clothing store business plan
Who: Patrick BidinostAge: 37 Title: Owner, Patrick's Union Street Barber Shop, Schenectady Accoutrements: Bidinost's musical background is captured by the interior of his business. He grew up in a musical household. His father was a music teacher and Patrick and his brother were both musicians. Motivated by the band KISS, Bidinost was lead vocalist in Dragstripper, a classical rock band.The shop's decor includes a guitar autographed by Eddie Van Halen; musical pieces hanging on walls; a photo of Patrick with Paul Stanley of KISS; backstage passes; a Paul Stanley guitar; and different concert items. Quote: "Longer hair is in for the younger generation. Classical rock music has come back and children can relate to it. The hairstyles also follow that trend. My clients are more at ease coming into a progressive environment, rather than an old-school environment." ? Betsy Feldstein ALBANY ? The ripples of the global economic downturn struck another Capital Region institution Friday when St. Peter's Health Care Services said it will eliminate merit pay in 2009 and suspend matching contributions to employees' 403(b) retirement plans.Officials at the $450 million hospital system said the reductions will not change the plan to construct a new building and renovate parts of the existing building. Employees were handed a memo explaining the changes as they changed shifts at 3 p.m. on Friday. Workers were upset, said a three-year employee who did not want to be identified. The top executives recently moved into new offices on the fifth floor and the hospital is putting $275 million into the expansion. "Why don't they cut back on the new building?" she said. The memo from President Steven P. Boyle to workers said that the building project is key to St. Peter's long-term success. Private insurers have agreed to higher reimbursement rates to help pay for the building project, adding $10.2 million to the hospital's coffers this year. The hospital is dipping into some of that money to cover operational costs, hospital spokesman Elmer Streeter said. The hospital is $3.2 million short of breaking even, according to the memo. Eliminating merit pay will save St. Peter's $2.3 million and applies to all employees including the top executives. Suspending the matching contribution to the 403(b) plan will save $1 million. The plan is the not-for-profit version of a 401(k). About 1,200 employees participated and the hospital matched contributions up to 1.25 percent of an employee's salary. However, the hospital made no changes to its pension plan, Streeter said. Nearly all of the hospital's 4,622 employees are eligible for the pension, whether they participate in the 403(b) plan or not. It takes three years to fully vest in the plan. The hospital guarantees that the pension fund will earn 6 percent each year. Because of the drop in the stock market, St. Peter's expects to make an unbudgeted $4 million contribution to the plan, Streeter said. The hospital also has cut advertising, travel to conferences, overtime and the use of temporary nurses, according to the memo. As the economy sours, Streeter said, the hospital has seen a slight decline in the patient discharges and the number of patients having elective surgery. He declined to share the hospital's discharge numbers, however. When the state legislature convenes next week, hospitals statewide may see cuts to Medicaid reimbursements that would put more pressure on their finances. "Hospitals across New York are considering changes, whether it be to capital projects, hiring freezes, cutting existing services or layoffs as a way to deal with the current economic climate," said Mike Fraser, a spokesman for the Hospital Association of New York State, which recently surveyed its members about the economic downturn. Layoffs will be avoided if possible at St. Peter's, but "it is impossible to guarantee there will be no staff reductions in the future,'' the memo to employees said. The memo also said the new executive offices were part of the construction plan to open up space on the first floor for a new patient registration area. Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at 454-5348 or ccrowley@timesunion.com. MENANDS ? Just a few days ago, anyone asked to name a Capital Region media outlet that hadn't laid off workers this year could have said WNYT, Channel 13.But not now. On Thursday, the NBC affiliate in Menands began telling its workers of job eliminations, a cull expected to affect at least 12 full-time positions. Employees said they weren't especially surprised the station would cut jobs. After all, anyone watching the Capital Region media market has seen this story before. WXXA, the Fox affiliate in Albany, eliminated 11 jobs in June. Public television network WMHT cut 10 jobs that same month. WTEN, the area's ABC affiliate, in February reduced its staff by 20. It isn't just television: The Daily Gazette has had at least three rounds of cuts this year, including one that eliminated several jobs last month. The Times Union, meanwhile, last summer used a voluntary buyout program to cut 25 jobs. "It seems like every day there's a story about cutbacks," said Bill Lambdin, a union leader and longtime reporter at WNYT. "It would have been more of a surprise if our company was immune to that." The reason for all the cuts? Broad industry shifts that have more folks turning to the Internet for entertainment and news, and fewer clicking on the television or picking up a newspaper. "Media companies are still trying to figure out ways to adjust the old business model," said Paul Conti, a journalism professor at The College of Saint Rose and a former WNYT news director. Exacerbating the difficulties is the dramatic economic downturn of recent months, a slowdown that has advertisers cutting back on advertising spending. In particular, television stations have been hammered by reductions in auto-industry spending. Steve Baboulis, general manager at WNYT, said his station, though a consistent ratings leader, was not able to buck the industry's troubles. "We're at the point where we have to make some reductions as well," he said, declining to say how many jobs would be affected. Lambdin, though, said he expected at least 12 cuts among the 80 or so jobs represented by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, with additional cuts among the roughly 30 nonunion employees. The bulk of the cuts will mostly affect photographers, engineers, and production workers rather than on-air personnel. But also affected by the changes, according to sources, are reporter John Allen, who is not expected to stay at the station, and mid-day anchor Kelly Lynch, a part-time employee who started at the station as an intern in 1993. Lynch said Friday she was offered a different role at the station, at a significantly reduced rate of pay. She said she has not decided whether she'll stay on. Lynch said it was "extremely painful" to watch longtime co-workers lose their jobs. "I'm not shocked," she said, before noting the layoffs at other stations. "It was a matter of time before it hit us." WNYT is owned by the Hubbard Broadcasting Co., a Minnesota company that owns 12 television stations. Hubbard cuts are hitting more than its Albany station ? KSTP, a company station in Minneapolis-St. Paul, is cutting 18 jobs, according to media reports there. Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com. MENANDS ? Albany International will cease in-house manufacturing of its PrimaLoft insulation brand, resulting in the elimination of 17 factory jobs at the company's headquarters here.Albany International, which is best known for its industrial fabrics used in paper mills, will continue to own and market PrimaLoft, a synthetic down material used in comforters, sleeping bags and outdoor clothing. A Texas company will take over the manufacturing of PrimaLoft, which had $18.6 million in sales for Albany International through the first nine months of this year. Albany International spokeswoman Susan Siegel said the company will exit manufacturing of PrimaLoft in stages between January and June. The first job reductions will likely start in about three months. The employees are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Local 1138-T. "All of these details have to be worked out with the union," Siegel said. Albany International has been cutting its manufacturing workforce across North America and western Europe in reaction to the consolidation of the paper industry. It has been expanding in South America and Asia. Last year, Albany International cut 225 jobs locally, a move that shut down its East Greenbush facility and significantly pared its manufacturing at its historic he
Retirement plan contributions, merit pay to be eliminated in 2009
Station is latest media outlet in Capital Region to eliminate jobs; at least 12 cuts expected
Company will outsource manufacturing of its PrimaLoft insulaton