Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 9, 1993 TAG: 9312090141
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Though mighty First Union Corp.'s swallowing of homegrown Dominion became official in March, more than 100 former Dominion workers continue to bob in the sea of unemployment.
The job fair was put on by a career transition center - complete with computers, phones and help to craft resumes - First Union had set up to help more than 800 people displaced when the Charlotte, N.C., bank bought Dominion.
But First Union's commitment to help those laid-off workers ends Dec. 31. And that's too soon for some.
"I sat at a table here and they said it would be three months before they started hiring anybody," said Terri Carr, a Salem women who worked 15 years at Dominion. "Most of us are looking for a job now, not in three months."
For the job fair, the career center lined up 17 Western Virginia employers. Represented were Medeco Security Locks, Roanoke Gas Co., Virginia Tech, Carilion Health Systems and Roanoke city and county governments, to name a few.
Managers from those organizations listened to qualifications, took resumes and smiled gratefully. But several had no jobs to offer. Even those looking for workers knew their available jobs wouldn't match the positions the Dominion workers left behind.
"We're finding a lot of people with 15 to 30 years experience, and that's tough," said Leslie Helms, a branch manager at First Virginia Savings Bank. "What we have is entry level. Most of these people would like to continue the course of their career - not start over."
Rick Patterson, a former welfare benefits manager at Dominion, was one of those people. Patterson left Dominion in May and started a law practice in August.
He has a law degree - along with a master's in business administration - but doesn't want to work as a courtroom attorney.
"I'm overqualified for most jobs, and not connected well enough to get the other jobs that aren't advertised," Patterson said.
Looking around the room, Patterson recognized a lot of "middle management people." Dominion's departure, he said, created a lack of such jobs in the Roanoke Valley.
"There's a lot of good people in this room," Patterson said.
As a Virginia Tech student in the late 1960s, Ken Arritt worked for First National Exchange Bank, Dominion's predecessor. He was offered a job in Charlotte when First Union took over.
"My wife and I decided to risk it," he said. "The quality of life here compared to so many other places is so good; we have a couple of young children and would really like to stay here."
Though she has faced the troubles of unemployed people every day for months, Jean Dixon has remained optimistic about her own prospects.
Dixon's job has been helping others find a job. She's the manager of the First Union career center.
When the center closes Dec. 31, Dixon joins the unemployed.
"I'm very positive," Dixon said. "Something good is going to happen."
by CNB