Jun 22, 2007

Business owners grapple with lab uncertainties

CAROL A. CLARK Monitor County Editor

Gloom and doom talk is all over town in the shadow of potential budget cuts at Los Alamos National Laboratory and last week's revelation that classified information was e-mailed through non-secure computers.

Local business owners took time Wednesday to share their perceptions about the laboratory and those of their customers.

Metzger's has been a community fixture for decades. The owner recently spent some $300,000 in remodeling the main hardware store on 15th Street.

"We've made a big investment in the future of our business in this community," longtime General Manager Dennis George said. "We aren't growing as quickly as we thought we would after a major remodel, but in talking with other businesses we are doing well."

George spoke of his customers who work or worked at LANL.

"We hear people's fears; they say, 'I've just been laid off' or 'I've quit,'" he said. "I've heard people say, 'I didn't have long to go to retirement so I retired because I just couldn't take the uncertainty anymore.'"

George expressed concern over the $400,000 budget cut pending in Congress. He said he worries about its affect on LANL employees, whether they'll lose their jobs and on the real estate market.

"I know a number of people trying to sell their homes," George said. "Homes used to sell in eight to 10 days and these homes have been on the market eight to 10 months."

People are unsure about the future and unwilling to go shopping, he said. "They're not willing to spend spare income because they aren't sure how long they will be working."

George said Metzger's appreciates the people in this community and only hopes the best for them and their work situation. "We're concerned for their welfare and we know we couldn't be in business without them."

George shared the perception he has about who's really pulling the strings at LANL.

"I'm not sure the decisions about Los Alamos are made in Los Alamos," he said. "Maybe if we had an opportunity to speak with the people who do make the decisions, then we'd have a better idea as to the future. They have to have some kind of a plan and it would be nice if they'd let us know what that plan is."

Peggy Durbin retired from LANL a year ago. She went straight into working at Otowi Station Bookstore, which she and her partner purchased in 2005.

"I retired at the end of May, right before they flipped the switch," Durbin said, alluding to June 1, 2006, when Los Alamos National Security (LANS) took over management responsibilities of LANL.

"The time seemed right so I retired and devote myself full time to the bookstore," Durbin said. "While I loved my work and loved my colleagues, with the uncertainty and low morale it wasn't fun anymore. And from what I'm hearing from folks, it's still not a whole lot of fun. Of all the labbies that come in (the bookstore) since then, only one says she likes working there. Most are demoralized, angry, fearful and disgusted."

Durbin worked at LANL for 22 years. She was a writer/editor on an assignment project to ARIES. Her job was to publish the results of research.

"There's no money now (for publishing) so how can anyone know all the great work they are doing at the lab?" she said.

She shared her vision of LANL in a perfect world.

"The lab should completely rethink its mission to focus on renewable, affordable energy and they should focus on AIDS research and the data base - that's of worldwide importance," she said. "They should develop large-scale waste management projects, and the Genome Project - go back to the mission of science serving society."

Durbin continued, "This town should be a hot bed of science and technology. There should be a steady stream of people coming up the hill to do business. Retail follows progress; retail doesn't create progress."

Durbin said she has seen a "significant drop in all non-taxable sales" at her bookstore over the same time last year.

Cook'n In Style owner Liz Thomson said, "We don't know if the emotions of the community are affecting our business. We have no way of knowing because we've only been in this new location (15th Street and Central Avenue) for eight months. "

Cook'n In Style is doing well, Thomson said, adding that it's in a summer slump, which she said happens every year.

Thomson hasn't noticed strong concern expressed by her customers but rather the occasional comment such as, "Gee, I hope we're still here next year."

"I think some of the upper echelon are more worried than the troops because of the scrutiny on LANS," she said.

Thomson pointed to two main areas of concern expressed by her customers. "'The lab's errors keep being made' is a concern expressed by the upper echelon. Then there's the general concern of the budget cuts. This town has gone through these cycles again and again and there's always a certain element who says, 'We'll ride it out.' Domenici (Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.), always comes through so people are hoping he'll pull it out of the fire this time."

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Watch what happens to LA housing
as the $TNX pops over 5.5, and mortgage rates go past 8%. No that wasn't the sound of an HE test, it was the LA housing bubble popping.

Anonymous said...

Durbin said. "While I loved my work and loved my colleagues, with the uncertainty and low morale it wasn't fun anymore. And from what I'm hearing from folks, it's still not a whole lot of fun. Of all the labbies that come in (the bookstore) since then, only one says she likes working there. Most are demoralized, angry, fearful and disgusted." - Peggy Durbin

Peggy Durbin sure got that right! Especially the part about being disgusted. The only people who aren't feeling this way must be the LANS top executives who all got big salary boosts. I'm sure they are all feeling fat and happy these days.

Anonymous said...

"Gloom and doom talk is all over town in the shadow of potential budget cuts at Los Alamos National Laboratory and last week's revelation that classified information was e-mailed through non-secure computers."...... BY LANS MANAGERS AND BOARD MEMBERS---NOT EMPLOYEES.

I'm sick of being the scapegoat for a handful or minor "security breaches" that resulted in ZERO DAMAGE while worse lapses occur at other labs, the FBI, NNSA, and even the White House with ZERO FALLOUT.

HELLO NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL PEOPLE??? HELLO?? GET OFF YOUR FAT ASSES AND DO SOMETHING....

I'm sick of being kept after school because of the one bad student.

and LANS CAN KISS MY ASS

Anonymous said...

There is way too much gloom and doom on this blog. LANL employees need to:

(1) TRUST your LANS management and
(2) FOLLOW all LANS policies to the letter.

TRUST and FOLLOW, those are your keys to a better life at LANL.

Remember, LANS has the plan for making LANL grand!

Anonymous said...

The project known as B.O.A.K.Y.A.G
is in full swing: Better known as "Bend over and kiss you ass goodbye........"

Anonymous said...

Trust + Follow = Destruction

Anonymous said...

"There is way too much gloom and doom on this blog. LANL employees need to:

(1) TRUST your LANS management and
(2) FOLLOW all LANS policies to the letter."


We are not brainless robots. LANS management needs to wake up to that fact. The "shut up and do what we tell you" attitude will fail miserable here.

Anonymous said...

. . . as does security, cost efficency, safety, (fill in the blank)_____, _______ .

Anonymous said...

I agree with 12:53. Keeping the whole class after school because of one student, did not work in Jr. High and sure as hell won't work now. Our congressional delegation are to busy kissing the party leaders butts' to be actually helping New Mexico.

Anonymous said...

12:53PM sounds like an arrogant non. compliant cowboy butt head with a foul mouth and bad manners. Sounds like a typical LANL manager. More specifically, sounds like a disgruntled Rich Marquez longing for the good old days when UC ran the joint by itself. Living in the past ain't going to change the present or the future. So perhaps it's time for a voluntary separation package that will enable people like this one to move on with life and give the Lab a fighting chance for survival in the process.

Anonymous said...

1:55 PM said, "So perhaps it's time for a voluntary separation package that will enable people like this one to move on with life and give the Lab a fighting chance for survival in the process."

But if you really take a look at the messages and modus operandi of those that are making decisions and handing down the news to the LANL and northern New Mexico population, they are sending clear indicators that:

a) they (LANS, NNSA, DOE) have no intention of putting more money in front of anyone as an enticement to leave. Why? Because they don't need to - people are leaving or being shown the door without impacting the already-tight budget.

b) they (Congress, NNSA, DOE) have no inclination to consider the economic impact of closing or minimizing LANL or the impact on a population they perceive (and perhaps rightfully so) as having a seriously overgrown 'entitlement' attitude problem. Our elected officials also have their own ‘concerns’ right now, especially St. Pete. He’s not only been dethroned in recent times from powerful subcommittee seats but he’s got his own hot water to deal with. Our other officials are probably warily eyeing whether a strong association with LANL is a good thing or a bad thing regardless of who is to blame for the muddied reputation or results of our efforts. And, our other elected officials just don’t have as much political might as we could use on our side at the moment. Sad but true.

c) they (NM gov't, NM commercial interests & residents, etc) don't have sufficient clout, influence or even a recognizable presence in relation to the decision-makers which would give the decision-makers any reason to include consideration at this point.

d) LANL's survival doesn't appear to be in the top tiers of their priority lists; individual survival seems to be the over-riding consideration of any given person's effort. Without a solid plan and decent leadership coupled with scientific acumen in a cohesive effort, the odds are squarely against LANL rising to the same level of its former glory-days. What I perceive at almost every level is a group of normally intelligent people who are so wrapped in fear, distrust and disinformation that anything they try to pursue or accomplish ends up as a bigger mess. The nature of the effort and the mindset is fractured, divisive, tainted by hidden agendas and political maneuvering, intentional confusion and distraction. It's both appalling and sad, frankly.

e) they (everyone) has a 'backup plan' or they are formulating one, if they're reasonably smart and tuned in, that may enable them to move on or forward if or when the dust ever settles.
e1) Congress (and all our delegates therein) certainly have a plan and if it includes LANL, then they'll want to ensure that the news emanating from the hallowed halls will contribute to their power and prestige rather than having to defend or investigate the crisis du jour. Congress in general may see the whole region as somewhat insignificant (numerically speaking, at least) due to the relatively small numbers of people who would be impacted compared to many other locations which have been hard hit by economic crisis such as shutting down larger industrial activities in more densely populated areas or widespread devastation like those affected by Katrina and/or Rita. In comparison with other areas within our state, Congress may perceive that shutting LANL down would bring the LANL employee population into economic alignment with our 'peers' (NM residents, neighbors, non-LANL employees) as opposed to sending anyone into a lower-than-normal economic status for the area. NM appears to be so economically unimpressive, we'd be on par with our cohorts instead of standing out like a sore thumb by being dramatically above the remainder of the state.
e2) NNSA & DOE each likely has a plan to either ensure their longevity via other sites as long as those don't come under fire in LANLesque fashion or the individuals will implement their own contingency plans
e3) NM gov't (state & local in at least 3 counties) probably all hope that the federal funding gravy train continues to make frequent stops somewhere in the state, regardless of whether or not any effort is made to assist in developing technology, economic growth, educational opportunity, maintaining infrastructure, encouraging fiscal responsibility & independence or any other critical element that would prove the state could hold its own on any level.
e4) Local businesses probably are going to be the 2nd hardest hit aside from the LANL employees because the economic stability could go up in smoke if LANL doesn't remain the largest employer in the region. The local banks are probably holding 80-90% of the mortgages that would likely default, the stores would no longer have populations to sell to, etc.
e5) Individuals who haven't considered the possibility of losing their job, no matter what level or position they're in, are fools. If they've bought a home and not considered the potential of losing their entire investment in it if there's no one to sell it to, they are fools and will be left figuring it out after the fact.

I don't think a polly-anna approach of 'everything will be peachy if we just keep trying harder' is working. Nor do I believe in following like sheep and waiting for whatever 'they' hand us next and hoping it'll be reasonable, fair or benevolent. I do agree that's what most of us appear to be doing, myself included, by remaining anonymous and trying to quietly figure out where we stand and whether to move one direction or another.

I’m certain of one thing: that whoever is making decisions on where to commit funding has little or no reason to throw money toward any enticement program for early or rapid departures at LANL. In fact, they may be hoping that some form of status quo can continue long enough to ensure their own planning can advance them toward financial gain or economic security – here or elsewhere.

I have less to lose as I'm certain I'm in the lower echelons of the income scale and not a scientist either so I'll either have a place here to use my skills or I won't and in either case, I'll hope that I can do justice in contributing and justice for my family's stability.

Anonymous said...

I remember when a LANL employee could walk into Otowi Bookstore or R-Books and pick up a technical book by simply giving a program code. It was convenient, easy, and effective. Today, it's become almost impossible to buy a technical book at the local bookstores. LANL views this as "progress", I suppose, but the overhead involved in ordering most books now probably exceeds the value of the book.

Anonymous said...

Nice posting, 6/23/07 3:11 PM. A program manager told me he had introduced the idea of enticements to the upper management. Enticements could be a lot cheaper than RIF benefits, and the employees generally would be happier with the handshake than the boot out the door.

He said his suggestion was met with blank stares. Enticements are not on their radar screens.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, 3:15. Not bad for someone with 'only' a high school diploma and 'some college' but who keeps their feet on the ground and can step outside their own perspective and view things from a variety of angles.

I'll probably be available for hire soon... ;|