Maryland Business

In an effort to help 720 workers laid off from RG Steel navigate the upcoming months of uncertainty, Baltimore County officials have scheduled a Jan. 12 forum in Dundalk to highlight unemployment and health insurance issues.

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced the outreach forum Thursday, two weeks after RG Steel employees received news of a minimum three-month furlough after the company idled the Sparrows Point “L” blast furnace.

“This is a stressful time for RG Steel workers and their families,” Kamenetz said. “Baltimore County and the United Steel Workers have come together to help RG Steel workers find the services they need to help deal with financial, emotional and career issues.”

The four-hour forum will begin at 11 a.m. at the United Steelworkers Union Local 9477 Hall located at 550 Dundalk Ave. Presentations will focus on unemployment insurance, union benefits and healthcare benefits.

Employees will also be able to access more personal information about coping with stress, housing assistance and foreclosure prevention, career services and educational opportunities.

Since RG Steel announced the layoffs, county officials have been working with steel workers union officials and state and federal agencies to assist employees, Kamenetz said.

Last month, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation set up a  dedicated hotline to speed up unemployment claims for idled Sparrows Point steelworkers. That number is 410-853-1700.

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A U.S. Air Force Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber.

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman found itself in the news Thursday over two issues no company likes to see associated with its name – big layoffs and money mixed with politicians.

“Louisiana’s biggest corporate players, many with long agendas before the state government, are restricted in making campaign contributions to Gov. Bobby Jindal. But they can give whatever they like to the foundation set up by his wife months after he took office.”

“… the military contractor Northrop Grumman, which got state officials to help set up an airplane maintenance facility at a former Air Force base, promised $10,000 to the charity.”

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It’s been an on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand kind of week for anyone trying to get a handle on the state of our economic health.

It started with word from the Cambridge, Mass.-based National Bureau of Economic Research that the recession — the longest the U.S. had endured since World War II — had ended in June 2009.

Oh, really? As the Associated Press dryly pointed out, Americans are still struggling with a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, meager wage gains, struggling home values and sales, and a foreclosure plague that shows little sign of slowing.

And on that note, there was plenty of real estate news this week — none of it very good. Sales of previously occupied homes crept up in August, but not enough to keep the summer from being the slowest for sales in a decade. New home sales were actually worse in August — the second-slowest pace on record. One economist called it “a pitiful performance.”

On the other hand, home construction is up 25 percent from the bottom in April 2009. But on still another hand, it is 74 percent below the peak in January 2006.

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Maybe all you need is one of these.

The makers of the silicone bracelets at left say they help you advertise yourself to potential employers wherever you go, banking on the “right place at the right time” philosophy.

It sounds like more of a gimmick to me, and potentially offensive to cancer victims (they’re quite obviously modeled after Lance Armstrong’s “Livestrong” cancer awareness bracelets). But if you listen to customers’ testimonials, you’re “crazy if you don’t wear one.”

“Boy was I a skeptic at first…”

“I landed a job because of a silly wristband, a wristband I almost did not wear because of my pride and masculinity. I think the wristband is cool and very masculine.”

The bracelets’ creators, Stephanie Aucoin and Barbara Bourn, were even featured in the Wall Street Journal this week in a story on startups seizing layoff-related opportunities. The women say they’ve sold 4,500 bracelets in five weeks, broke even on their investment and earned $8,900. Another laid off entrepreneur featured in the story started damnIneedajob.com, where he sells custom t-shirts with your cover letter printed on the front.

These strategies seem extreme, but it’s hard to pinpoint where “innovative” becomes “over-the-top.” After all, Richard Simon reported on Monday about the growing popularity of Pink Slip Parties, where the unemployed can mix and mingle with recruiters at a cocktail hour. (Most people probably find that practice closer to the “innovative” side).

Do you have a killer idea for a layoff-related business? Or, conversely, have you been laid off and found a new job using a similar method?

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Be honest here: Do you turn off your computer when you leave work for the day? Most of you probably don’t. It’s not your energy bill, right? I have a few coworkers who seem to think shutting down their system is an annual occasion.

Well, now’s the time to start doing it regularly: as companies cut costs and staff, the state faces rolling blackouts and the world works – in varying degrees of diligence – to go green.

Shutting down our systems at night could save companies billions in cash while saving the environment.

There are 108 million PCs in the United States, and about half of them aren’t shut down at COB, according to 1E, an energy-management software company that’s released a report on the issue. Leaving computers on emits 20 million tons of carbon dioxide – about four million vehicles’ worth.

1E projects that a company with 10,000 PCs can save $260,000+ each year simply by shutting the machines off at night. Maybe they could save a few jobs, too.

“PCs can be a tremendous drain on electricity,” Doug Washburn, an analyst at Forrester Research, told Jon Swartz of USA Today. “During a nine-hour workday, [they aren't] always in use because of lunch, meetings and other things.”

So if you’re looking for a way to save your company money – and save your job – look at your power strip.

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Last month brought nothing but heartache for hundreds of thousands of American workers.

A report released Wednesday indicates that there were 241,749 planned job cuts for the month of January, most of which came from the retail sector.

There is one bright spot, looking ahead: historically, January is the heaviest month for downsizing. Between 1993 and 2008, January job cuts averaged 95,053, 10% higher than the average in October (88,892), the next heaviest job-cut month.

I wouldn’t start jumping for joy now that January is behind us, but at least there is some historical hope that job-cut totals could lower for the rest of the year.

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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Whether you’re still gainfully employed or one of the many victims of the economic downturn, the last few months haven’t been easy. More layoffs seem to lurk around every turn. And when news of The Baltimore Examiner’s closure broke this morning, it was an especially rough moment to be a journalist.

Which is why I might consider a career in Factoring. True, I only barely recognize the term from Algebra class, but apparently the median annual salary is $79,846 and “Factors” are predicted to be ‘in demand’ in 2009 (HT: Payscale).

Frankly, I find it encouraging that there are even 10 career fields to compile for a Top 10 list of in-demand jobs; Ron Mitchell, CEO and co-founder of a career coaching service, GottaMentor, points out: “There is a lot of money flowing into companies right now due to the stimulus package.”

Here are the rest of the careers we should go back to school for:

• Auditors
• Job counselors
• Healthcare technicians
• Mechanical engineers
• Nurses
• Software designers
• Networking/System Administrators
• Public Relations professionals
• Psychological counselors

Get the full facts here.

JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor 

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About a week ago I sat down to write a blog post about the imminent death of Circuit City, and what its demise would mean for my (rather expensive) store warranty for my television (verdict: it would die, too).

But then other work happened, my reminder note got pushed to a different pile and then lost in the jumbled mess that is my desk.

Yesterday the television’s HDMI port went on the fritz.

So now what can I do? Chances are: nothing. The TV, though a bit on the old side now, is still the most expensive purchase I’ve ever made, which is why I made the decision to pay several hundred dollars extra for a guarantee that Circuit City would fix or replace it if something went wrong. I’m still in the warranty time period – I just don’t see the store leaping to help as it’s trying to sell off the last of its merchandise. And it’s not as if the tech people about to be laid off are too invested in keeping my business.

It’s annoying as anything, but I don’t really blame the company. I took a risk and bought the insurance, never imagining the television would out-live the store. Maybe there’s some hidden meaning in the timing – unplug, go outside and sniff some flowers. Maybe run through a field.

Then again, maybe it’s the perfect excuse for an electronic upgrade.

JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist

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