MIKE FARRELL
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-07-1996
PROGRESS CARRIES A PAINFUL PRICE TAG
By MIKE FARRELL
Date: 01-07-1996, Sunday
Section: SPORTS
Edition: All Editions -- Sunday
Column: HORSE RACING
The stunning news last week that AT&T will eliminate 40,000 jobs
served as a jolting reminder that the downsizing of corporate America is
far from finished. The trend toward leaner operation impacts every
business from communication giants down to neighborhood candy stores.
And racetracks are not exempt.
The Meadowlands Racetrack, a major generator of jobs when it first
opened 20 years ago, continues to reduce its work force. The Big M
trimmed the number of hours for mutuel clerks, the largest staffing
component, by 7,000 last year. That translates into a loss of more than
1,000 per-diem shifts.
Even positive moves to improve customer service, like eliminating
parking and seating charges, trigger job loses for the folks who once
collected the fees or served as ushers.
The Big M reductions, while not as dramatic as those announced by
AT&T, are just as painful to the workers on the receiving end.
Of course, the business has changed radically since the Big M first
opened. The crowds are not as large, and the arrival of simulcasting
shifted the attendance patterns of many of the remaining players from
evenings to afternoons. The track now serves a smaller clientele over an
expanded time frame. Since the customers no longer arrive at one set
time, the Big M reduced personnel for parking, security, and food
services (the restaurants, bars, and snack stands are run by a private
concessionaire).
Technology also lightened the Big M payroll. Between 12 and 15
percent of all on-site wagers are now handled by self-bet machines
similar to ATM terminals in banks. The Big M lags behind other tracks in
the region where self-bet wagers exceed 30 percent of the action. As the
Big M closes that gap, the need for mutuel tellers will continue to
decline.
When the Meadowlands Sports Complex was first proposed, advocates
cited job creation as one of its chief virtues. In the early days, the
racetrack delivered on that promise. The track and its newly-hired
employees helped produce the cash flow that made the dream of big-time
sports and entertainment in the marshland a reality.
The success of the complex sparked a boom in the immediate area
that attracted a wave of shopping malls, hotels, and office towers. In
turn, those new commercial properties generated thousands of jobs.
The racetrack played a vital role in local job creation even as its
own employee roster shrunk. And the prospects of an upswing in hiring at
the Big M are slim. As the track looks to the future, exciting new
projects such as home betting (it might arrive by next year) will place
existing jobs in jeopardy.
Progress often carries a painful price tag.
Keywords: HORSE. RACING. BUSINESS. EAST RUTHERFORD. EMPLOYMENT
Copyright 1996 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-07-1996
PROGRESS CARRIES A PAINFUL PRICE TAG
By MIKE FARRELL
Date: 01-07-1996, Sunday
Section: SPORTS
Edition: All Editions -- Sunday
Column: HORSE RACING
The stunning news last week that AT&T will eliminate 40,000 jobs
served as a jolting reminder that the downsizing of corporate America is
far from finished. The trend toward leaner operation impacts every
business from communication giants down to neighborhood candy stores.
And racetracks are not exempt.
The Meadowlands Racetrack, a major generator of jobs when it first
opened 20 years ago, continues to reduce its work force. The Big M
trimmed the number of hours for mutuel clerks, the largest staffing
component, by 7,000 last year. That translates into a loss of more than
1,000 per-diem shifts.
Even positive moves to improve customer service, like eliminating
parking and seating charges, trigger job loses for the folks who once
collected the fees or served as ushers.
The Big M reductions, while not as dramatic as those announced by
AT&T, are just as painful to the workers on the receiving end.
Of course, the business has changed radically since the Big M first
opened. The crowds are not as large, and the arrival of simulcasting
shifted the attendance patterns of many of the remaining players from
evenings to afternoons. The track now serves a smaller clientele over an
expanded time frame. Since the customers no longer arrive at one set
time, the Big M reduced personnel for parking, security, and food
services (the restaurants, bars, and snack stands are run by a private
concessionaire).
Technology also lightened the Big M payroll. Between 12 and 15
percent of all on-site wagers are now handled by self-bet machines
similar to ATM terminals in banks. The Big M lags behind other tracks in
the region where self-bet wagers exceed 30 percent of the action. As the
Big M closes that gap, the need for mutuel tellers will continue to
decline.
When the Meadowlands Sports Complex was first proposed, advocates
cited job creation as one of its chief virtues. In the early days, the
racetrack delivered on that promise. The track and its newly-hired
employees helped produce the cash flow that made the dream of big-time
sports and entertainment in the marshland a reality.
The success of the complex sparked a boom in the immediate area
that attracted a wave of shopping malls, hotels, and office towers. In
turn, those new commercial properties generated thousands of jobs.
The racetrack played a vital role in local job creation even as its
own employee roster shrunk. And the prospects of an upswing in hiring at
the Big M are slim. As the track looks to the future, exciting new
projects such as home betting (it might arrive by next year) will place
existing jobs in jeopardy.
Progress often carries a painful price tag.
Keywords: HORSE. RACING. BUSINESS. EAST RUTHERFORD. EMPLOYMENT
Copyright 1996 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
