaborative, as a much larger entity, we will now be able to be competitive and have the horsepower that a lot of the big companies want.
“Everyone’s reducing supplier bases, and they’re looking for unique opportunities with their suppliers to have them do more,” he continued, adding that the collaborative can accomplish this end. “This gives us a unique opportunity to go after some of the larger aerospace companies, medical companies, and possibly even automotive companies, utilizing not only the assets of four companies but the intelligence of four individual owners to problem-solve and uniquely put together schedules and other details to accomplish very difficult tasks.”
Susan Kasa, owner of Boulevard Machine & Gear, concurred, and said she believes the collaboration represents another manifestation of an emerging trend within the manufacturing sector, one where smaller shops are viewing other players in the sector more as possible partners than competitors to fear and resist.
“I think local business owners have gotten over the hurdle, and no longer look at each other as competitors; we’re starting to look at what we can do to help one another grow and not necessarily be afraid of what we can take from one another in business,” she said while borrowing an industry term — prototype — to describe what the collaborative is or could easily become.
For this issue, BusinessWest takes an indepth look at the Pioneer Valley Precision Manufacturing Collaborative, how it is expected to benefit the participants, and how this model might be emulated by other companies in the region.

Gauging Possibilities
Joe Giffune, owner of MDC, said that, among other things, the company makes parts for the after-market automotive sector, or what he called “speed products,” including horsepower boosters, vacuum pumps, and other parts for NASCAR and National Hot Rod Assoc. vehicles and other customers.
“It’s a fun niche,” he said, adding that, while the company doesn’t deal directly with NASCAR drivers and owners, it serves those who do. “You’ll get calls from people saying, ‘so-and-so’s team needs this part by next weekend … you’ve got to get this done.’ It’s a good talking point; it’s fun to do.”
While the 11-year-old company has done well historically, it has been limited by its small size, relatively tight niches, and that ‘day-to-day’ operating philosophy that Langevin referenced, said Giffune, adding that the opportunity to increase its reach and operate more strategically is what prompted him to jump at the chance to become part of the collaborative.
“He [Langevin] seemed to think our companies had a lot of similar things to bring to the table — skill sets, approaches to the way we do business, approaches to the way we do machining,” Giffune explained, “but also some unique things specific to our businesses. But his perspective is that we were also operating without a strategic plan as individual businesses, and that was a real shortfall — and no one realy disagreed with him on that.
“As a small business you’re caught up in the day-to-day processes of making your debt payments, making your payroll, those sorts of things, and that tends to lead to more short-term thinking,” he continued, “which comes down to getting through a specific time period, be it a day, week, month, or a year, rather than think strategically.”
Giffune’s story is similar in many ways to those of the other participants in the collaborative, said Langevin, a former engineer with Danaher Tool who was hired in May 2009 by the Regional Employment Board as part of the so-called PMRAP (Precision Manufacturing Regional Alliance Project), a multi-faceted initiative involving the REB, UMass Amherst, the Western Mass. Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Assoc. (WMNTMA), and other parties.
He told BusinessWest that his basic job description is to identify and execute strategies for helping area manufacturers become more competitive and tap new markets. One of his current endeavors involves work with educators at UMass to develop a cryogenic milling process for project machining.
One of his first assignments, however, was to survey WMNTMA members and determine what kind of support they needed. It was during these interviews that he identified a lack of — and need for — longer-term planning, as well as a stronger commitment to continuous improvement.
This is what Langevin calls a big-company philosophy, or ‘lean’ philosophy, and he acknowledged that it is something difficult for smaller companies to embrace and implement because of the resources required to do so.
“You have to develop data, gather data, coordinate data, analyze data, and things of that nature, and that’s hard to do if you’re a mom-and-pop shop with 10 employees,” he explained. “But if you take three or four or five shops and put them together, you can amortize those administrative costs to implementing such a business system.”
The desire to spread the cost and combine resources was the spark for creating the collaborative, said Langevin, adding that several area companies were asked to participate, with Thorn, Boulevard, MDC, and CMMC eventually agreeing to join forces.
They were chosen because they are among the more progressive companies in the area, said Langevin, adding that they are well-managed, have good engineers, are “above water,” as he put it, and, above all, have something to offer each other.
Working together, said Langevin, the companies in the collaborative will be better able to do what he says they need to do to compete in the global marketplace — become what amounts to contract manufacturers focused on the big picture.
“I’ve sat with many companies, and their focus seems to be on how to increase the speed of their machines — that’s where they think their money is,” he explained. “But that’s not really where their money is. We can’t really compete with the rest of the world machine for machine; we can’t compete labor-wise. We have to compete more on services; we have to provide more services to our prime contractors.”

Parts of the Whole
Kasa told BusinessWest that, while Boulevard has a long track record of excellence in its specialty — machining parts for primarily the aerospace industry — she recognized that there were many potential benefits to becoming part of the collaborative.
That’s because the companies involved complement each other and bring different things to the table. This should enable the group to compete effectively for more and bigger contracts from customers that always looking to get more from their suppliers.
“By coming together like this, we can, in effect, corner the market and gain business,” she said, noting that the collaborative will likely enable individual companies to gain pieces of contracts that they could not have garnered otherwise. “We all bring very different things to the table: we have the aerospace certification, Thorn has the medical certification, Creative has the injection molding, and Joe [Giffune] has the commercial market.
“When we pool our facility list,” she continued, “it’s actually quite impressive, but we don’t necessarily have duplicate equipment; we all specialize in such different niches that we feel that, by coming together, we can have a true edge on the market.”
Steve Hicks, co-owner with his father of Thorn Industries, which specializes in machining parts for medical devices, agrees. He said the collaborative enables the four shops to merge in a figurative sense, not a literal one, and, in the process, present themselves in the same way that some of the area’s largest and most successful precision manufacturers, such as Hoppe Tool, Berkshire Industries, and others can, and compete for bigger contracts.
“As part of this collaborative, we can look at some of these big jobs that we couldn’t quote before and identify pieces of the pie that we’d like to work on,” he explained. “One of us can handle the milling, another one the turning, and someone else can handle another aspect of making the part; we can all broaden our horizons.”
Araujo, whose company produces everything from stands for scented candles (CMMC has dozens of manufacturers in that industry on its client list) to components for credit-card readers, has seen several collaborative efforts succeed through a lengthy career in precision manufacturing.
“I’ve done it with automotive, with medical, with gun companies, aerospace, and more,” he said, adding that, through one collaborative effort, he was able to win a contract from Hamilton Sundstrand to make the air-handling system for the Boeing 787.
Echoing Kasa and others, he said that companies that award such large contracts are looking for diversity, but also solid management and especially long-term stability, and these are tangibles and intangibles that most smaller companies can’t boast.
“With the size of these contracts and the number of years involved, they’re looking for very strong companies that are going to be around a long time, with proven backgrounds and opportunities to handle not only their growth but the customer’s growth,” he explained. “As an individual company, you would have to be very large and established to meet those needs. As a collaborative, we can do the same thing.”

End Product
All those participating in the collaborative say time will tell if it can yield the many benefits organizers say it can.
But there is considerable confidence within the various companies that, by coming together in this fashion, the machine shops in question can do far more as a group than they can individually.
In short, they believe they have a working prototype — a prototype for growth and progress.

George O’Brien can be reached at
[email protected]

Foreign Affairs

By BusinessWest Staff July 5, 2010

Sections Supplements

What Every Small Business Should Know about Immigration

Joseph Curran

Every small business should understand the basic rules about its responsibilities under the immigration laws, and also the growth opportunities available under immigration laws.
Employer responsibilities are the first concern of a small business. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) requires every employer to verify that all employees have proper work authorization — every single employee. The centerpiece of this system is the I-9 form, which employers must complete within three days of the start of work for each employee. Typically, each new employee must present photo identification and proof of employment authorization, with original, unexpired documents. Employers are not required to keep copies of the documents on file. A properly completed I-9 is all that is required.
It is not your job to make an actual determination whether the documents are legitimate. You are not an authorized Department of Homeland Security investigator. If you check the papers and fill out the form, and it turns out that the worker is illegal, you face no liability. The standard for reviewing the documents is “…reasonably appears on its face to be genuine.” Do not request more or different documents than the minimum required. The employee, not the employer, chooses which documents to present.
The employment verification regulations (the so-called ‘I-9 rules’) cover only true employees, not independent contractors. As in the area of workers’ comp, whether an individual or entity is an independent contractor is determined on a case-by-case basis — there are no bright line rules. The term ‘independent contractor’ includes those who “carry on independent business, contract to do a piece of work according to their own means and methods, and are subject to control only as to results.” In most cases, a company would have no obligation to check the immigration documents its subcontractors’ employees.
Violations of the employment-verification rules through a contract situation must be ‘knowing.’ This includes constructive knowledge and failure to exercise reasonable care in learning about and implementing immigration rules.
Beware of employment discrimination. An employer cannot selectively hire, or refuse to hire, nationals from certain countries. That practice is called ‘national origin discrimination’ under both federal employment-discrimination law and immigration law. Various federal statutes intersect on this issue; 8 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII apply to non-citizens, and prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin.
IRCA adds another layer by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of national origin and citizenship in hiring and firing employees. IRCA violations are known by the legal acronym UIREP (unfair immigration-related employment practices). Employers may require only the minimum identity and employment documents outlined in the I-9 handbook. Employers may not require any specific or additional documentation. The UIREP provisions were added to temper the effect of IRCA on aliens who have proper work authorization. Congress did not want employers to stop hiring foreigners or people with accents out of fear of accidentally hiring an illegal alien.
Civil penalties for failure to fill out and maintain I-9s correctly can range from $110 to $1,100 for each I-9. Civil penalties for employment of unauthorized aliens can range from $275 to $2,200 per alien for the first offense, $2,200 to $5,500 for the second offense, and up to $3,300 to $11,000 per alien for the third or higher offense. Criminal penalties may be imposed in cases involving pattern or practice violations.
The Immigration Service (USCIS) has also implemented E-Verify, a Web-based verification tool that employers can use to check the visa status of potential employees, using information from USCIS and the Social Security Administration databases. E-Verify began as a voluntary program, but now government employers and government contractors, as well as some private employers, are required to use the program as part of their I-9 verification system.
IRCA enforcement is not consistent. Unless there is a pattern of violations, or you are unlucky enough to be targeted for a politically motivated ‘raid,’ you are not likely to be audited, and the penalties for IRCA violations are relatively mild. In fact, current INS policy favors a warning letter before fines are assessed. The goal of this policy is to educate employers and encourage them to correct problems without litigation. There are simply too many employers hiring foreign nationals for USCIS to keep track of them.
But keep in mind that this is all about politics, and the prevailing sentiment is strongly anti-immigrant. Any comprehensive immigration legislation that passes Congress will almost certainly include provisions to increase enforcement of the IRCA/I-9 rules.
In addition to the ‘defensive’ immigration concerns with I-9 compliance, employers should also consider the potential benefits available under the immigration laws.
If you have identified a skilled international professional who can help your business grow, there are employment visas available that will allow this worker to lawfully join your company. Because of the recent economic downturn, the numerical restrictions on these visas have disappeared, and the visa petition process is relatively straightforward. Keep in mind that the employer is the visa petitioner, not the foreign national. It is a process based on promises by the organization, not by the worker. Clearly, the worker gains a benefit from the visa petition, but the procedure must be initiated by, and controlled by, the employer.
The most common employment visa is the H-1B visa, but there are employment opportunities under a variety of visa classifications, including L-1, E-1/2, J-1, O-1, and other visas.

Joseph Curran, a partner with Northampton-based Curran & Berger LLP, has been exclusively involved in the practice of immigration and nationality law since 1985. He provides legal advice to individuals, corporations, and universities, specializing in immigration issues impacting business and health care in the New England area. He currently serves on the AILA Healthcare Committee and the Mass. Bar Assoc. Immigration Law Section, chairing the MBA’s Immigration Essentials Program.

Managing by Walking Around

By BusinessWest Staff July 5, 2010

Sections Supplements

How to Have Your Business Ready Before a Labor Union Comes Knocking

Amy Royal

Non-union businesses are currently facing an increased risk of union infiltration.
Due in large part to the sympathetic ear of the Obama administration and the stagnant economy, labor unions have gained momentum over the past year, becoming much more aggressive than they have been in several decades. Also, with the explosion of social-networking Web sites, labor unions have seized the opportunity to reach broader bases and larger audiences by using this free social medium to spread their message with relative ease. In light of the recent uptick in union organizing, businesses must begin taking proactive steps to guard against unionization.
The two best union-avoidance practices that businesses should put into place now before the union comes knocking at their door are what’s known as ‘managing by walking around,’ and implementing an open-door policy. Managing by walking around is literally what it sounds like: managers, including those in upper management, walk around the company, going to each of the employees’ work areas. This type of managing is a win-win situation. It makes employees feel that management is accessible and approachable. It also makes them less likely to turn to a third party for representation.
Unionization is successful is not solely because employees want better wages and better benefits; it is also because employees do not feel recognized. When management comes to the employees’ work areas, workers will undoubtedly feel a greater sense of value and importance. That simple pause to tell an employee that her hard work is appreciated can go a long way. Managing by walking around also provides an opportunity to discover potential problems and nip them in the bud before they snowball. Certain problems that go unnoticed or are left unattended could ultimately lead employees to seek out the help of a third party.

Benjamin Bristol

Open communication between employees and management is essential to reducing the risk of organizing activity. Non-union businesses should consider implementing an open-door policy that allows employees to have access to any manager in the company. Just as it sounds, an open-door policy literally means that every manager’s door is open to every employee. In order for such a policy to work, businesses must make sure that the doors to management are actually open. Certain steps can be incorporated into the policy that encourage employees to go to their supervisor first before contacting the company’s president; however, for the policy to have the intended effect, employees must feel that they can, if need be, go to anyone in management to voice their concerns.
Businesses should also consider implementing a formal grievance procedure that provides a process by which employees can express their concerns internally. Some companies have created formal grievance procedures that allow employees the right of appeal up through executive-level personnel. Other companies have gone so far as to model their practices after the typical union format, utilizing similar grievance procedures to that of a union. In either case, seeking union representation is less needed when businesses have created their own mechanisms for resolving problems internally. Indeed, the reason behind having these types of policies is simple: why would employees pay a union to do what the business already does for them?
Other policies businesses might consider implementing include non-solicitation and non-distribution policies. Such policies prohibit the solicitation of employees or the distribution of literature during work time and in work areas. Implementing a union-free-environment policy can also be a good way to communicate the reasons why the company believes a union is unnecessary in light of its current environment and culture.
As part of having an open dialogue with employees, businesses might actually consider using the ‘U’ word with their employees. Often times, management is reluctant to do so out of fear that saying it will somehow put the idea of unionization into the heads of their employees. Another reason management might be afraid to say the word or otherwise discuss unions is the fear of committing an unfair labor practice under the National Labor Relations Act. Educating management on what it can and cannot say about unions is key.
Management training in union avoidance will arm managers with the tools they need to know how to have lawful conversations with employees about unions as well as enable them to identify the early warning signs of unionization. Such training also teaches management how to react appropriately should union representatives show up at the company.
Once upper management is trained in union avoidance, supervisory training is crucial to guarding against a union since these individuals are the company’s first line of defense. Due to their close proximity to rank-and-file employees, supervisors must be trained in several key interpersonal and leadership skills, such as effective communication and listening, accessibility and approachability, and modeling appropriate behavior. Further, supervisors must be trained to handle conflicts that arise amongst employees. With these skills, supervisors will help to create a positive working environment, and employees will believe that they can resolve their issues with the person that they see every day.
There are no guarantees that a company can remain union-free. But with thoughtful and continual planning, businesses can make a preemptive strike against unionization instead of playing defense once the union is already knocking at the door.

Amy B. Royal, Esq. and Benjamin A. Bristol, Esq. specialize exclusively in management-side labor and employment law at Royal & Klimczuk, LLC, a women-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm; (413) 586-2288; [email protected]

Direct Course of Action

By BusinessWest Staff July 5, 2010

From left, York Mayo, Cleveland Burton, and J.M. “Buck” Upson

Sections Supplements

Business Community Takes Lead Role in Building a New Putnam

From left, York Mayo, Cleveland Burton, and J.M. “Buck” Upson stand in front of Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical High School in Springfield.

Construction is underway on a new Putnam High School in Springfield, a project that is being influenced in many ways by input and hands-on consulting from the business community. For those involved, it’s a labor of love, and a way to ensure that the new school is providing the kinds of training that can directly benefit several different sectors of the economy.

Last month, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical High School in Springfield, which will open its doors in the fall of 2012. And although replacing the 1938 building is a event worthy of celebration, there is a private project underway which is equally important in shaping the school’s future.
It’s called the Roger L. Putnam Technical Fund Inc. and was started in August 2008 by John Davis of the Irene and George Davis Foundation with the goal of insuring that students and staff in the new school have state-of-the-art equipment as well as support and guidance from industry and business leaders so they can succeed in their fields of endeavor.
A trio of ‘retired’ businessmen, York Mayo, J.M. “Buck” Upson, and Cleveland Burton, have been working tirelessly for two years to recruit people from the business community, forge mutually beneficial relationships, and raise $9 million in donations and/or equipment, which is the shortfall needed to purchase furniture, fixtures, and equipment to keep students in line with today’s technology.
“We don’t want to bring an old school into the new building. We are looking to the future and figuring out what changes need to be made to be more future-oriented,” Mayo said.
School officials are grateful for their efforts, which have resulted in significant donations and a veritable army of volunteers who came on board after touring the school and listening to presentations by students.
“Building a new building is one thing,” said School Superintendent Alan Ingram. “But it’s what takes place inside that affects our students. What’s exciting about this fund is the impact it will have on them, their lives, their futures, and the community. The crux of this [fund] is making sure that the work that takes place inside the building is relevant, is rigorous, and is predicated on relationships between the kids and the business community.”
Putnam’s senior vocational administrator, Fred Carrier, agrees. “Our students are going to work in industries, and if we don’t have vibrant relationships with businesses, we won’t be able to meet their needs,” he said.
Mayo, Upson, and Burton put in more than 50 volunteer hours a week collectively to meet their goals and hope other volunteers will join them. “There is no silver bullet,” said Upson. “It’s just hard work. We are putting in a lot of hours and working as agents of change by promoting the idea of having the business community get involved in government and education.”

Trade Deficits
Davis had thought about forming the Roger L. Putnam Technical Fund Inc. for several years. But when plans for a new school became immiment, he knew it was time to formulate a plan of action.
He modeled the Putnam fund after the Skyline Fund at Worcester Technical High School, which has raised more than $4 million in cash and more than $3.5 million in equipment donations since its inception in 2005.
Davis knows people who are involved with that program and thought it could be replicated locally.
“I was really impressed by the program and by how involved the business community is with it, and I knew it could be beneficial for Springfield,” he said.
“Technology is changing much more quickly than it did in the past, and although the students are enthusiastic, they need to have the right equipment and training.”
One of the first steps he took in establishing the Putnam fund was to recruit Mayo, who worked for American Saw (which was Davis family’s business) for 30 years before retiring and becoming an active community volunteer. He agreed to take over the helm after he toured Putnam in August 2008 and met with Ingram and Principal Kevin McCaskill.
“Kevin told me that, during his tenure, the school expanded from 900 students to 1,637, and the graduation rate went from 29% to 70%,” said Mayo. “The school now has 350 kids on the waiting list. And students in vocational regional schools in the state score higher on the MCAS on average than students in a purely academic school, even though they spend only half their time in those classes. I was so impressed and felt I could make a difference in the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of students by helping them get the right equipment.
“Our goal is to form entrustments with national companies who will lease equipment or sell it to the school at reduced prices,” he continued. “In exchange, they can use the school to show off the equipment to their clients.”
Mayo is dedicated to his role with Putnam. “We can’t sit back and criticize if we are not part of the solution,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s what we need to do to change our country. We can’t just pay educators and expect them to do the job. The business community has to make a sacrifice and become involved.”
Mayo noted that it’s critical for the business community to get involved, because over the next several years, thousands of Baby Boomers will be retiring, and those who will be entering the workforce must have the requisite skills to replace them.
That translates into opportunities for students in a number of vocations, including health fields. “Baystate [Health] says it will have thousands of jobs open due to expansion and retirements,” Mayo said, adding that Putnam has an Allied Health Trade program with 140 participants.
“The business community needs to align itself with Putnam and with Springfield Technical Community College and get involved,” he said. “The way to change the world is not by talking, but by having a vision. Ours is to get every business owner in our school because we want to make it the number-one vocational school in Massachusetts.”
Burton is another recruit from American Saw who worked in the Human Resources department as manager of employee relations for 36 years before retiring. “My role is to work with our business partners to make Putnam the best school on the planet,” he said. “We are looking beyond 2010 and are reinvigorating their advisory council. The new school will have four academies and 21 programs, and we are putting a business chair in charge of each department.”
The advisory committees are meeting on a regular basis to talk about what Burton calls “burning issues and opportunities for improvements in each program.
“Our focus is on students because they are the product of the school; we are going to enhance their programs and engagement because our goal is to have them in their career when they graduate,” he said. “It’s a lofty goal, but if we involve business partners and build the right program, by the time the students graduate, they will have gone through internships, cooperatives, and be employed.”

Parts of the Whole
The new school is designed to house 1,400 students, which is about 200 less than the current population. “It will be smaller, so there will be opportunity for more focus,” Burton said. “A lot of kids feel disconnected and don’t feel there is much opportunity for them. But we will accentuate the positive so the negative goes away. If we put the right processes and systems in place, we can make Putnam the school of choice in Hampden County. These young people are our future leaders, and we need to help pay the tab for them, just like someone paid for us. The clock is ticking, and if we don’t do it now, it won’t happen.”
One of the most successful strategies the team has employed is group tours. Over the past 15 months, organizers have conducted 34 tours of the school with 236 business people from 134 companies, and the results have been remarkable.
The tours include PowerPoint presentations by students which show what they are working on and what they would like to have in the school, as well as graphic layouts for the new floor plans.
Mayo said that when Jeb Balise, president of Balise Auto Sales, and four key employees who accompanied him on the tour saw the proposed layout of the equipment in the new school’s automotive-technology program, he recognized there was a real gap.
“He needs 40 technicians this year and can’t find them,” said Mayo. “He just completed his Honda store and invited his administrators to the presentation. They looked at our plans and showed us his plans. There was a gap, because he is looking to the future and we were still in the past. He offered to engage an architect to look at our plans and paid for it.”
The new design, which aligns with current industry standards, will be given to the architects working on Putnam, so they can make the necessary changes.
“This is what happens when you open schools to organizations,” Mayo continued. “It works beautifully and has resulted in donations from 11 companies and a half-million dollars in equipment so far.”
Carrier is thrilled with the success. “The tours have gotten so many people from the business community to become passionate about Putnam,” he said. “They have become involved with the life of Putnam and have opened up their doors to us for tours, internships, and cooperatives. We always had them, but the program has never been this rich.
“Parents and students are also realizing the trades are where the future is,” he continued. “ You can’t send plumbing or electrical work offshore. Those jobs will always be here.”
Another component of the program is to establish a partnership between the business and educational communities, which operate in two different realms. “The business community needs to learn the needs of the educational program, and they need to learn the needs of the business world,” Mayo said.
Carrier concurs. “It’s very important, and you always have to push to try to improve things. It’s very easy for educators to get complacent,” he said, adding that the school is conducting training sessions this summer on new pieces of equipment.

Lathe of the Land
Upson drives from Cape Cod every Monday morning to spend three days working at Putnam. The retired president and owner of Pioneer Tool in West Springfield is responsible for resurrecting the machine-technology program at Putnam three years ago.
He says that, although there are seven vocational schools in the Pioneer Valley, only 50 machinists were graduating from them, which was problematic, since two years ago, the UMass School of Business documented over 8,000 jobs in precision manufacturing in the Pioneer Valley, and a report by Northeastern University projects a growth of 100,000 jobs in that field in Massachusetts over the next 10 years.
“There are many Baby Boomers retiring and there is tremendous opportunity for educated students,” he said, adding that it is their hope that Putnam graduates will go to college, although it’s not required to work in the field. “Almost every shop in the Valley has tuition reimbursement,” he said. “These jobs pay high wages and offer profit sharing and excellent medical benefits.”
In order to get the program restarted, Upson sought help from former School Superintendent Joseph Burke, David Cruise of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, and the board of directors from the National Tool and Machining Assoc.
They had little to start with, except some machines recycled from the Springfield Armory used during World War II. But thanks to Upson and a dedicated staff, the program has grown, and this year 16 students were involved in a cooperative, which allowed them to work in the industry during the school year.
Smith & Wesson donated four machines to the program and promised a donation of $250,000 over five years. “They have been struggling for years to find qualified employees, as there are no apprentice shops anymore,” Upson said.
In fact, Smith & Wesson became so vested in Putnam that it hosted a meeting for area businesses last October and asked others to leverage the $250,000 it is donating.
“It was the largest assembly of manufacturing senior business owners in more than 50 years, said Upson. “It was a very successful fundraising initiative, and more than 50 companies attended. The L.S. Starrett Company in Athol made a $50,000 contribution in measuring devices, and ANCA donated a $100,000 cutter grinding machine.”
Upson said local firms are hoping Putnam will host a night program to allow workers to upgrade their skills on the new equipment. “Putnam will become a center for continuing education for the industry, in addition to educating 9th- to 12th-graders,” he said.
Since joining forces with the fund, Upson has also become involved with the graphic-arts program and has reached out to large and small shops to make sure the school’s curriculum parallels job skills needed in today’s world.
“There are plenty of things people in the business community can do if they are willing to volunteer,” he said.
Anyone interested is invited to contact Mayo at (413) 596-8634, or (413) 537-0197, or by e-mail at [email protected]

Editorial

By BusinessWest Staff July 5, 2010

Opinion

Creating More Jobs for Teens Is Critical

The numbers are alarming.
In 1999, more than half (52.5%) of Massachusetts teens ages 16 to 19 held paying jobs. By 2009, that number was down to 32.1%, and for the first four months of this year, it was 23.6%.
That figure will undoubtedly rise during the summer, when teen employment is traditionally at its highest, there is a trend emerging across the Bay State and it does bode well for our cities and towns: teens are just finding it increasingly difficult to find employment.
There are many reasons for this movement, the biggest being the economy and its many side effects.
While conditions have improved somewhat over the past few quarters, the recovery has been mostly a jobless one. This means that teens have competition for open jobs from thousands of unemployed individuals across the region. Meanwhile, ongoing concerns about the recovery and its relative staying power have left many business owners skittish about doing any additional hiring, even if they are part-time positions. Also, many companies learned during the downturn that could make do with fewer people in some offices or departments, and the fact that times are better doesn’t mean they’re going to become less lean.
Beyond the recession, there are certainly some other factors at play with this trend toward teen hiring. First, there are far fewer drug stores, hardware stores, and video stores for young people to work at, and fewer large businesses that have the flexibility to bring on help in the summertime. Another factor is the very real possibility that, when given the choice between hiring a retired Baby Boomer with good work habits and a desire to stay active and hiring a 17-year-old that is a largely unknown commodity, business owners are choosing the former — and who could blame them?
Whatever the reasons behind the trend, there are some real dangers to our region and its job market if it continues.
As Bill Ward, director of the Regional Employment Board, points out in the story that begins on page 6, jobs connect teens to the world of work. They introduce them to the workplace and, in most cases, compel them to become more responsible. It is while employed that young people learn the importance of showing up on time, being part of a team, and doing the best job they can — always.
But in the workplace, young people also learn from their elders. Every Baby Boomer remembers his or her first (or second, or third) job, and they recall more than the skills they acquired and the experiences they recorded, but also some life lessons from people 20, 30, 40, or more years older than they were.
All these things are missing from the equation when teens can’t gain employment.
That’s why it’s important for companies, often working in collaboration with agencies like the REB, to be diligent and imaginative in creating strategies that can create summer jobs or internship opportunities such as those created by Western Mass. Electric Co. and Big Y.
These programs not only help young people by giving them jobs, spending cash, money for college, and a chance to stay off the street and out of trouble. They also help the companies in question by introducing teens to those businesses and the career opportunities that can aspire to. They call these win-win scenarios.
This region and its business community face a number of challenges. Creating more jobs for teens may seem one that belongs far down on the page of priorities, but the reality is that addressing this problem now can lead to far fewer problems down the road.

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff June 21, 2010

Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
New England Broach Company Inc. v. Clarke Industrial Sales
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $55,679
Filed: 5/20/10

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Donald Graves, LLC v. Bennett Construction Company Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered: $9,140.43
Filed: 5/11/10

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
James Concannon v. Gentle Movers
Allegation: Breach of contract for moving and storage services: $200,000
Filed: 5/24/10

Kathy Crowley v. Pride Fuels Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $25,000+
Filed: 5/14/10

Naismith, LLC v. GFI Investments III Springfield Inc., John Deliso, and Steven E. Goodman
Allegation: Breach of contract and failure to pay: $1,804,368
Filed: 5/20/10

Sovereign Bank v. Travel Escapes Inc.
Allegation: Default on promissory note: $13,628.87
Filed: 5/12/10

Western New England Renal Transplant Associates, P.C. v. GE Healthcare Strategic Sourcing Corp.
Allegation: Breach of contract for billing services: $4,000,000+
Filed: 5/17/10

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Reikka Simula v. Almadan Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination based on age: $72,000
Filed: 6/3/10

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
F.W. Webb Co. v. Welch Plumbing and Gary F. Welch
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $7,967.17
Filed: 4/27/10

Graphic Enterprises Inc. v. Berkshire Westwood Graphics Group Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment on judgment: $16,334.50
Filed: 4/30/10

PALMER DISTRICT COURT
Barbara Loveling v. Joe Deans All Customs
Allegation: Breach of contract to restore Pontiac Firebird: $10,599.50
Filed: 5/25/10

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Comcast Spotlight Inc. v. Allied Career School
Allegation: Non-payment of advertising services rendered: $23,825.39
Filed: 5/11/10

Comcast Spotlight Inc. v. Goldcrafters Exchange
Allegation: Non-payment on advertising services rendered: $5,085.93
Filed: 5/14/10

Competitive Kitchen Designs Inc. v. Serge Construction
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $5,747.98
Filed: 5/5/10

Fairway Wholesale Corp. v. Chartier’s General Carpentry
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $2,654.43
Filed: 5/12/10

J.P. Noonan Transportation Inc. v. Quaboag Transfer Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment on judgment: $6,475.73
Filed: 5/12/10

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Absolute Fire Protection Inc. v. Sahil Hospitality Corp.
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered: $8,101.45
Filed: 4/30/10

Peole on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff June 21, 2010

Departments People on the Move

Michael Seward has joined Prudential Sawicki Real Estate in Amherst. He has been a Real Estate Agent since 2003 and a Real Estate Broker since 2005.
•••••
Emily Bryant has been promoted to Director of Sales at the Hampton Inn Springfield-South in Enfield, Conn.
•••••
Margaret A. Wheeler has joined the Law Practice of Attorneys Joseph P. Curran and Dan H. Berger. Wheeler has been an Immigration Attorney since 1997.
•••••
Alice E. Pizzi has joined the management employment law firm of Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn in Springfield.
•••••
David G. Ahearn has joined Greenfield Cooperative Bank as Vice President for Commercial Loans.
•••••
Paul Nicolai has been named to the Executive Committee of the Western Mass. Economic Development Council Board of Directors. He is President of the Nicolai Law Group in Springfield.
•••••
The WFCR Foundation announced the following:
• Marc Berman has been named President of the Board;
• Paul Friedmann has joined the board as a Director;
• Michael Miller has joined the board as a Director;
• James V. Staros has joined the board as a Director;
• Eva Thompson has joined the board as a Director; and
• Sarah Tanner has joined the board as an Adviser.
•••••
The Landmark Companies announced the following:
• Christopher Woods has joined the Wilbraham office;
• Nancy Hunt has joined the Wilbraham office;
• Ela Gomes has joined the Ludlow office;
• Elizabeth DeGray has joined the Ludlow office; and
• Gina Gelineau has joined the Dot Lortie-Springfield office.
•••••
W. F. Young Inc. of East Longmeadow announced the following
• Molly H. O’Brien has been named Advertising Supervisor, Equine Health Care Products. She will be responsible for the creation, execution, and media placement for Absorbine horse-care products, as well as the Equine America brand. She will also collaborate with the company’s advertising agency and creative team to implement strategic branding and creative execution to promote the company’s equine products throughout the world; and
• Vicki Evans has been promoted to Vice President, Controller.
•••••
Michael J. Roy, Esq. has joined Easthampton Savings Bank as the Compliance Officer. He will be responsible for overseeing the bank’s compliance program. His responsibilities will include implementing, amending, or creating compliance policies and assisting with federal and state regulator compliance exams. Roy will also function as the in-house expert for all applicable federal and state banking laws and regulations.
•••••
Chicopee Savings Bank announced the following:
• Cidalia Inacio has joined the organization as the Senior Vice President of Retail Banking;
• Alyse Ramalho has joined the organization as the Senior Vice President of Retail Lending; and
• Henry Downey has joined the organization as an Assistant Vice President of Commercial Lending.
•••••
Susan Dixon, M.D. has been appointed to the medical staff at the Brattleboro Retreat in Brattleboro, Vt. Dixon is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and will spend the majority of her clinical time working with adolescent inpatients.
•••••
Bertram W. Gardner IV, AIA, of Caolo & Bieniek Associates Inc. in Chicopee, recently was granted reciprocity as an Architect by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Gardner is also a licensed Architect in New Jersey.
•••••
The Home Builders Assoc. of Mass. announced the following:
• Walter Tomala Jr. will serve as President of the organization from now through 2011;
• John DeShazo will serve as President-Elect of the organization;
• Michael McDowell will serve as Senior Vice President of the organization;
• Christopher Lund will serve as Vice President of the organization;
• Dwight Thompson will serve as Treasurer of the organization; and
• Robin Ward will serve as Secretary of the organization.

By BusinessWest Staff June 21, 2010

Departments

SPHS Lays Off 135

SPRINGFIELD — Citing severe economic challenges in the first several months of 2010, the Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS) has eliminated 135 full-time-equivalent positions across the system. “Like most health systems and hospitals in the region, state, and nation, SPHS is experiencing a decline in patient volume and continuing challenges with reimbursement levels that, for some services, do not adequately cover the cost of providing care,” according to an SPHS statement. “Factors such as increased health insurance deductibles and co-pays, coupled with general concern regarding the economy, appear to be causing a delay of non-urgent medical care and health services that is influencing this downward trend in volume,” the statement continues. “Without proactive changes in operations, SPHS would incur a projected budget shortfall of $14 million for 2010. Specific to Mercy Medical Center, year-to-date volume reflects that discharges are 8% below budget, and outpatient volume is 7% below budget.” The most significant impact of the layoffs will be on inpatient support staffing responsibilities at Mercy, due to the elimination of 63 patient care technician positions. This change will allow the retention of bedside, licensed nursing staff and allow nurse-patient ratios to remain at current, planned levels, “but will not impact care quality or patient safety,” the health system asserts. In addition to the elimination of positions at Mercy and across SPHS, including administrative positions, several other cost-saving measures are being taken to help improve the health system’s financial performance. For example, the overall salary increase program for 2010 is being suspended, and the internal employee referral bonus program is being discontinued. Other initiatives to help improve the system’s fiscal outlook include the renegotiation of service and vendor contracts at lower rates, the sublease of unused space in off-campus locations, and revenue-enhancement opportunities such as an increase in grant funding. “We deeply regret that the reduction of jobs is necessary,” said Dr. William Bithoney, interim president and CEO of SPHS. “The decision to make these changes has been difficult and the subject of a lengthy discernment process. Several potential alternatives were evaluated. However, we believe the course of action selected is the best for patients, residents, and clients, and for continuity of the SPHS mission. These changes reflect good stewardship and prudent management that will focus resources on the most important aspects of high-quality patient care. Providing high-quality care remains our focus and primary concern. Our clinical and nursing standards remain unchanged, and we continue to provide those we serve with the highest-quality care.”

Survey: Hiring Outlook in U.S. Gains Momentum

MILWAUKEE — U.S. employers anticipate favorable hiring plans for the third quarter of 2010, marking three straight quarters of positive survey findings, according to the seasonally adjusted results of the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly by Manpower Inc. Employers provided a seasonally adjusted outlook of +6%, up from -2% during the same period last year. According to the survey, 98% of U.S. states have a positive hiring outlook, and 95 of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas have a positive outlook for the third quarter. Of the more than 18,000 employers surveyed, 18% anticipate an increase in staff levels in their third-quarter hiring plans, while 8% expect a decrease in payrolls, resulting in a net employment outlook of +10%. When seasonally adjusted, the net employment outlook becomes +6%. More than two-thirds of employers (70%) expect no change in their hiring plans. The final 4% of employers indicate that they are undecided about their hiring intentions. Employers in 11 of the 13 industry sectors surveyed have a positive outlook for the third quarter: leisure and hospitality, +20%; mining, +17%; professional and business services, +15%; wholesale and retail trade, +15%; nondurable goods manufacturing, +12%; financial activities, +11%; information, +10%; durable-goods manufacturing, +9%; transportation and utilities, +9%; construction, +8%; and other services, +8%. The July-September outlook is -2% for two of the surveyed sectors — education and health services and government. Compared to one year ago, surveyed employers in all four U.S. geographic regions anticipate hiring increases. Employers in the Northeast have the brightest hiring intentions, with a net employment outlook of +9%. When adjusting for seasonal variations, Midwest employers report the strongest shift for the third quarter of 2010, with a considerable increase in confidence year-over-year and a slight increase quarter-over-quarter. Compared to the second quarter of 2010, employment prospects are stable in the Northeast and South, while slightly slackening in the West. The net employment outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

Federalization of SHA Sites Yields $15M Impact

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Housing Authority (SHA) recently announced the federalization of the Robinson Gardens, Reed Village, and Duggan Park developments, which will lead to more than $15 million in improvements to bring them up to HUD standards. Contracts have been bid and awarded to several local companies for design services, construction supervision, and physical improvements. Funding sources for the new construction include $1.8 million awarded to the SHA under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and $13.1 million awarded to the SHA by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Housing and Community Development. During a recent press conference, Richard A. Walega, HUD’s New England regional director, noted that Springfield led the commonwealth in converting state projects into federal developments. “That’s a win for today’s tenants and a win for preserving affordable housing for future generations,” said Walega. The SHA is the third-largest housing authority in Massachusetts, with more than 2,300 housing units spread over 27 sites.

National Jobless Claims Fall

WASHINGTON — In the week ending June 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims nationwide was 456,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 459,000. The four-week moving average was 463,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 460,500. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending May 29, a decrease of 0.2% from the prior week’s revised rate of 3.7%. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 29 was 4,462,000, a decrease of 255,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,717,000.

State: May Revenues Strong, but $70 Million Below Benchmark

BOSTON — The state Department of Revenue (DOR) recently released its May revenue report showing a monthly collection of $1.573 billion, which was $292 million better than a year ago but insufficient to make up for all of the revenue loss experienced in April due to the filing extension to May 11. As a result, with one month left before the close of the fiscal year June 30, year-to-date collections are $70 million below the benchmark. DOR Commissioner Navjeet K. Bal noted that personal income-tax withholding and 2010 estimated payments, as well as sales and use tax and corporate collections, all of which are good indicators of a continued economic turnaround, were above the benchmark. Bal added that shortfalls for the combined April/May period in payments with 2009 returns and extensions probably reflect a decline in capital gains due to past economic performance, which caused the overall year-to-date below-benchmark performance.

By BusinessWest Staff June 21, 2010

Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT

New England Broach Company Inc. v. Clarke Industrial Sales
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $55,679
Filed: 5/20/10

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Donald Graves, LLC v. Bennett Construction Company Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered: $9,140.43
Filed: 5/11/10

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

James Concannon v. Gentle Movers
Allegation: Breach of contract for moving and storage services: $200,000
Filed: 5/24/10

Kathy Crowley v. Pride Fuels Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $25,000+
Filed: 5/14/10

Naismith, LLC v. GFI Investments III Springfield Inc., John Deliso, and Steven E. Goodman
Allegation: Breach of contract and failure to pay: $1,804,368
Filed: 5/20/10

Sovereign Bank v. Travel Escapes Inc.
Allegation: Default on promissory note: $13,628.87
Filed: 5/12/10

Western New England Renal Transplant Associates, P.C. v. GE Healthcare Strategic Sourcing Corp.
Allegation: Breach of contract for billing services: $4,000,000+
Filed: 5/17/10

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Reikka Simula v. Almadan Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination based on age: $72,000
Filed: 6/3/10

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT

F.W. Webb Co. v. Welch Plumbing and Gary F. Welch
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $7,967.17
Filed: 4/27/10

Graphic Enterprises Inc. v. Berkshire Westwood Graphics Group Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment on judgment: $16,334.50
Filed: 4/30/10

PALMER DISTRICT COURT

Barbara Loveling v. Joe Deans All Customs
Allegation: Breach of contract to restore Pontiac Firebird: $10,599.50
Filed: 5/25/10

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Comcast Spotlight Inc. v. Allied Career School
Allegation: Non-payment of advertising services rendered: $23,825.39
Filed: 5/11/10

Comcast Spotlight Inc. v. Goldcrafters Exchange
Allegation: Non-payment on advertising services rendered: $5,085.93
Filed: 5/14/10

Competitive Kitchen Designs Inc. v. Serge Construction
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $5,747.98
Filed: 5/5/10

Fairway Wholesale Corp. v. Chartier’s General Carpentry
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $2,654.43
Filed: 5/12/10

J.P. Noonan Transportation Inc. v. Quaboag Transfer Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment on judgment: $6,475.73
Filed: 5/12/10

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Absolute Fire Protection Inc. v. Sahil Hospitality Corp.
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered: $8,101.45
Filed: 4/30/10

By BusinessWest Staff June 21, 2010

Departments

Michael Seward has joined Prudential Sawicki Real Estate in Amherst. He has been a Real Estate Agent since 2003 and a Real Estate Broker since 2005.

•••••

Emily Bryant has been promoted to Director of Sales at the Hampton Inn Springfield-South in Enfield, Conn.

•••••

Margaret A. Wheeler has joined the Law Practice of Attorneys Joseph P. Curran and Dan H. Berger. Wheeler has been an Immigration Attorney since 1997.

•••••

Alice E. Pizzi has joined the management employment law firm of Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn in Springfield.

•••••

David G. Ahearn has joined Greenfield Cooperative Bank as Vice President for Commercial Loans.

•••••

Paul Nicolai has been named to the Executive Committee of the Western Mass. Economic Development Council Board of Directors. He is President of the Nicolai Law Group in Springfield.

•••••

The WFCR Foundation announced the following:
• Marc Berman has been named President of the Board;
• Paul Friedmann has joined the board as a Director;
• Michael Miller has joined the board as a Director;
• James V. Staros has joined the board as a Director;
• Eva Thompson has joined the board as a Director; and
• Sarah Tanner has joined the board as an Adviser.

•••••

The Landmark Companies announced the following:
• Christopher Woods has joined the Wilbraham office;
• Nancy Hunt has joined the Wilbraham office;
• Ela Gomes has joined the Ludlow office;
• Elizabeth DeGray has joined the Ludlow office; and
• Gina Gelineau has joined the Dot Lortie-Springfield office.

•••••

W. F. Young Inc. of East Longmeadow announced the following
• Molly H. O’Brien has been named Advertising Supervisor, Equine Health Care Products. She will be responsible for the creation, execution, and media placement for Absorbine horse-care products, as well as the Equine America brand. She will also collaborate with the company’s advertising agency and creative team to implement strategic branding and creative execution to promote the company’s equine products throughout the world; and
• Vicki Evans has been promoted to Vice President, Controller.

•••••

Michael J. Roy, Esq. has joined Easthampton Savings Bank as the Compliance Officer. He will be responsible for overseeing the bank’s compliance program. His responsibilities will include implementing, amending, or creating compliance policies and assisting with federal and state regulator compliance exams. Roy will also function as the in-house expert for all applicable federal and state banking laws and regulations.

•••••

Chicopee Savings Bank announced the following:
• Cidalia Inacio has joined the organization as the Senior Vice President of Retail Banking;
• Alyse Ramalho has joined the organization as the Senior Vice President of Retail Lending; and
• Henry Downey has joined the organization as an Assistant Vice President of Commercial Lending.

•••••

Susan Dixon, M.D. has been appointed to the medical staff at the Brattleboro Retreat in Brattleboro, Vt. Dixon is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and will spend the majority of her clinical time working with adolescent inpatients.

•••••

Bertram W. Gardner IV, AIA, of Caolo & Bieniek Associates Inc. in Chicopee, recently was granted reciprocity as an Architect by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Gardner is also a licensed Architect in New Jersey.

•••••

The Home Builders Assoc. of Mass. announced the following:
• Walter Tomala Jr. will serve as President of the organization from now through 2011;
• John DeShazo will serve as President-Elect of the organization;
• Michael McDowell will serve as Senior Vice President of the organization;
• Christopher Lund will serve as Vice President of the organization;
• Dwight Thompson will serve as Treasurer of the organization; and
• Robin Ward will serve as Secretary of the organization.

How About a Union Station Casino?

By BusinessWest Staff June 7, 2010

Opinion

By GERRY FITZGERALD
Now that it’s certain that casinos are coming to Massachusetts, it may be time to start considering seriously where a Western Mass. casino should be sited. In spite of the constant PR drumbeat coming out of Palmer over the past year, the siting of a local casino is an important issue and should not be decided by the noise level generated by developers with an entirely vested interest in the decision.
The Western Mass. location where a casino would bring the greatest benefit to the area as a whole, and to a host community with the greatest needs and the greatest payback, is readily apparent. And it certainly isn’t Palmer. Granted, Palmer is a nice little town with the same problems of many other little towns in Western Mass., but simply having a large tract of open land somewhere near a turnpike exit doesn’t make it the optimum site for a casino.
Springfield is the economic engine that powers Western Mass. A financially healthy Springfield of rising property values, a vibrant school system, rising employment opportunities for its growing minority population, and a revitalized downtown benefits all of Western Mass. These are benefits that a well-conceived, well-managed, visionary casino relationship could bring to Springfield.
With an agreement that the casino gives job preference and training opportunities to Springfield residents first, the people and neighborhoods most in need of an economic hand up — not a handout — will receive it, with dignity and a sense of pride, and just as importantly, they get the opportunity to work in their own community, with the ability to get to work every day by public transportation.
A revitalized, vibrant downtown community can also come with the new casino development. This is the hard part. Locating an $800 million casino in downtown Springfield requires vision and fortitude. But it should be the easiest part, because the key component that satisfies all the requirements of an optimum Western Mass. casino site has been sitting vacant for more than 40 years, waiting for an opportunity big enough to match its economic potential — Union Station.
A huge parcel of prime downtown real estate, Union Station sits unused and undeveloped — but not for lack of trying. Countless commissions have taken a crack at designing a future for Union Station, with a new proposal coming along every few years, complete with the same artist renderings and vague notions of intermodal transportation and retail and commercial office ventures. Mercifully, the latest plan at least spared us the farmers’-market component of previous proposals. But the fact is that nothing will ever go on that site that will generate 2,000 construction jobs, 3,000 permanent jobs, and a multi-million-dollar annual contribution to the city’s treasury, and bring an average of 10,000 visitors per day to downtown Springfield. A casino would.
It is also a unique and exciting opportunity for a casino operator. Come to Springfield and build an $800 million, 40-story, luxury resort hotel and casino, and we’ll give you the site at Union Station, and you’ll also have an Amtrak station in your hotel lobby, with ‘casino trains’ running on the hour from New York City, bringing in gamblers from New York, Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford.
A Union Station casino (it even comes with a perfect brand name) wouldn’t be the demise of Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, but it would most certainly take a very serious gouge out of Fox-Mo’s significant I-91, Southern Conn./ New York business, turn their Albany traffic to a trickle, and keep at home the important Western Mass business. From New York, Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Albany, and points beyond, Springfield is far easier and faster to get to by car, train, or airplane, and has much more to offer gamblers beyond the tables and slots than does a clearing in the woods. A world-class, major resort casino in downtown Springfield is an absolute nightmare for Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
A Union Station casino brings people and business to downtown Springfield and the surrounding area. It brings convention business to the Mass Mutual Center (instead of losing it a to Palmer facility), brings visitors to the Basketball Hall of Fame and its restaurants, and attracts people to the museums, Symphony Hall, CityStage, Six Flags, the Big E, and area restaurants, hotels, and stores. And most of all, it puts Springfield’s citizens to work, in their own community, at a location at the heart of the public-transportation system. An opportunity like this will never again be available to Springfield.

Gerry FitzGerald is president of FitzGerald & Mastroianni Advertising Inc. in Springfield.

The Birth of an Audit

By BusinessWest Staff June 7, 2010

Sections Supplements

If You Think the IRS Is Becoming Too Lenient, Think Again

When preparing your tax information annually, does the likelihood of an audit cross your mind?The IRS feels that businesses and individuals may have become slightly lax in their record keeping due to a decreased presence of auditors. They believe this lack of compliance has led to a significant tax ‘gap,’ i.e., the difference between the tax the IRS estimates is due and the amount actually paid by taxpayers.
In response, the IRS has increased its number of audits. Many of these audits are under various ‘tax-audit initiatives,’ which are intended to provide data for the National Research Program (NRP) study of tax compliance.
One area of focus is cash-intensive businesses. A cash-intensive business is one that receives a significant amount of receipts in cash. This can be a business such as a restaurant, grocery, or convenience store that handles a high volume of small-dollar transactions. It can also be an industry that provides cash payments for services, such as construction or trucking, where independent contract workers are generally paid in cash.
The IRS has posted an Audit Techniques Guide (ATG) to provide guidance to its agents on how to examine income in a cash-intensive business. While the ATG is not an official pronouncement of the law or the IRS’ position (and cannot be used, cited, or relied upon as such), it does provide valuable information to practitioners and taxpayers on how the IRS audits cash-intensive businesses, including specific types of cash businesses.
The ATG notes that the income-tax gap is thought to be in the hundreds of billion of dollars. In part, this may be because there is an increasing underreporting of income by those taxpayers with the ability to determine their own reported income, such as businesses that receive most of their income in cash. Cash transactions are anonymous, leaving no trail to connect the purchaser to the seller, which may lead some individuals to believe that cash receipts can be unreported and escape detection.
The ATG observes that there are three main ways to misappropriate cash from a business:
• it can be skimmed from receipts before it is recorded;
• it can be stolen after it has been recorded; and
• a fraudulent disbursement can be created.
The ATG states that the most significant indicator that income has been underreported is a consistent pattern of losses or low profit percentages that seem insufficient to sustain the business or its owners. Other indicators of unreported income include:
• a lifestyle or cost of living that can’t be supported by the income reported;
• a business that continues to operate despite losses year after year, with no apparent solution to correct the situation;
• application of the cash-transaction examination method shows a deficit of funds;
• bank balances, debit-card balances, and liquid investments increase annually despite reporting of low net profits or losses;
• accumulated assets increase even though the reported net profits are low or there’s a loss;
• debt balances decrease, remain relatively low, or don’t increase, but low profits or losses are reported;
• a significant difference exists between the taxpayer’s gross profit margin and that of his industry; and
• unusually low annual sales for the business type.
The ATG stresses that examination techniques must be tailored to provide for the best analysis of a specific taxpayer’s possible income stream. There are several techniques that can be used successfully when working with cash-intensive businesses.
First, a financial status analysis, including both business and personal financial activities, should be done, the ATG advises. This is a required minimum-income probe. If it shows an imbalance in the cash flows indicative of underreported income, an examiner is told to request clarification or explanation from the taxpayer before beginning the use of an indirect method.
Indirect methods, such as source and application of funds or bank-deposit and cash-expenditures analysis, can be used to confirm the amount of any understatement.
The ATG says that the most critical aspects to successfully examining a cash-intensive businesses is the gathering of information about how the taxpayer conducts business, documenting cash inflows and outflows, and conducting a detailed interview with the owner of the business relating to business and non-business cash receipts and cash expenditures.
In addition to their focus on cash-intensive businesses, auditors are focusing on several other items, which in recent years were frequently not considered in audits. These include:
• Adequate substantiation of meals and entertainment expenses, including a record of who the expense was with, their business relationship, business conducted immediately before or during the meal or event, and supporting documentation.
• Establishing the business purpose of ordinary expenses, including airplane travel, vehicle expenses, membership dues, and external office expenses. The substantiation requires more than bank statements, credit-card statements, and canceled checks. For example, the IRS has long required that written records be maintained to document the business use of vehicles. They are now routinely requesting these auto logs, gas and repair receipts, and calculations of reimbursements.
• Employment tax compliance. This will mark the first such study conducted by the IRS since 1984. The IRS is expected to focus on the following five employment tax issues:
• worker classification (employee vs. independent contractor);
• fringe benefits;
• officer’s compensation;
• reimbursed expenses; and
• non-filers.
The initiative is intended to help reduce the size of the tax gap.
In many instances, the IRS is quick to assess accuracy-related penalties in addition to penalties for late payment of tax when items of income are erroneously omitted and unsustainable deductions claimed.
So gather up your receipts and other documentation, keep good notes, and resurrect that auto log. If you need assistance in clarifying the substantiation requirements for any expense or the proper use of an auto log, be sure to speak to your accountant or tax adviser. The little bit of pain you endure now in keeping good substantiation will save you the pain of writing a significant check to the IRS in the future.

Sean Wandrei is a tax manager with Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. His technical concentrations are in multi-state taxation as well as real-estate entities; (413) 536-8510.

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff June 7, 2010

Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT
Baystate Environmental Consultants Inc. v. Creative Design Custom Homes
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered and breach of contract: $10,063.45
Filed: 3/10/10

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
Charles F. Emmins v. The Princeton Review Inc.
Allegation: Defendant has failed to pay plaintiff his earned annual bonus: $143,830.25
Filed: 4/22/10

Rocky Mountain Transportation Services Inc. v. Pacific Northeast Wood Co.
Allegation: Non-payment on judgment: $87,488.41
Filed: 4/11/10

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Pioneer Supply Corp.
Allegation: Non-payment on retail installment agreement: $6,728.33
Filed: 4/16/10

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
ATC Associates v. New England Land & Lumber Corp.
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered: $46,928.64
Filed: 4/16/10

James & Deborah Blaney v. Pioneer Valley Rider Training
Allegation: Negligence in operation of motorcycle training program, causing personal injury: $84,132.33
Filed: 4/8/10

Point Staffing Services v. Klein Industries Inc.
Allegaton: Non-payment of goods and staffing services: $48,957.60
Filed: 4/20/10
Shalisa Keyes v. Springfield Water & Sewer Commission
Allegation: Failure to maintain sewer line, causing property damage to home: $8,900
Filed: 4/30/10

Theodora Wilderspin v. Behavioral Health Network Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $31,896.30
Filed: 4/27/10

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
American Express Bank FSB v. Motion Automotive Specialty
Allegation: Non-payment of monies loaned: $25,684.64
Filed: 4/30/10

D.F. Plumbing and Mechanical Inc. v. Ryan & Company Builders Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of services, labor, materials, and fixtures: $22,706.29
Filed: 4/28/10

R.A. Novia and Associates, LLC. v. M.J. Moron Inc. and Western Surety Co.
Allegation: Failure to pay amounts due on a contract for services and materials provided for the Ford Hall Science Building at Smith College: $40,000
Filed: 4/22/10

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Dana Carpenter v. National Grid
Allegation: Recovering costs of improvement made to correct defendant’s problem with aerial trespass and insufficient voltage: $15,000
Filed: 4/22/10

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Bank of America v. Gaw’s Auto Body Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment on line of credit: $28,135.80
Filed: 4/1/10

Daniel J. Laughlin v. Home City Housing Inc.
Allegation: Breach of management agreement: $10,000
Filed: 4/20/10

Howden Buffalo Inc. v. LDH Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $20,680.57
Filed: 4/15/10

Impronta Italgranita USA Inc. v. Creations Factory Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $3,438.09
Filed: 4/20/10

John S. Lane Inc. v. Roger Trucking Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of materials purchased on credit account: $3,038.93
Filed: 3/29/10

Norman L. Youtsey v. Avibank Mfg. Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay commission: $20,000
Filed: 4/5/10

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
T.J. Bark Mulch Inc. v. Ryan Landscaping and Lawn Care
Allegation: Non-payment for merchandise received: $6,055
Filed: 4/20/10

William Sitler v. The Ranch Golf Club and Sunnyside Ranch Estates, LLC
Allegation: Negligence in construction and maintenance of golf course and Pond View Lane, causing road collapse and personal injury: $24,794.98
Filed: 4/15/10

Forging Ahead

By BusinessWest Staff June 7, 2010

Cover Story

STCC/UMass Partnership Created to Take Incubator to
the Next Level

COVERart6.10a

Springfield Technical Community College and UMass Amherst have announced a partnership involving the Springfield Incubator in the Scibelli Enterprise Center on the STCC campus. The collaborative effort is expected to breathe new life into a facility that has struggled — due in large part to the economy and the loss of a $500,000 state subsidy — while also increasing the university’s presence in Springfield.

Marla Michel and Ira Rubenzahl were trying — but not ultimately succeeding — in their efforts to come up with a single word to describe what they’re doing with the Scibelli Enterprise Center in the Technology Park at Springfield Technical Community College.
Both thought ‘reinvent’ was too strong a word and, overall, not accurate, since the basic operating model for the facility won’t change appreciably. Also cast aside were ‘reposition’ and ‘rebrand’ — they don’t really tell the whole story, they said — and while Michel appeared to like ‘rejuvenate,’ the two ultimately decided they would need phrases, not a single word, to convey their intentions.
“We’re going to take things to a much higher level,” said Rubenzahl, STCC’s president, as he talked about the Enterprise Center and the Springfield Incubator it houses, home to a few small businesses (clients) and several business-support agencies, and which will now be operated in partnership with UMass Amherst.
Michel, who works for the university as executive director of Strategic Communications and Outreach, and who also now directs the incubator as a shared executive, went further.
“We want this to be the entrepreneurial hub of Western Mass.,” she said, noting that her broad plan is to take the center, which opened a decade ago but has struggled in recent years with declining occupancy, from being a purely mixed-use facility — meaning that it has incubated ventures across many business sectors — to a ‘modified mixed-use’ center, or home to only IT-enabled companies and different kinds of ‘green’ enterprises.
She’ll start with a venture called Texifter, LLC, a spinoff company based on text-analysis research conducted by Stuart Shulman, a professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst. Describing his business in broad, simple terms, Shulman said they are “power tools for language” that, as the company’s contrived name indicates, allow users to sift through text — large amounts of it.
Texifter software and techniques can help government officials, academic and legal researchers, non-governmental organizations, and corporate employees make searching, sorting, and analyzing large numbers of documents far more manageable, he explained, adding that the company now has a small staff and is moving out of the research-and-development stage and into the contract-procurement stage, said Shulman, who spoke with BusinessWest from Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington after talking with representatives from several government agencies about how his products can help them.
This makes Texifter exactly the kind of venture with which Michel is hoping to fill the many available suites at the incubator.
To grow the tenant population, Michel intends to aggressively market the incubator, which many small businesses, operating in basements, attics, and garages, probably don’t know about. While making them aware through a variety of vehicles, from social-media outlets to direct communication with area colleges whose students and faculty members have become entrepreneurs, Michel will also work to inform them about the benefits of incubation. And she says there are many.
“Research shows that 67% of companies that are incubated succeed, while for those that are not, it’s less than half,” she said. Thus, a part of her job description will be work to convince entrepreneurs looking for space to grow to look for an incubator and not simply square footage in an office building.
For this issue, BusinessWest looks at how the new partnership between STCC and UMass Amherst evolved, and why officials at both schools believe the collaboration will enable Michel to achieve that goal of making this the entrepreneurial hub of Western Mass.

Schools of Thought
Rubenzahl said there were a number of factors that brought the two schools together several months ago in discussions about the enterprise center. Chief among them was the fact that the facility had hit a wall of sorts in its efforts to attract and effectively incubate clients, and for several reasons.
First, STCC lost its $530,000 state subsidy for the center — which paid for staff and operating costs — in the wake of massive budget cuts across the public college system stemming from the economic downturn and its harsh impact on revenues to the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, the recession also took a toll on entrepreneurs trying to take their companies to the proverbial next level; many were slowed in their development due in large part to difficulties obtaining financing, and thus were not willing to take on the costs of moving into commercial real estate, he continued.
“Companies can’t get started without financing,” he said. “We would have more startups if entrepreneurs could get the money they need to get started.”
There were also some staff changes and turnover in leadership positions at the center, said Rubenzahl, adding that, collectively, these factors provided what he called “an opportunity to revisit” the facility and plan its future.
And as he did so, Rubenzahl recalled reading somewhere that in the original legislation for the technology park at STCC, opened in 1996, there was wording to the effect that UMass Amherst should be considered as a potential partner in that venture. This recollection, reinforced with suggestions from others to initiate a dialogue with the state university, prompted Rubenzahl to commence talks with Tim Milligan, executive vice chancellor for University Relations, and John Mullin, dean of the university’s graduate school, director of the Center for Economic Development, and point person for the so-called Springfield Initiative, the university’s ongoing efforts to increase its visibility and impact in the City of Homes.
Mullin told BusinessWest that the incubator project touches on at least a few of the primary goals for the initiative, including the twin desires to be more visible and to bring more of its spinoff companies to Springfield and its suburbs (see related story, page 9).
He recalls meeting last fall with Paul Stelzer, president of Appleton Corp., which manages the SEC and tech park, about ways to partner on the incubator and create momentum there. “Very gradually, a couple of things morphed,” he said, “including the idea of the university directing startups to the incubator, and the other was providing someone who would be a coordinator or manager.”
Fast-forwarding a little, Rubenzahl and Michel said these initial talks eventually led to the creation of a formal partnership that involves a ‘what,’ a ‘who,’ and a ‘how.’ The ‘who’ would be Michel, who has been part of several economic-development-related initiatives at UMass, including efforts to take research from the laboratories to area communities. She will now split her time between the university and the incubator, with the institutions splitting her salary.
The ‘what’ would be a collaborative effort between the college and the university to make the incubator a bigger economic force in the region. Doing so would serve many different purposes, said Michel, listing everything from potential job growth to giving the university a still-greater role in economic-development efforts in the region.
As for the ‘how,’ as in how to make the facility the entrepreneurial hub of Western Mass., Michel says she plans to utilize all the resources and connections available to her to bring more, and higher-quality, clients to the incubator. Creating this critical mass will achieve many goals, from making the facility far more self-sustainable (more on that later) to making the incubator a desired landing spot for entrepreneurs.
Moving forward, the operating model will remain essentially the same, said Michel, noting that this means attracting clients with sound business plans and growth potential, properly incubating them, or giving them the help they need to get to the next level through the agencies in the SEC and three-person advisory boards assigned to each client, and then ‘graduating’ them into the community in two or three years and using their spaces to assist more small businesses.
“This is the model that (former STCC President) Andrew Scibelli created,” said Michel, “and we don’t have to change it; it works.”

Getting Down to Business
What will change, however, is the makeup of the incubator’s clientele. Indeed,
to make her vision for the incubator become reality, Michel wants to recruit more companies like Texifter, which fits the profile for the preferred client in a number of ways. For starters, it can take advantage of the extensive fiber-optic infrastructure that runs through the technology park. Also, it is technology-enabled, has strong growth potential, is ready to move from R&D into the sales and marketing phase, can clearly benefit from being in the incubator and around business-support agencies, and may soon to be in a position to hire STCC students and graduates.
“This is the kind of company we’re trying to attract, and we believe there are many that fit this profile,” Michel said, noting that UMass Amherst probably has several spinoffs that already meet this description or soon will. Technology-related companies are a prime target, as are certain types of ‘green’ ventures, she said, noting that what are known as ‘green-technology companies’ may not be suitable for this type of incubator because of the long periods of time it takes to move products from the drawing board to reality.
Shulman has spent a number of years in the R&D stage, perhaps 10 by his count, but is now ready to move forward. He has one employee at present, but he hopes to have five within a year and perhaps 15 in two years. The growth rate will largely be determined by how many clients, especially government agencies, the company can add as either a primary contractor or subcontractor with other text-analysis companies. That’s why he was in Washington the day he spoke with BusinessWest.
“I was making presentations to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Labor & Statistics, and others,” he said. “They all have one form or another of a common problem: either large piles of small documents or small piles of large documents. We’re trying to build search engines to get around document piles.”
One challenge facing Michel as she sets out to lease up the incubator is finding such companies. There are many out there, but some keep a low profile, she said, adding that UMass spinoffs like Texifter will obviously be among the primary targets.
Another challenge will then be to convince such companies to come to Springfield and the incubator, she continued, noting that it will be her job to sell the entrepreneurs in question on the benefits of incubation. Overall, she doesn’t think it will be a hard sell.
For starters, she said that, while operating out of one’s basement or garage may be cheap, it’s not an effective way to grow a business. The Springfield Incubator provides clients with facilities they simply couldn’t have in their home, such as a shared receptionist and conference rooms, and close access to agencies such as the Small Business Administration, the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network, and SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives.
There are also more far-reaching advantages. Quoting statistics provided by the National Business Incubator Assoc. (NBIA), Michel said that incubation substantially reduces the risk of small-business failure. According to a report called “Incubation Works,” “historically, NBIA-member incubators have reported that 87% of all firms that have graduated from their incubators are still in business.”
There are benefits for the community, as well, she continued, citing more MBIA stats showing that, in 2005 alone, “North American incubators assisted more than 27,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for more than 100,000 workers and generated annual revenue of more than $17 billion.” Also, research has shown that 84% of incubator graduates stay in their communities.
The primary goal at the SEC will to make the incubator self-sustainable, or at least much more so than it has been historically, said Michel, noting that most incubators receive some sort of support — be it state, federal, or both — and the Springfield facility will certainly be aggressive in pursuit of such support.
And this is a good time to be doing so, she continued, adding that the federal government is putting additional emphasis on supporting innovation, and is making funds available to incubators and also companies like Texifter.
Indeed, Shulman said his venture will soon receive funding from the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which he expects will help the company add staff and gain government contracts.
“The way the program manager describes it, the U.S. governments wants to invest in companies it wants to see succeed, but without taking any equity,” he said. “We’ll get $100,000 on July 1, and that could grow to $150,000 by the end of a six-month period. Then we’ll be eligible to get another $50,000 if we can bring in $50,000 from another source between now and Oct. 15. All told, we can get $200,000 from SBIR that will allow us to hire some programmers and pay lawyers to do something other than borrow cash.”
Meanwhile, Rubenzahl said the timing is also right as far as entrepreneurs stepping forward with new concepts, many of them out of sheer necessity, with the recovery taking on a decidedly jobless look and feel.

Room for Growth
At a packed press conference at the SEC to announce the partnership between STCC and UMass, Shulman was one of the final speakers to reach the podium. He talked at some length about what his company does (always a fairly difficult task), and then about what brought him to the incubator, specifically the physical space, but also, more importantly, the support he’ll find inside the facility.
Then, speaking for every entrepreneur who’s ever signed the front of a paycheck, he said that getting a venture off the ground isn’t anywhere near as easy as it might look.
“It is scary being a startup,” he told those assembled. “I have to admit that there was a month or two there when I woke up every morning sick to my stomach. I suppose it’s only going to get worse, but having this resource here has made it possible to forge on.”
In many ways, those last few words can also be used to describe how the STCC/UMass partnership will breathe new life into a facility that has always had vast potential.
One term won’t suffice, but ‘forge on’ does it nicely.