Amazon is looking for a second HQ. Why not, Pittsburgh? (attorney, landlords)

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

Other than Seattle's burgeoning population, how do you think Pittsburgh is like Seattle?

I was in Seattle for the first time in November and I couldn't help but feel reminded of Pittsburgh in some ways while enjoying my time there.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

I was in Seattle for the first time in November and I couldn't help but feel reminded of Pittsburgh in some ways while enjoying my time there.

Well, yes, and Portland, and San Francisco. Especially Portland with its rivers. Any hilly city looks somewhat like Pittsburgh physically. But really, there are similarities and differences in every city. Seattle is growing, housing is expensive, yada, yada.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by Embassyone

It’s not going to work. The local economy is not growing and there is a skills gap. I don’t know why it is so hard to understand. It’s welll documented. People on this board post of their struggles having an education and a skills mismatch. If you think these people are going to be cast aside without a fight you are mistaken. You have to start from the bottom and change over in a steady manner. If Miami, a growing city, is concerned you should be as well.

I don’t understand all of the love for amazon, when they want everything for free and won’t invest squat in training people. On the other hand shell oil is made out to be a villain even though they give 20 million to localschool districts to try and train up younger residents on STEM. I just don’t understand your thinking.

I hope Pittsburgh does get it. Because it will be an “ I told you so” moment.

First of all amazon is not starting with 50,000 jobs. They are going to work up to that over 15 years. You are not looking at the big picture, there are many more jobs this will create from truck drivers to car salesman to bicycle repairman. I don't ever recall anyone vilifying shell, I think you may just be a negative person.

[NeptuneDreams]

Originally Posted by Geeo

I know they are looking at this analytically with metrics and data and dashboards and all those other buzzwords, but in my mind we are very much like Seattle before Amazon came along there, so perhaps they're looking for that. Seattle was in a major depression in the 70s when Boeing had huge cutbacks and was a blue collar town.

I would be worried if this is the case. Most of the long-time residents here (in Seattle) HATE Amazon...that is assuming they can still afford to live here. Most of the benefits of having the second headquarters in your city will not be enjoyed by the majority of locals. Not to mention that the influx of urban professionals has changed the cultural landscape of Seattle. Quaint little neighborhoods and eclectic local shops and restaurants are rapidly being replaced by sleek, modern, over-priced joints that cater to yuppies and hipsters (is there a difference?).

Yes - Amazon will bring lots of jobs to the area - but not the high-paying jobs people are hoping for. All of the high-paying jobs will go to people from other places in the country and world. And those affluent new residents in the community are willing to pay a lot more for housing than the locals.

The jobs that Amazon will bring for the locals are entry-level jobs...reception, mail-room, security, cafe, facility management/maintenance, etc...and these aren't even Amazon jobs with all the kushy benefits...they are contracted by other companies.

Another reason the locals dislike Amazon is that they are perceived as bullies - they allegedly bully the local government and contractors. They are also said to be extremely difficult to work with. As an employee with a contractor on the Amazon campus in the Seattle, I have no doubt these allegations are true.

My interest in this topic is that I am relocating later this year, and Pittsburgh is at the top of the list of places I am considering for a permanent relocation, as are a couple of other cities that made the short-list for the 2nd headquarters (dangit!).

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by guy2073

First of all amazon is not starting with 50,000 jobs. They are going to work up to that over 15 years. You are not looking at the big picture, there are many more jobs this will create from truck drivers to car salesman to bicycle repairman. I don't ever recall anyone vilifying shell, I think you may just be a negative person.

There is quite a conversation about Shell/the cracker plant in this very thread, starting at about post #430. Much negativity. Plus:
//www.city-data.com/forum/pitts...racker-go.html
Quite a bit of negativity as well.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by Embassyone

It’s not going to work. The local economy is not growing and there is a skills gap. I don’t know why it is so hard to understand. It’s welll documented. People on this board post of their struggles having an education and a skills mismatch. If you think these people are going to be cast aside without a fight you are mistaken. You have to start from the bottom and change over in a steady manner. If Miami, a growing city, is concerned you should be as well.

So if someone is currently un/under employed please explain how not bringing in more economic opportunities will help them?

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

There is quite a conversation about Shell/the cracker plant in this very thread, starting at about post #430. Much negativity. Plus:
//www.city-data.com/forum/pitts...racker-go.html
Quite a bit of negativity as well.

I went back an reread those few posts, I didn't see much negativity towards shell other than a couple posts.

[PghYinzer]

So Amazon comes in and doesn’t help those with the skills gap with the type of jobs it brings in. What kind of company or jobs would we be able to bring in that have jobs that match the skills of those who some fear are being left behind? Are we saying that as a society we need to slow down the arrival of tomorrow in order to keep people who havent prepared for it? Good luck with that as it is coming no matter what.

How about we allow progress to move as it does on its own with those who are prepared keep up. Those same prepared people then need to concentrate on bringing the others up to speed so that they can also participate. Let’s treat it like a marathon...you can either stop and walk until every last person crosses the finish line at the same time, even though you trained for months to do as best as you can, or after you are done you go back and cheer on those who need a little bit of a boost to cross the finish line. Problem is we have people that didn’t train ever and suddenly find themselves dropped right into the middle of the NYC marathon. We don’t cancel the marathon do we?

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by guy2073

I went back an reread those few posts, I didn't see much negativity towards shell other than a couple posts.

Here's a good one:

Originally Posted by wanderlust76

The cracker plant is pretty amazing but I'm not real sure how many people in the area are going to seal the deal on full time jobs there. I can see a lot of people coming in from all over the country and even the world to work there. The Amazon HQ would hire a much higher percentage of people from the area.

Shell doesn't care about the legacies of areas if they want some Einstein from the U.K. to work there, that's who is going to work there. They don't give a crap if you wear a Steelers jersey on Friday. This is the big boys of the real world.

LOL! Like Amazon is going to be different? H*ll, major league sports aren't all that big in Seattle. Their basketball team moved to OKLAHOMA!

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by Embassyone

^^^^^^ this

With Amazon, It looks like the locals will have a bright future cleaning toilets and supplementing their income with food stamps and government benefits. It looks like section 8 would be expanded in large numbers locally with this move. Amazon doesn’t manufacture anything, but I wouldn’t call them UPMC light. It looks like they may be a lot worse of an employer than that.

If your skill set only lands you cleaning toilets, please name a company that could in and add jobs that would be above cleaning toilets but not too Amazony. If toilet cleaning is the extent of the local skill set, at least Amazon would bring in people who need their toilets cleaned.