I THINK WE ALL SHOULD

I worked at Clintwood Garment in the early eighties. 3.15 an hour. Seven or eight dollars an hour is hard to make it on these days.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: R0cketer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am not a fan of the call centers really, but they are jobs and better than nothing. They aren't necessarily high-paying jobs, but the people filling the jobs aren't highly trained individuals for the most part.

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Hey I resemble that remark! [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]


Our turnover is getting a little worse, but generally probably the best of call centers in the area. This whole trying to do more with less is causing us to lose a few though.

Just FYI.

Sykes has well over 500 agents, who all make $9 to $11 dollars an hour. All of those agents have overtime opportunities, week in and week out it seems. They also have well over 75 on the admin staff, which includes Managers, Trainers, HR, and IT making anywhere between $28k starting out to $45k. There are several other higher up positions there, that make well over $45k. There are 2 positions I know of that makes over $60k. There's a new Sykes in Grundy going to be opening up soon, and one already in Perry Co, Ky which has been open for over a year now.

So imagine losing all of that and see how the local economy would look. It wouldn't be pretty.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Diets17</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> ...There's a new Sykes in Grundy going to be opening up soon... </div></div>


So the town of Grundy has sold it's soul to the devil too?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: centennialdawg</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Fire congress and elect all new representatives. Democrats and Republicans. </div></div>

I agree with that, but we don't need either Democrats or Republicans back in there. The current parties and their lobbyist "friends" have all but destroyed our federal government. It is time to run both out of Washington for good.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PVFAN</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I agree 100% on the sewer. I'm to the point where I every time I watch or read something on the school board or board of supervisors I ended up furious at people from Pound and Appalachia. They are the only ones fighting this consolidation and the sewer. We, (SWVA) as a whole need better roads. Could you imagine how much bigger Wise would be if 81 ran to Wise? The area imo, would be very similar to Radford, Christiansburg, etc. We need something to get people here, and as I said before at this point all we really have is UVa-Wise. </div></div>

I totally agree with the sewer and roads comments. And, please don't generalize and lump all us Pound people together with the goobers that show up at the Board meetings to complain -- I'm all for consolidation (if done right) and public sewer (they are supposed to begin construct in my community soon and I'm tickled to death). If they'd gone ahead and continued I-26 along US23 all the way to at least I-64 (as was once proposed), then we'd be in nearly as good shape to attract business as any community along I-81 in VA or TN. The call/data centers along with the tech infrastructure improvements being made will provide some jobs, but it will never be the magnet for big business as is being sold by some politicians. But, this will never be another 'Silicon Valley'. Our geography with our insufficient transportation options is what is preventing anything major coming into our area --- period. As was mentioned another, no BMW nor Motorola nor Dell nor any other potential LARGE manufacturing business will ever locate here to replace the high paying mining jobs that have been lost. We're Doomed! Doomed! I tell ya! Well, maybe not that much, but its really not gonna get much better around here without transportation and we'll all be dead and gone if/when that ever comes to pass. (Don't hold your breath for the Coalfield Expressway to ever be finished, as promised.) The best we can hope for are the smaller niche type businesses -- for instance, clean energy related like solar, wind and other renewables, etc. And, if some people truly believe that tourism is our future with all the mining ravaged countryside for visitors to see, they have lost their ever-lovin' minds. It can only be another small part in our total economic puzzle. A bleak outlook -- perhaps. I do think we have to realistic as to our options, but still dream a bit as to what might be achieved because you never know what the future will actually hold. I truly hope I am proven wrong in my observations for my child's sake, as well as, the sake of all our children and grand children. Anything that can be started, attracted or achieved today isn't for us old fogies, but for those that come after us.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PVFAN</div><div class="ubbcode-body">People around here who get educated and can help the community sadly move away for jobs. I'm hoping these new schools can promote staying in the area, we need people who are from this area that can help us. Now, if only we could get those people to jump into the mess and then get the old folk around here to vote for em. It's a pain, I tell you. </div></div>

What office you gonna run for?

My brother-in-law started working on Gas Wells around 5 or 6 years ago and it seems to be a VERY well paying job that does not require any college

Thats something I wouldn't necessarily mind. Who does he work for?

Any info who that company is counts?