About Tim Rowland

Tim Rowland is a columnist, author and outdoors writer living in Jay.

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Comments

  1. Katie says

    Maybe it’s a problem of not paying enough, especially considering how expensive gas and things needed to survive have become. Employees already in the system that could get mad about making less than newcomers? Maybe you shouldn’t have shafted them from the get go in order to squeeze as much profit as possible. Wonder what else people are looking for besides a proper living wage? Actual time off and decent schedules so they don’t burn their entire life up for the sake of someone else making more money. People don’t want OT, they want time off to actually live life. They want proper medical care and coverage. They want work environments that aren’t toxic to the bone.
    How any of this is a surprise is mind blowing to me. You bought into the system of abusing workers and thought they would never bite the hand that feeds. Buckle up buttercup.

  2. JB says

    If we look nationwide (or even globally), hospitality and leisure industries — which are by far overrepresented in the Park — are in fact having a particularly difficult time finding workers. It would be out of step if we were to completely chock that problem up here to marginal population decline, which according to census data from BEFORE the pandemic — during which time (e.g., summer 2019) employees seemed more available — amounted to gradual decline of about 5% in most places cited above over the course of a decade. The idea that the only way to keep the economic engines running is to import a younger, poorer population that is willing to do the jobs that nobody else will seems unimaginative, and maybe even regressive. Workforce housing and population growth are not magic bullets. The real “solution” — creating a balanced, diverse economy that is not over-reliant on cheap labor and tourism dollars — will require some more imagination.

  3. SueBee says

    “There also seems to be a greater inclination to live for the moment, meaning employees value a quick paycheck over an enduring career — a reversal of the traditional approach.”

    Career? You’re (ADK employers) looking for (mostly) seasonal workers and you’re complaining those workers don’t want to make it a career? How the F can it be a career when it’s SEASONAL, usually PART-TIME positions you’re trying to fill? No one can sustain any kind of lifestyle doing seasonal work. That’s ludicrous! You’re (again, ADK employers) are only offering “a quick paycheck” and not “an enduring career.”

  4. Gracie says

    If you pay them well, and offer a good work-life balance, and decent benefits, people will flock to work for you. It’s very simple. Can’t afford to offer that? Well maybe you can’t afford to be in business then.

    Any business owner who expects their workers to make do with poverty wages and crippling hours so that the business owner can live out their dream of owning a business is entitled beyond belief.

    People are over it. It’s astounding that anyone is still scratching their heads over this.

  5. DHawk says

    Can’t believe there’s no talk about the many government benefits and welfare we’re paying out. Many my age are now fine taking that which pays more than many full-time jobs in the area. Why work so hard for less money, more drama, difficulty with childcare and transportation when the government will pay us to stay home and enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle? I am all for a strong social net, but the current system is a big part of the problem.

    • FootHills says

      This is Boomer talk. We’re back to pre-pandemic unemployment levels. 1 Million ‘extra’ Americans just died over the last two years. Many folks holding management positions retired to avoid working in the pandemic. Many families have moved to single earner as more lucrative positions have opened up and childcare/transport expenses have increased.

      If you’re still relying on starvation wages to pay your workers, best hang up the *closed* sign now before you default.

  6. Colonel Panic says

    Great article but it mostly overlooks the insane cost of housing in the area that most people can’t afford even if they are earning $50k/year. When home prices are going up by double digits every year even before COVID, employers are going to struggle to find employees.

  7. Ronald Lee Hagelund says

    Another astute article & analysis of ADK issues!!… that for better or worse are easiy applicabled nation wide Covid changed everything & the Changes keep coming Batten down hatches & buckle up to attempt riding out an unending storm !! Life itself hangs in precarious balance ,,,cheers from Gandalfian Geezer ADK chronicles in the Time of Covid

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