September 13, 2000
The Port of Seattle's airport-jobs program has exceeded expectations, staffers told Commissioners on Tuesday.
Introduced in January as a pilot project, the airport-jobs program provides a "one-stop" service center where any airport-related employer, such as an airline or concession provider, can list job openings. New job listings appear on a Web site (www.portjobs.org under the heading airport jobs) and at the Airport Jobs Office at Sea-Tac.
The Port had expected that over a year 65 job seekers would find work through the program, but as of June 30 it helped find jobs for 126, nearly twice the Port's targeted goal. The average wage of those who find jobs through the airport-jobs program is $8.26 per hour -- slightly higher than what the Port anticipated.
According to the Port's status report on the program, the Web site received about 375,000 hits over a six-month period -- surpassing the Port's goal by 25 times. About 3,300 applicants visited the Airport Jobs office, about three times the expected number. Fifty-nine companies participate in the program, also a higher number than the Port had estimated.
About one-third of the people hired are welfare-to-work clients or food-stamp recipients. Half the job seekers are under the age of 30 and half are unemployed at the time of their first visit. The majority of job seekers -- 44 percent -- reside in King County, according to the report.
Among the challenges facing the program, the high number of visitors coming to the Airport Jobs office tops the list. The office receives about 150 visitors a week, with a high of 286. Providing individual assistance is often impossible, Port staffers said.
The status report notes that job seekers often have difficulty finding transportation to airport-based jobs and also have a hard time finding affordable childcare that fits the schedules of the jobs for which they are applying.
Some applicants lack fluency in English, presenting another challenge to the program's success, Port staffers said.
The airport-jobs program is operated by the Office of Port Jobs -- a nonprofit organization formed by the Port, the city of Seattle, King County, business, labor, community-based organizations and educational institutions -- and is funded by the Port. The office was created in 1993 to establish career opportunities for disadvantaged job seekers within the Port-related economy.
In other business at Tuesday's Commission meeting:
• The Commission approved a one-year extension of the labor agreement with the union representing longshoremen and warehouse workers at the seaport. Under the agreement, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 9, has agreed to the lay off up to 17 workers, whose jobs will be no longer be needed because of the Port's new computer-controlled dispatch system. The seaport will implement the new "warehouse management system" in the spring of 2001.
Severance costs for expected layoffs are estimated at about $400,000. The contract, which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2001, gives longshoremen and warehouse workers a 3.7 percent cost-of-living pay increase. Health and pension benefits will remain the same.
• The Commission established a diversity award in honor of the manager of the airfield line of business, Charles Blood, who has worked for the Port for about 35 years. Blood is the first recipient of the annual award. Recipients of the Charles Blood Champion of Diversity Award are given a $2,500 honorarium and $1,000 check to their favorite charity.
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