Bass Pro Shops will celebrate its opening Nov. 18. From Hugh Bailey, CT Post:
The anchor tenant at Steelpointe Harbor, the Bridgeport development that has long been premised on providing jobs in a struggling city, is set to open in two weeks. But despite a high-profile effort to recruit local workers, Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops cited company policy as its reason for not disclosing how many city residents are among the 400 people it has hired.
Loretta Mercado, the Bridgeport store’s general manager, called demographic data on new employees “confidential information.”
“When you walk through the store you will see how many of our associates are from Bridgeport,” Mercado said.
Bass Pro Shops, with a footprint of 150,000 square feet, will keep about 370 positions after the holiday season. It’s the first major business to open at Steelpointe Harbor, following Starbucks last month and Chipotle Mexican Grill, scheduled to open next week.
Full story here.
Well, well, well, “chickens come home to roost.” I and many others on OIB have questioned how many jobs will be provided for Bridgeport residents. No set-asides shows a terrible business decision by Bridgeport, here we are giving these developers long-term tax abatements for them to make money and they won’t provide the residents a certain percentage of those jobs, what a disgrace on both sides. Joe Ganim must end that process.
“Set-asides” sounds like economic affirmative action to me.
In a related story, the capital infusion comes courtesy of Connecticut, not Bridgeport.
Tax abatement is “affirmative action.”
Tax abatements of the sort handed out like Christmas candy to Gold Coast developers are affirmative action for the moneyed class. No requirement to set aside jobs for local residents? How is Bridgeport’s economy supposed to rebound then? Keeping the jobs here is keeping the money here. Bass Pro probably hired many people from Milford, Stratford, Trumbull, anywhere but Bridgeport.
Loretta Mercado, the Bridgeport store’s general manager, called demographic data on new employees “confidential information.”
“When you walk through the store you will see how many of our associates are from Bridgeport,” Mercado said.
So the employees at Bass Pro who are from Bridgeport will have “Bridgeport” written all over their faces (in some figurative or literal sense)?! Or will they have name tags on their uniforms that identify them as “Penny from Bridgeport” or “Roger from Bridgeport” or “Dan from Shelton?”
Well sadly, I just don’t think Bass Pro is going to be a big hit or last very long anyway, so we should be planning for reuse of the site now. The 20 waterfront acres this huge box store occupies (15 acres are parking lot!) should be providing employment for a lot more than 370 people anyway. (The old Remington Arms site just up the road used to employ as many as 12,000-15,000 workers on three shifts, using only 25 acres.) How many of the 370 jobs are full time, with benefits?
Bass Pro is going to be a mega hit in Bridgeport. I remember when Home Depot was opening, people like Jeff Kohut thought it would fail. Joe Ganim was the Mayor. It was a huge success. I started my Home Depot career there. Bass Pro will be the ultimate destination. People will come daily from hours away. Weekends in season will be mobbed. The ferry will be arriving on Steelpointe. Joe Ganim will be running the city during its most prosperous times. Jeff, you are am extremely pessimistic person. It certainly was a little helpful for Joe Ganim during the campaign, but now it’s all about focusing on proving everyone wrong. He will do that handily but needs to be surrounded by positive pro-Bridgeport people who can sell the city. You would not be one of them.
STEVE, as you are aware I’ve been against the whole “big box” idea for SteelPoint and would have liked a “Clinton’s Crossing” type center along with some entertainment area a la “Disney Downtown” and hotel/s, Museum/Aquarium maybe a little “grandiose” for some? Bridgeport CT’s “largest” City, in my opinion, deserves to be just that, grandiose. I will, however, pray Bass and the other developments are successful in creating other opportunities for our residents. They should ask that manager not to speak publicly and hire a person from here who can help them to better understand the needs and identify their role in satisfying those needs. Jeff, I think they may have to use your idea of adding residence to the person’s name tag, now that it seems the only viable way to “wipe the egg off their face” from the comment made by their manager.
Bass Pro has many people from Bridgeport working. Workers do not need name tags with where they live. A job is a job and they do not have to be from Bridgeport. You have to be qualified and literate. This is not the dollar store. There is constant product knowledge classes, just like school. This is a business not a social rehab service. By law Home Depot and Bass Pro do not need to identify the residence of their workers. Move on to more important topics–Bass Pro is going to be a huge success!
Steve, had they not made that comment, your argument might have justification. Contrary to your post, just as people want to drug test recipients of general assistance etc., Bass Pro due to their tax abatements OWE an explanation for not hiring locally, why else would a community welcome an entity that isn’t going to bank locally (another tax abatement?) and will be using our much-needed services i.e. Fire and Police, etc?
Hector, I’m in agreement with both of your posts.
Stevie, I heard through the grapevine you’ll be looking for a new job soon! Bass Pro has one waiting for you, after all someone with your skillset should have no problem, it’s in the baby turtle exhibit. All you have to do is keep the little flucking turtles from claiming on top of each other. $10 an hour, Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, no bennies.
Thank you Jim, I am not sure what warranted that comment. As an educated substitute teacher who has traveled around the world and has more worldly experiences than most, I am already making that salary. 🙂 I understand people wanting living-wage jobs being High School dropouts but a $10/hour job is appreciated by most who need a job.
Jeff,
Just more of the same from you. Questions but no answers. Here’s a news flash. Even when they get Remington Woods cleaned up there are not going to be 12,000 jobs there.
Bridgeport isn’t a servant’s dormitory but I-95 is a millionaires’ highway. This area is full of millionaires who work in Stamford/NYC and bring their paychecks back to places like Monroe, Shelton and yes, Bridgeport.
A day in the life of Ex-Mayor Finch
Mrs. Finch: Hi honey, did you find a job today?
Mayor Finch: Honey, you’re not going to believe this, but I was hired by one of Joe Ganim’s staff people. I’ll be the head of Human Resources right in city hall.
Mrs. F: Get the fluck out of here!!!
MF: I was thinking when I was Mayor how many people did I actually know in city hall? Maybe a handful of people on a first-name basis, but I had no clue what most people did in city hall. City Hall is so flucking huge! Almost anyone can get lost for years and I just have to hide out for the next two years to get my pension, it’s that flucking easy, honey! Look at McCarthy, even I don’t know what the hell he does in City Hall, I was always afraid to ask him, for the simple reason he may not know!
Mrs. F: Bill, everyone knows your face and they can pick you out of a crowd of people a mile away!
MF: You’re right, honey! So I pulled a George Costanza on them! I rented a wheelchair, put on a mustache and beard, then rolled up the handicap ramp, right into Carolanne Curry’s office, filled out my application for employment, she even gave me my own handicapped parking spot in the garage, right next to the elevator! I told her I worked for the past ten years at Vandelay Industries, and honey, from now on you have to answer our phone Vandelay industries, she’ll be calling to verify my resume, don’t fluck it up!!! And if she ask you what I did there, you tell Ms. Curry I was in the latex sales department of Vandelay Industries!
Mrs. F: Honey, you lost the flucking Primary, then you missed the deadline for the General Election and now you’re losing your flucking mind!!!
… A short time later the phone rings …
Mrs. F: Hello, Finch residence, sorry you have the wrong number!
MF: Noooooo! Vandelay Industries!!! Noooooo! Vandelay Industries!!! (As Mayor Finch stumbles out of the bathroom.)
www .youtube.com/watch?v=OefQwYN6vbM
I heard Bill put in his resume to give tours of University of Bridgeport and demanded MJF back him.
I heard he will be piloting the water taxi to and from Pleasure Beach.
I think the guy who runs the water taxis and the cops on Pleasure Beach haven enviable jobs during the summer. The Bridgeport Kid, you probably have not once gone to Pleasure Beach!
Maybe put these jobs under civil circus. Then you can get a extra 15 points if you are from Bridgeport!
barry, there’s no need for the 15 points or for any points for Bridgeport residents, Bridgeport needs to do what Hartford does, hire Bridgeport residents only.