Workforce

CITY HALL — Ethnic diversity in the city’s workforce has continued to increase in recent years, representing a significant jump in minority representation from 1998 to 2008, according to the city’s most recent workforce demographic report. Last year, whites made up 43.9% of the city’s workforce, compared with 57.5% in 1998, according to the report. Meanwhile, representation of most minority groups has grown, with African Americans seeing their ranks grow by 21% within the 10-year period.

JUST-CAUSE ORDINANCE TWEAKED WHAT HAPPENED The council adopted amendments to the Just-Cause Eviction Ordinance. WHAT IT MEANS In a joint meeting with the City Council and the Housing Authority, the council adopted the changes to the Just-Cause Eviction Ordinance proposed by the Rental Housing Issues Working Committee, including tweaking an exemption based on signing a one-year lease. Council also directed staff to bring back an ordinance that will require landlords to provide tenants with a copy of the ordinance and a state handbook on tenants' rights.

I just can’t believe we’re back in the same spot as we have been over the years (“Genocide bill moves through committee,” March 5). Once again, a congressional committee passed an Armenian Genocide resolution, and once again, it will probably fail, just this time with different characters involved. At what point to we start to demand some finality? How many demonstrations must the Armenians hold to prove their point? How many times must our congressional representatives attempt to push a resolution through, only to have it fail while up against pandering politicians?

Glendale needs about 150 employees to retire by Sept. 1 in order to minimize the number of layoffs that would be needed to close a $15.4-million budget gap for next fiscal year, officials said this week. At a special budget session at City Hall on Monday, City Manager Scott Ochoa said talks with city unions to discuss the situation were producing “good positive feedback.” Employees would have until July 13 to take advantage of the early retirement incentives, which have yet to be finalized.

At least 100 Glendale employees are interested in taking advantage of an early-retirement option aimed at closing a $15.4-million budget shortfall, city officials and union representatives said Wednesday. Glendale needs about 150 people - 8% of its workforce - to retire to minimize layoffs, which officials have said would cause chaos at City Hall. About 100 employees from the general city employees union and dozens of managers are evaluating the option, union representatives said.

The number of workers in Glendale and Burbank for digital-related entertainment businesses will remain a mystery after the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board’s efforts to produce a labor database proved too difficult, the board’s head analyst said. The board did, however, produce a count of companies in what it says is the most active and growing segment of the entertainment industry: businesses involved in digital production. There are 650 such companies in Glendale and Burbank, focusing on digital film enhancements, 3-D production, video games or other advanced technologies, the board said.

Rima Shah Glendale's workforce ended the year on a positive note in 2004, as the city's unemployment rate trickled down, a drop observers attribute to a robust business environment and the holiday surge. The rate dropped from 5.8% in December 2003 to 5.3% in 2004, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "Glendale is a great place to do business," said Dave Ahern, economic development manager for the city. "The unemployment rate in Glendale is low because of the business environment -- there are no business taxes, the low cost of doing business and its location with the proximity to the freeways and the airport."

GLENDALE ? Walt Disney Corp. has plans to make cutbacks to its workforce that will affect all of the company's movie studios, including those in Glendale and Burbank, and shrink its yearly film output, industry officials said. The news follows Warner Bros. Studios' layoffs of about 200 jobs four months ago and is part of a larger movie industry trend toward leaner operating costs, said Jack Kyser, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.'s chief economist. "This seems to be the latest trend in the motion picture production industry," he said.

GLENDALE ? City officials expect the municipal employee turnover rate to continue its decline as they head into the new year, even after a report for the latest fiscal year showed Glendale lost 44 salaried workers. The Human Resources Activity Report for fiscal year 2006-07 presented to the City Council Dec. 11 tallied almost every employee-related function in Glendale, from job bulletins to disciplinary actions, but the most notable number was 2.94% ? the amount the city?s turnover rate decreased from the previous fiscal year.

Friday marked the end of a well-funded era for the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board, as federal stimulus dollars officially dried up after two years. The agency is now seeing its own budget and staff reductions, even as its mission is to train Burbank and Glendale residents for jobs remains critical in a struggling economy. Agency leader Don Nakamoto said the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board received about $3.5 million in stimulus money over the past two years and had an annual budget of a $7 million.

Regional workforce officials say they plan to use a $465,000 federal grant to train local military veterans for a rebounding manufacturing industry. The Verdugo Workforce Investment Board plans to use about half the funds to train veterans to manufacture tools and equipment using computer numerical control, or CNC, technology. The technology, which allows for precise machining of engine parts and specialized tools, is used widely among regional manufacturers serving aviation and other industries.

Energized by a semester of climbing 50 feet above the ground and working with live wires, on Monday 22 men celebrated their graduation from the Verdugo Power Academy and looked ahead to a lifetime atop power poles. A ceremony at Brand Library drew nearly 100 well-wishers and representatives from the three sponsors of the program, Glendale Community College, Glendale Water & Power and the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board. The graduates completed 600 hours of training, including 200 hours above the ground, in an all-day, every-day semester of preparing for a career change.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — President Obama's call Monday for greater workforce development and training is a goal Glendale Community College has been working on for some time, educators said. In the last year, the college has been collecting federal grants to fund retraining programs for unemployed workers. One program the grant has helped expand, the Verdugo Power Academy, has been very successful, with 63% of alums taking home paychecks. "We've been looking … to be more responsive to the business community, and I think we are in the best position to be addressing the issues," said Dawn Lindsay, superintendent and president of Glendale Community College.

The number of workers in Glendale and Burbank for digital-related entertainment businesses will remain a mystery after the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board’s efforts to produce a labor database proved too difficult, the board’s head analyst said. The board did, however, produce a count of companies in what it says is the most active and growing segment of the entertainment industry: businesses involved in digital production. There are 650 such companies in Glendale and Burbank, focusing on digital film enhancements, 3-D production, video games or other advanced technologies, the board said.

I just can’t believe we’re back in the same spot as we have been over the years (“Genocide bill moves through committee,” March 5). Once again, a congressional committee passed an Armenian Genocide resolution, and once again, it will probably fail, just this time with different characters involved. At what point to we start to demand some finality? How many demonstrations must the Armenians hold to prove their point? How many times must our congressional representatives attempt to push a resolution through, only to have it fail while up against pandering politicians?

LOS ANGELES — Federal stimulus grants have helped the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board assist more jobless workers in recent months than ever before, but the funds have also turned the spotlight on a looming problem: The money is running out. Don Nakamoto, the board’s labor market specialist, alerted members to the issue Thursday during a quarterly meeting for the organization, which oversees job training and counseling services for...

The unemployment rate in Glendale crept up to 11% in August, up from 10.9% a month prior when the rate surged a full percentage point, according to figures released Friday by the California Economic Development Department. Burbank’s unemployment rate held at 10.2% in August, according to the department. Although the figures showed little or no change, labor forces in both cities shrank as fewer job seekers are looking for work, the department reported. Burbank’s workforce contracted by 500, to 60,600, and the number of job seekers in Glendale dropped by 900, to 105,200.

SOUTH GLENDALE ? Demand for career advice has skyrocketed at the Verdugo Jobs Center, more than doubling from last year?s stream of about 4,000 monthly out-of-work visitors, the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board reported Tuesday. The board oversees the center, which offers career training and counseling to job seekers, said Don Nakamoto, labor market analyst for the board. It now offers its free services to between 9,000 and 10,000 visitors monthly, he said. ?I think because of what?