The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

The B.C. government is investing $29.2 million to renew trades facilities at Camosun College - a key part of B.C.'s new Skills and Training Plan.

 

The renovation and expansion of Camosun's Interurban facilities will ensure future heavy-duty mechanics, shipbuilders and other skilled workers will be able to get the training they need on southern Vancouver Island.

 

The Honourable John Yap, Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology, and Honourable Ida Chong, Minister of Aboriginal Rights and Reconciliation, made the announcement today at Camosun’s Interurban campus.

 

Learn More: www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2012/09/trades-renewal-begins-at-c...

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991), as named by the Western Allies.

 

East German leader Walter Ulbricht agitated and maneuvered to get the Soviet Union's permission to construct the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop emigration and defection westward through the Border system, preventing escape across the city sector border from East Berlin into West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of East and West. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced each other at the location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. On 26 June 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited Checkpoint Charlie and looked from a platform onto the Berlin Wall and into East Berlin.

 

After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the American guard house at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction. It is now located in the Allied Museum in the Dahlem neighborhood of Berlin.

 

By the early 1950s, the Soviet method of restricting emigration was emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc, including East Germany. However, in occupied Germany, until 1952, the lines between East Germany and the western occupied zones remained easily crossed in most places. Subsequently, the inner German border between the two German states was closed and a barbed-wire fence erected.

 

Even after closing of the inner German border officially in 1952, the city sector border in between East Berlin and West Berlin remained considerably more accessible than the rest of the border because it was administered by all four occupying powers. Accordingly, Berlin became the main route by which East Germans left for the West. Hence the Berlin sector border was essentially a "loophole" through which Eastern Bloc citizens could still escape.

 

The 3.5 million East Germans who had left by 1961 totaled approximately 20% of the entire East German population.[7] The emigrants tended to be young and well educated.[8] The loss was disproportionately great among professionals — engineers, technicians, physicians, teachers, lawyers and skilled workers.

A large and enthusiastic crowd – made up of industry and community leaders, MSU Denver faculty, staff, students and alumni, legislators and other stakeholders – gathered on Oct. 8 for the groundbreaking of MSU Denver’s Aerospace and Engineering Sciences building. The $60 million facility promises to revolutionize aerospace and advanced manufacturing education with an innovative, cross-disciplinary curriculum that offers industry a direct pipeline of highly educated, skilled workers.

 

Photos by Sara Hertwig

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Samuel Gompers is famous because he

 

CORRECT: started the modern labor movement in the United States.

EXPLANATION: The labor movement fundamentally changed the relationship between workers and employers.

 

2. Someone who works in an industrial job, often in manufacturing, and who receives wages is a(n)

 

CORRECT: blue-collar worker.

EXPLANATION: Blue-collar workers are so-called because traditional work shirts worn by laborers were blue; laborers wore darker clothing that didn't show the dirt associated with hard physical labor in a factory.

 

3. Why was the Taft-Hartley Act passed?

 

CORRECT: to curb union power

EXPLANATION: Unions became so powerful in the 1940s that they began to abuse their power to the point where companies were hindered from increasing efficiency to stay competitive. This and other problems prompted Congress to pass the Taft-Hartley Act.

 

4. A settlement technique in which a neutral mediator meets with each side to try to find a solution that both sides will accept is

 

CORRECT: mediation.

EXPLANATION: Collective bargaining sometimes results in a deadlock at which time a third-party mediator is called in to help find solutions and thereby prevent a strike.

 

5. The process in which union and company representatives meet to negotiate a new labor contract is called

 

CORRECT: collective bargaining.

EXPLANATION: Labor contracts usually last from two to five years, after which time a new contract must be negotiated. Unions often engage in collective bargaining with company representatives to negotiate new labor contracts.

 

6. What tactic, involving a work stoppage, do unions use to force employers to address their demands?

 

CORRECT: strikes

EXPLANATION: A strike is an organized work stoppage that can shut down a workplace.

 

7. What is the name for a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides?

 

INCORRECT: a right-to-work law

CORRECT: arbitration

EXPLANATION: If collective bargaining and mediation have failed to produce an agreement between a union and an employer, then they might be willing to designate a neutral third party to make the final decision as an arbitrator.

 

8. In the early years of the labor movement, what was one of the main reasons workers wanted to organize?

 

CORRECT: Factories were dangerous places to work.

EXPLANATION: Workers in the 1800's were injured at a high rate, and disabled workers often lost their jobs. The prospects of finding another job were very small once a worker was injured.

 

9. Someone in a professional or clerical job who usually earns a salary is considered to be a(n)

 

CORRECT: white-collar worker.

EXPLANATION: White-collar workers are so-called because the men who held those jobs in the past usually wore white shirts and ties to work.

 

10. Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

 

CORRECT: to pay homage to the American worker

EXPLANATION: In 1882, labor leader Peter J. McGuire suggested a day celebrating the American worker. The idea took hold, and Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894.

 

1. Which is an example of a semi-skilled worker?

 

CORRECT: lifeguard

 

2. The decision that a mediator reaches during settlement talks is

 

CORRECT: non-binding.

 

3. When an employer believes that job applicants are intelligent and hardworking based upon their completion of college, it is an example of

 

CORRECT: the screening effect.

 

4. Which of the following workers is likely to earn the highest wage?

 

CORRECT: a professional worker

 

5. When is there an equilibrium wage?

 

CORRECT: when there is no excess in the demand for workers or in the supply of workers

 

6. The law that set the minimum wage is the

 

CORRECT: Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

 

7. What type of work is growing fastest in the United States?

 

CORRECT: information-related

 

8. The Taft-Hartley Act in 1947

 

CORRECT: allowed states to pass right-to-work laws.

 

9. What was one reason union membership rose in the 1930s?

 

CORRECT: Congress passed pro-union laws.

 

10. Another name for temporary work is

 

CORRECT: contingent employment.

 

11. What is meant by productivity?

 

CORRECT: the value of output

 

12. A labor union is an organization that

 

CORRECT: tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members.

 

13. Which of the following most accurately describes the change in average weekly earnings since 1980?

 

CORRECT: Average weekly earnings have risen for college-educated workers only.

 

14. Which of the following people is considered part of the labor force?

 

CORRECT: a person who has lost a job but is looking for one

 

15. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the United States Department of Labor

 

CORRECT: surveys households to assemble information on the workforce each month.

 

16. The invisible barrier that exists when highly skilled women are continually denied promotions to high-level positions in an industry dominated by men is called

 

CORRECT: the glass ceiling.

 

17. Which job is categorized as professional and would most likely earn a salary?

 

CORRECT: teacher

 

18. _______________ founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886.

 

CORRECT: Samuel Gompers

 

19. Collective bargaining means that

 

CORRECT: representatives of unions and companies negotiate new labor contracts.

 

20. There is a high equilibrium wage when the

 

CORRECT: labor supply is low and the demand is high.

  

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Joining Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Pat Bell and Parliamentary Secretary John Rustad are Clifford Wilson, a student in the Forest Industry Readiness Skills Training Program, and MaryAnne Arcand, Executive Director for the Central Interior Logging Association.

 

Learn More: www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2012/11/first-program-helps-fill-s...

Wages of less skilled workers have stagnated or fallen in real terms across advanced economies. In all but a handful of them, the incomes of households in the top income decile have risen faster than incomes of bottom-decile households for 25 years. The growing polarization of household incomes is driven by many factors, including patterns of household formation; the rise in the number of single-headed households, for example, is concentrated among middle- and low-income earners. Highly educated, higher-income cohorts not only have higher marriage rates but also now tend to marry within their own income groups. Nonetheless, the labor market’s changing demand and supply patterns, which determine long-term wage trajectories, are the most powerful drivers of income polarization.

 

This exhibit comes from “The world at work: Jobs, pay, and skills for 3.5 billion people,” the new McKinsey Global Institute report, on the McKinsey & Company Web site. bit.ly/KWDvHT

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

A section of a tower crane being removed by a 350 ton mobile crane.

Pictured: Harvey Hollins III, Director of the Office of Urban and Metropolitan Initiatives

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Pictured (L-R): Gerald Poisson, Chief Deputy County Executive of Oakland County; Bill Angerson, Tax and Local Government Operations Office of SEMCOG; State Senator Judy Emmons (R-SD33)

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard published by the American Art Publishing Co. on behalf of F.W. Woolworth.

 

On the divided back is printed:

 

'The Woolworth Building,

New York City.

Occupies a plot 152x197 feet

at Broadway and Barclay Street.

It is the tallest building in the

world, rising to a height of

750 feet, 55 stories above the

ground.

The foundation consists of

caissons 19 feet in diameter

sunk to bedrock, 110 to 130

feet below the ground.

Total cost is estimated at

$15,000,000.

H. Finkelstein & Son'.

 

The Woolworth Building

 

The Woolworth Building is a residential building and early skyscraper at 233 Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in NYC.

 

Designed by Cass Gilbert, it was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930, with a height of 792 feet (241 m). More than a century after its construction, it remains one of the 100 tallest buildings in the U.S..

 

The Woolworth Building consists of a 30-story base topped by a 30-story tower. Its façade is mostly decorated with architectural terracotta, though the lower portions are limestone, and it features thousands of windows.

 

The ornate lobby contains various sculptures, mosaics, and architectural touches. The structure was designed with several amenities and attractions, including a now-closed observatory on the 57th. floor and a private swimming pool in the basement.

 

F. W. Woolworth, the founder of a brand of popular five-and-ten-cent stores, conceived the skyscraper as a headquarters for his company. Woolworth planned the skyscraper jointly with the Irving National Exchange Bank, which also agreed to use the structure as its headquarters.

 

The Woolworth Building had originally been planned as a 12- to 16-story commercial building, but it underwent several revisions during its planning process. Construction started in 1910, although the building's final height was not decided upon until January 1911. The building officially opened on the 24th. April 1913.

 

The Woolworth Building has undergone several changes throughout its history. The façade was cleaned in 1932, and the building received an extensive renovation between 1977 and 1981.

 

The Irving National Exchange Bank moved its headquarters to 1 Wall Street in 1931, but the Woolworth Company (later Venator Group) continued to own the Woolworth Building for most of the 20th. century.

 

The structure was sold to the Witkoff Group in 1998. The top 30 floors were sold to a developer in 2012 and converted into residences.

 

Office and commercial tenants use the rest of the building.

 

-- Architecture of the Woolworth Building

 

Cass Gilbert designed the Woolworth Building in the neo-Gothic style. The building resembles European Gothic cathedrals; Reverend S. Parkes Cadman dubbed it "The Cathedral of Commerce" in a booklet published in 1916.

 

F. W. Woolworth, who had devised the idea for the Woolworth Building, had proposed using the Victoria Tower as a model for the building; he reportedly also admired the design of Palace of Westminster.

 

Gilbert, by contrast, disliked the comparison to religious imagery. The architect ultimately used 15th.- and 16th.-century Gothic ornament on the Woolworth Building, along with a complementary color scheme.

 

The Woolworth Building was designed to be 420 feet (130 m) high, but was eventually raised to 792 feet (241 m).

 

The Woolworth Building was 60 stories tall when completed in 1913, though this consisted of 53 usable floors topped by several mechanical floors.

 

The building's ceiling heights, ranging from 11 to 20 feet (3.4 to 6.1 m), make it the equivalent of an 80-story building. It remained the tallest building in the world until the construction of 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building in 1930, both in New York City.

 

The building is assigned its own ZIP Code; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019.

 

-- The Form of the Woolworth Building

 

The building's tower, flush with the main frontage on Broadway, joins an office block base with a narrow interior court for light. The base occupies the entire lot between Park Place to the north, Broadway to the east, and Barclay Street to the south.

 

The site measures 155 feet (47 m) wide on Broadway and 200 feet (61 m) wide on both Park Place and Barclay Street. The base contains two "wings" extending westward, one each on the Park Place and Barclay Street frontages, which form a rough U-shape when combined with the Broadway frontage.

 

This ensured that all offices had outside views. The U-shaped base is approximately 30 stories tall. All four elevations of the base are decorated, since the building has frontage on all sides.

 

The tower rises an additional 30 stories above the eastern side of the base, abutting Broadway. Above the 30th. floor are setbacks on the north and south elevations. There are additional setbacks along the north, south, and west elevations on the 45th. and 50th. floors.

 

The 30th. through 45th. floors measure 84 by 86 feet (26 by 26 m); the 46th. through 50th. floors, 69 by 71 feet (21 by 22 m); and the 51st. through 53rd. floors, 69 by 61 feet (21 by 19 m).

 

The tower has a square plan below the 50th.-story setback and an octagonal plan above. Though the structure is physically 60 stories tall, the 53rd. floor is the top floor that can be occupied. Above the 53rd. floor, the tower tapers into a pyramidal roof.

 

-- The Façade of the Woolworth Building

 

The lowest four stories are clad in limestone. Above that, the exterior of the Woolworth Building was cast in limestone-colored, glazed architectural terracotta panels.

 

F. W. Woolworth initially wanted to clad the skyscraper in granite, while Gilbert wanted to use limestone. The decision to use terracotta for the façade was based on both aesthetic and functional concerns.

 

Terracotta was not only fireproof but also, in Gilbert's mind, a purely ornamental addition clarifying the Woolworth Building's steel construction. Each panel was of a slightly different color, creating a polychrome effect.

 

The façade appeared to have a uniform tone, but the upper floors were actually darker and more dense. Behind the terracotta panels were brick walls; the terracotta pieces are attached to the brick walls by metal rods and hangers.

 

The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company provided the original terracotta cladding. The panels were manufactured in shades of blue, green, sienna, and rose. The terracotta panels were partially vitrified, allowing them to bear large loads.

 

Gilbert also asked that John Donnelly and Eliseo V. Ricci create full-size designs based on Atlantic Terra Cotta's models.

 

In 1932, Atlantic Terra Cotta carried out a comprehensive cleaning campaign of the Woolworth's façade in order to remove blackening caused by the city's soot and pollution.

 

The Ehrenkrantz Group restored the building's façade between 1977 and 1981. During the renovation, much of the terracotta was replaced with concrete and Gothic ornament was removed.

 

The building has several thousand windows: the exact number is disputed, but various sources state that the Woolworth Building has 2,843, 4,400, or 5,000 windows.

 

Windows were included for lighting and comfort; because the Woolworth Building was built before air conditioning became common, every office is within 10 feet (3.0 m) of a window.

 

Some of the Woolworth Building's windows are set within arch-shaped openings. Most of the building's spandrels, or triangles between the top corners of the window and the top of the arch, have golden Gothic tracery against a bright blue backdrop.

 

On the 25th., 39th., and 40th. stories, the spandrels consist of iconography found in the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.

 

Gold-on-blue tracery is also found on the 26th., 27th., and 42nd. floors.

 

-- The Base of the Woolworth Building

 

The main entrance on Broadway is a three-story Tudor arch, surrounded on either side by two bays: one narrower than the main arch, the other wider. The five bays form a triumphal arch overhung by a balcony and stone motifs of Gothic design.

 

The intrados of the arch contains 23 niches. The topmost niche depicts an owl; the lowest niches on both sides depict tree trunks; and the other twenty niches depict animated figures.

 

The spandrel above the left side of the arch depicts Mercury, classical god of commerce, while that above the right side depicts Ceres, classical goddess of agriculture.

 

Above all of this is an ogee arch with more niches, as well as two carvings of owls hovering above a "W" monogram. There are salamanders within niches on either side of the main entrance.

 

Inside the triumphal arch, there is a smaller arch with a revolving door and a Tudor window; it is flanked by standard doors and framed with decorations. There is a pelican above this smaller arch.

 

-- The Tower Section of the Woolworth Building

 

At the 45th.- and 50th.-story setbacks, there are turrets at each corner of the tower. The northeast corner turret concealed a smokestack.

 

There is a pyramidal roof above the 53rd. floor, as well as four ornamental tourelles at the four corners of the tower. The roof was originally gilt but is now green. The pyramidal roof, as well as the smaller roofs below, used 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) of gold leaf.

 

The main roof is interspersed with small dormers, which contain windows into the maintenance levels inside. The pyramidal roof is topped by another pyramid with an octagonal base and tall pointed-arch windows. In turn, the octagonal pyramid is capped by a spire.

 

The three layers of pyramids are about 62 feet (19 m), or five stories tall. An observation deck was located at the 55th. floor, about 730 feet (220 m) above ground level. The deck, which was octagonal in plan, measuring 65 feet (20 m) across, was accessed by a glass-walled elevator.

 

It was patronized by an estimated 300,000 visitors per year, but was closed as a security measure in 1941 after the Pearl Harbor attack.

 

Strongly articulated piers, which carry right to the pyramidal cap without intermediate cornices, give the building its upward thrust. This was influenced by Aus's belief that:

 

"From an engineering point of view,

no structure is beautiful where the

lines of strength are not apparent."

 

The copper roof is connected to the Woolworth Building's steel superstructure, which serves to ground the roof electrically. The Gothic detailing concentrated at the highly visible crown is over-scaled, and the building's silhouette could be made out from several miles away.

 

Gilbert's choice of the Gothic style was described as "an expression of the verticality of the tower form", and as Gilbert himself later wrote, the style was "light, graceful, delicate and flame-like".

 

Gilbert considered several proposals for exterior lighting, including four powerful searchlights atop nearby buildings and a constantly rotating lamp at the apex of the Woolworth Building's roof.

 

Ultimately, the builders decided to erect nitrogen lamps and reflectors above the 31st. floor, and have the intensity of the lighting increase with height.

 

-- Structural Features of the Woolworth Building

 

-- The Substructure

 

In contrast to other parts of Manhattan, the bedrock beneath the site is relatively deep, descending to between 110 and 115 feet (34 and 35 m) on average. The site also has a high water table, which is as shallow as 15 feet (4.6 m) below ground level.

 

Due to the geology of the area, the building is supported on 69 massive caissons that descend to the bedrock. The caissons range in depth from 100 to 120 feet (30 to 37 m).

 

To give the structure a sturdy foundation, the builders used metal tubes 19 feet (5.8 m) in diameter filled with concrete. These tubes were driven into the ground with a pneumatic caisson process to anchor the foundations to the bedrock.

 

Because the slope of the bedrock was so sharp, steps had to be carved into the rock before the caissons could be sunk into the ground. The caissons were both round and rectangular, with the rectangular caissons located mainly on the southern and western lot lines.

 

The caissons are irregularly distributed across the site, being more densely concentrated at the northeastern corner. This is because the building was originally planned to occupy a smaller site at the corner of Broadway and Park Place; when the site was enlarged, the caissons that had already been installed were left in place.

 

The two basement levels, descending 55 feet (17 m), are constructed of reinforced concrete.

 

-- The Superstructure

 

Whereas many earlier buildings had been constructed with load-bearing walls, which by necessity were extremely thick, the Woolworth Building's steel superstructure was relatively thin, which enabled Gilbert to maximize the building's interior area.

 

Engineers Gunvald Aus and Kort Berle designed the steel frame. Each column carries a load of 24 tons per square foot, supporting the building's overall weight of 233,000 tons.

 

Where the columns of the superstructure did not match up with the caissons, they were cantilevered above on plate girders between two adjoining caissons. These girders are extremely large; one such girder measures 8 feet (2.4 m) deep, 6.75 feet (2 m) wide, and 23 feet (7.0 m) long.

 

For the wind bracing, the entire Woolworth Building was considered as a vertical cantilever, and correspondingly large girders and columns were used in the construction.

 

-- Interior

 

Upon completion, the Woolworth Building contained seven water systems — one each for the power plant, the hot-water plant, the fire-protection system, the communal restrooms, the offices with restrooms, the basement swimming pool, and the basement restaurant.

 

Although the water is obtained from the New York City water supply system, much of it is filtered and reused. A dedicated water system, separate from the city's, was proposed during construction, but workers abandoned the plan after unsuccessfully digging 1,500 feet (460 m) into Manhattan's bedrock.

 

The Woolworth Building was the first structure to have its own power plant, with four Corliss steam engine generators totaling a capacity of 1,500 kilowatt-hours; the plant could support 50,000 people.

 

The building also had a dedicated heating plant with six boilers producing 2,500 horsepower. The boilers were fed from subterranean coal bunkers capable of holding over 2,000 tons of anthracite coal.

 

-- Lobby

 

The ornate, cruciform lobby, known as the "arcade", was characterized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as:

 

"One of the most spectacular of

the early 20th. century in New

York City".

 

It consists of two perpendicular, double-height passageways with barrel-vaulted ceilings. Where the passageways intersect, there is a domed ceiling. The dome contains pendentives that may have been patterned after those of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.

 

Veined marble from the island of Skyros in Greece covers the lobby. Patterned glass mosaics that contain blue, green, and gold tiling with red accents decorate the ceilings.

 

There are other Gothic-style decorations in the lobby, including on the cornice and the bronze fittings. Twelve plaster brackets, which carry grotesques depicting major figures in the building's construction, are placed where the arcade and the mezzanine intersect.

 

These ornaments include Gilbert with a model of the building, Aus taking a girder's measurements, and Woolworth holding nickels and dimes. Two ceiling murals by C. Paul Jennewein, titled Labor and Commerce, are located above the mezzanine where it crosses the south and north wings, respectively.

 

The staircase hall is a two-story room located to the west of the arcade. It consists of the ground level, which contains former storefronts, as well as a mezzanine level above it. The ground floor originally contained 18 storefronts.

 

A 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) marble staircase leads westward from the arcade to a mezzanine, where the entrance to the Irving National Exchange Bank office was formerly located. The mezzanine contains a stained-glass skylight surrounded by the names of several nations. The skylight contains the dates 1879 and 1913, which respectively signify the years of the Woolworth Company's founding and the building's opening.

 

The skylight is also surrounded by sculpted grotesques, which depict merchandising activities in the five-and-dime industry.

 

There is a smaller space west of the staircase hall with a one-story-high ceiling. This room contains a coffered ceiling with a blue-green background. The crossbeams contain Roman portrait heads, while the cornice contains generic sculpted grotesques.

 

-- Basement

 

The basement of the Woolworth Building contains an unused bank vault, restaurant, and barbershop. The bank vault was initially intended to be used for safe-deposit boxes, though it was used by the Irving National Exchange Bank in practice.

 

In 1931, Irving moved some $3 billion of deposits to a vault in its new headquarters at 1 Wall Street, and the Woolworth Building's vault was converted into a storage area for maintenance workers.

 

There is also a basement storage room, known as the "bone yard", which contains replacement terracotta decorations for the facade.

 

The basement also contains closed entrances to two New York City Subway stations. There was an entrance to the Park Place station directly adjacent to the building's north elevation, served by the 2 and ​3 trains. This entrance was closed after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

 

Another entrance led to the City Hall station one block north, now served by the R and ​W trains, but this was closed in 1982 because of concerns over crime.

 

A private pool, originally intended for F. W. Woolworth, exists in the basement. Proposed as early as 1910, the pool measured 15 by 55 feet (4.6 by 16.8 m) and had a marble perimeter.

 

The pool was later drained, but was restored in the mid-2010's as part of the conversion of the Woolworth Building's upper floors into residential units.

 

-- Offices

 

At the time of construction, the Woolworth Building had over 2,000 offices. Each office had ceilings ranging from 11 to 20 feet (3.4 to 6.1 m) high. Gilbert had designed the interior to maximize the amount of usable office space, and correspondingly, minimize the amount of space taken up by the elevator shafts.

 

The usable-space consideration affected the placement of the columns in the wings, as the columns in the main tower were positioned around the elevator shafts and facade piers.

 

Each of the lowest 30 stories had 31 offices, of which ten faced the light court, eight faced Park Place, eight faced Barclay Street, and five faced Broadway. Above the 30th.-story setback, each story had 14 offices.

 

For reasons that are unknown, floor numbers 42, 48, and 52 are skipped.

 

Woolworth's private office on the 24th. floor, revetted in green marble in the French Empire style, is preserved in its original condition. His office included a mahogany desk with a leather top measuring 7.5 by 3.75 feet (2.29 by 1.14 m).

 

That desk contained a hidden console with four buttons to request various members of his staff.

 

The marble columns in the office are capped by gilded Corinthian capitals. Woolworth's reception room contained objects that were inspired by a visit to the Château de Compiègne shortly after the building opened.

 

These included a bronze bust of Napoleon, a set of French Empire-style lamps with gold figures, and an inkwell with a depiction of Napoleon on horseback.

 

The walls of the office contained portraits of Napoleon, and gold-and-scarlet chairs were arranged around the room. At some point, Woolworth replaced the portrait of Napoleon with a portrait of himself.

 

-- Elevators

 

The Woolworth Building contains a system of high-speed elevators capable of traveling 650 feet (200 m) or 700 feet (210 m) per minute. The Otis Elevator Company supplied the units, which were innovative in that there were "express" elevators, stopping only at certain floors, and "local" elevators, stopping at every floor between a certain range.

 

There were 26 Otis electric elevators with gearless traction, as well as an electric-drum shuttle elevator within the tower once construction was complete. Of these, 24 were passenger elevators. Two freight elevators and two emergency staircases were placed at the rear of the building.

 

The elevator doors in the lobby were designed by Tiffany Studios. The patterns on the doors are arabesque tracery patterns in etched steel set off against a gold-plated background.

 

-- History of the Woolworth Building

 

-- Planning

 

F. W. Woolworth, an entrepreneur who had become successful because of his "Five-and-Dime" (5- and 10-cent stores), began planning a new headquarters for the F. W. Woolworth Company in 1910.

 

Around the same time, Woolworth's friend Lewis Pierson was having difficulty getting shareholder approval for the merger of his Irving National Bank and the rival New York Exchange Bank.

 

Woolworth offered to acquire shares in New York Exchange Bank and vote in favor of the merger if Pierson agreed to move the combined banks' headquarters to a new building he was planning as the F. W. Woolworth Company's headquarters.

 

Having received a commitment from the banks, Woolworth acquired a corner site on Broadway and Park Place in Lower Manhattan, opposite City Hall.

 

Woolworth and the Irving National Exchange Bank then set up the Broadway-Park Place Company to construct and finance the proposed structure. Initially, the bank was supposed to purchase the company's stock gradually until it owned the entire company, and thus, the Woolworth Building.

 

Irving would be able to manage the 18 floors of rentable space on a 25-year lease. While negotiations to create the Broadway-Park Place Company were ongoing, Woolworth and his real estate agent Edward J. Hogan purchased several parcels from the Trenor Luther Park estate and other owners.

 

The entire footprint of the current building, a rectangular lot, had been acquired by the 15th. April 1910, at a total cost of $1.65 million (about $37.7 million in 2022).

 

-- Original designs

 

Woolworth commissioned Cass Gilbert to design the new building. Gilbert later mentioned that he had received the commission for the Woolworth Building after getting a phone call from Woolworth one day.

 

Woolworth wanted his new structure to be of similar design to the Palace of Westminster in London, which was designed in the Gothic style. At the time, Gilbert was well known for constructing modern skyscrapers with historicizing design elements.

 

Gilbert was originally retained to design a standard 12- to 16-story commercial building for Woolworth, who later said:

 

"I have no desire to erect a monument

that would cause posterity to remember

me".

 

However, Woolworth then wanted to surpass the nearby New York World Building, which sat on the other side of City Hall Park and stood 20 stories and 350 feet (110 m).

 

A drawing by Thomas R. Johnson, dated April 22 1910, shows a 30-story building rising from the site. Because of the change in plans, the organization of the Broadway-Park Place Company was rearranged.

 

Woolworth would now be the major partner, contributing $1 million of the planned $1.5 million cost. The Irving Bank would pay the balance, and it would take up a 25-year lease for the ground floor, fourth floor, and basement.

 

By September 1910, Gilbert had designed an even taller structure, with a 40-story tower on Park Place adjacent to a shorter 25-story annex, yielding a 550-foot (170 m)-tall building.

 

The next month, Gilbert's latest design had evolved into a 45-story tower roughly the height of the nearby Singer Building. After the latest design, Woolworth wrote to Gilbert in November 1910 and asked for the building's height to be increased to 620 feet (190 m), which was 8 feet (2.4 m) taller than the Singer Building, Lower Manhattan's tallest building.

 

Woolworth was inspired by his travels in Europe, where he would constantly be asked about the Singer Building. He decided that housing his company in an even taller building would provide invaluable advertising for the F. W. Woolworth Company and make it renowned worldwide.

 

This design, unveiled to the public the same month, was a 45-story tower rising 625 feet (191 m), sitting on a lot by 105 by 197 feet (32 by 60 m). Referring to the revised plans, Woolworth said:

 

"I do not want a mere building.

I want something that will be an

ornament to the city."

 

He later said that he wanted visitors to brag that they had visited the world's tallest building.

 

Louis J. Horowitz, president of the building's main contractor Thompson-Starrett Company, said of Woolworth:

 

"Beyond a doubt his ego was a thing

of extraordinary size; whoever tried to

find a reason for his tall building and

did not take that fact into account would

reach a false conclusion."

 

Even after the revised height was unveiled, Woolworth still yearned to make the building even taller, as it was now close to the 700-foot (210 m) height of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, then the tallest building in New York City and the world.

 

On the 20th. December 1910, Woolworth sent a team of surveyors to measure the Metropolitan Life Tower's height and come up with a precise measurement, so that he could make his skyscraper 50 feet (15 m) taller.

 

He then ordered Gilbert to revise the building's design to reach 710 or 712 feet (216 or 217 m), despite ongoing worries over whether the additional height would be worth the increased cost.

 

In order to fit the larger base that a taller tower necessitated, Woolworth bought the remainder of the frontage on Broadway between Park Place and Barclay Street. He also purchased two lots to the west, one on Park Place and one on Barclay Street; these lots would not be developed, but would retain their low-rise buildings and preserve the proposed tower's views.

 

Such a tall building would produce the largest income of any building globally.

 

On the 1st. January 1911, the New York Times reported that Woolworth was planning a 625 feet (191 m) building at a cost of $5 million.

 

By the 18th. January 1911, Woolworth and Hogan had acquired the final site for the project at a total cost of $4.5 million; (about $103 million in 2022) the lot measured 152 feet (46 m) on Broadway, 192.5 feet (58.7 m) on Barclay Street, and 197.8 feet (60 m) on Park Place.

 

In a New York Times article two days later, Woolworth said that his building would rise 750 feet (230 m) to its tip. In order to fit the correct architectural proportions, Gilbert redesigned the building to its current 792-foot (241 m) height.

 

Renderings by the illustrator Hughson Hawley, completed in April 1911, are the first official materials that reflect this final height.

 

Gilbert had to reconcile both Woolworth's and Pierson's strict requirements for the design of the structure. The architect's notes describe late-night conversations that he had with both men. The current design of the lobby, with its arcade, reflected these conflicting pressures.

 

Sometimes Gilbert also faced practical conundrums, such as Woolworth's requirement that:

 

There must be many windows so divided

that all of the offices should be well lighted,

and so that tenants could erect partitions to

fit their needs."

 

Gilbert wrote that:

 

"This requirement naturally

prevented any broad wall

space".

 

Woolworth and Gilbert sometimes clashed during the design process, especially because of the constantly changing designs and the architect's fees. Nevertheless, Gilbert commended Woolworth's devotion to the details and beauty of the building's design, as well as the entrepreneur's enthusiasm for the project.

 

Such was the scale of the building that Gilbert noted:

 

"For several years my sense of scale was

destroyed because of the unprecedented

attuning of detail to, for these days, such

an excessive height".

 

-- Construction of the Woolworth Building

 

In September 1910, wrecking crews demolished the five and six-story structures which previously occupied the site. Construction officially began on the 4th. November 1910, with excavation by The Foundation Company, using a contract negotiated personally by Frank Woolworth.

 

The start of construction instantly raised the site's value from $2.25 million to $3.2 million. The contract of over $1 million was described as the largest contract for foundation construction ever awarded in the world.

 

It took months for Woolworth to decide upon the general construction company. George A. Fuller's Fuller Company was well experienced and had practically invented skyscraper construction.

 

However Louis Horowitz's Thompson-Starrett Company was local to New York, and despite being newer, Horowitz had worked for Fuller before, and thus had a similar knowledge base.

 

On the 20th. April 1911, Thompson-Starrett won the contract with a guaranteed construction price of $4,308,500 for the building's frame and structural elements.

 

The company was paid $300,000 for their oversight and management work, despite Woolworth's attempts to get the company to do the job for free due to the prestige of the project.

 

On the 12th. June 1911, the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company received a $250,000 contract to manufacture the terracotta.

 

The next month, Donnelly and Ricci received the $11,500 contract for the terracotta work and some of the interior design work. Gilbert requested Atlantic Terra Cotta use an office next to his while they drew several hundred designs.

 

The construction process involved hundreds of workers, and daily wages ranged from $1.50 for laborers (equivalent to $44 in 2022) to $4.50 for skilled workers (equivalent to $133 in 2022).

 

By August 1911, the building's foundations were completed ahead of the target date of the 15th. September; construction of the skyscraper's steel frame began on the 15th. August.

 

The steel beams and girders used in the framework weighed so much that, to prevent the streets from caving in, a group of surveyors examined them on the route along which the beams would be transported.

 

The American Bridge Company provided steel for the building from their foundries in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; manufacturing took over 45 weeks.

 

The first above-ground steel had been erected by October 1911, and installation of the building's terracotta began on the 1st. February 1912.

 

The building rose at the rate of 1½ stories a week, and the steelworkers set a speed record for assembling 1,153 tons of steel in six consecutive eight-hour days.

 

By the 18th. February 1912, work on the steel frame had reached the building's 18th. floor. By the 6th. April 1912, the steel frame had reached the top of the base at the 30th. floor, and work then began on constructing the tower of the Woolworth Building.

 

Steel reached the 47th. floor by the 30th. May, and the official topping out ceremony took place two weeks ahead of schedule on the 1st. July 1912, as the last rivet was driven into the summit of the tower.

 

The skyscraper was substantially completed by the end of that year. The final estimated construction cost was US$13.5 million (equivalent to $400,000,000 in 2022), up from the initial estimates of US$5 million for the shorter versions of the skyscraper (equivalent to $148,000,000 in 2022).

 

Woolworth provided $5 million, while investors provided the remainder, and financing was completed by August 1911.

 

-- Opening and the 1910's

 

The building opened on the 24th. April 1913. Woolworth held a grand dinner on the building's 27th. floor for over 900 guests, and at exactly 7:30 p.m. EST, President Woodrow Wilson pushed a button in Washington, D.C., to turn on the building's lights. Additional congratulations were sent via letter from former President William Howard Taft, Governor of New Jersey James Fairman Fielder and United States Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels.

 

The building was declared ready for occupancy on the 1st. May 1913, and Woolworth began advertising the offices for rent beginning at $4.00 per square foot.

 

To attract tenants, Woolworth hired architecture critic Montgomery Schuyler to write a 56-page brochure outlining the building's features. Schuyler later described the Woolworth Building as the "noblest offspring" of buildings erected with steel skeletons.

 

On completion, the Woolworth Building topped the record set by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower as the world's tallest building, a distinction it held until 1930.

 

Woolworth had purchased all of the Broadway-Park Place Company's shares from the Irving National Exchange Bank by May 1914; his company held no ownership stake in the building.

 

The building contained offices for as many as 14,000 employees. By the end of 1914, the building was 70% occupied and generating over $1.3 million a year in rents for the F. W. Woolworth Company.

 

-- The Woolworth Building in the 1920's to 1960's

 

During the Great War, only one of the Woolworth Building's then-14 elevators was turned on, and many lighting fixtures in hallways and offices were turned off. This resulted in about a 70% energy reduction compared to peacetime requirements.

 

The building had more than a thousand tenants by the 1920's, who generally occupied suites of one or two rooms. These tenants reportedly collectively employed over 12,000 people in the building.

 

In 1920, after F. W. Woolworth died, his heirs obtained a $3 million mortgage loan on the Woolworth Building from Prudential Life Insurance Company in order to pay off $8 million in inheritance tax.

 

By this point, the building was worth $10 million and grossed $1.55 million per year in rental income. The Broadway-Park Place Corporation agreed to sell the building to Woolco Realty Co., a subsidiary of the F. W. Woolworth Company, in January 1924 at an assessed valuation of $11.25 million (about $153 million in 2022).

 

The company paid $4 million in cash and obtained a five-year, $11 million mortgage from Prudential Life Insurance Company at an annual interest rate of 5.5%. The sale was finalized in April 1924, after which F. W. Woolworth's heirs no longer had any stake in the building.

 

In 1927, the building's pinnacle was painted green, and the observation tower was re-gilded for over $25,000 (about $340,647 in 2022). The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company cleaned the Woolworth Building's façade in 1932.

 

Prudential extended its $3.7 million mortgage on the building by ten years in 1939, and the observation deck was closed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

 

Ten of the building's 24 elevators were temporarily disabled in 1944 because of a shortage of coal. The next year, the building's owners replaced the elevators and closed off the building above the 54th. story.

 

By 1953, a new chilled water air conditioning system had been installed, bringing individual room temperature control to a third of the building.

 

The old car-switch-control elevators had been replaced with a new automatic dispatching systems and new elevator cars. The structure was still profitable by then, although it was now only the sixth-tallest building, and tourists no longer frequented the Woolworth Building.

 

The building's terracotta façade deteriorated easily, and, by 1962, repairs to the terracotta tiles were occurring year-round.

 

The Woolworth Company had considered selling the building as early as the 1960's, though the planned sale never happened.

 

-- Restoration and Landmark Status

 

The National Park Service designated the Woolworth Building as a National Historic Landmark in 1966. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) considered giving the Woolworth Building official city-landmark status in 1970. The F. W. Woolworth Company called the landmark law "onerous" since it would restrict the company from making modifications to many aspects of the building.

 

The commission ultimately declined to give the Woolworth Building a designated-landmark status because of the company's opposition to such a measure, as well as the increased costs and scrutiny.

 

The lobby was cleaned in 1974.

 

The F. W. Woolworth Company commissioned an appraisal of the building's façade in 1975 and found serious deterioration in the building's terracotta. Many of the blocks of terracotta had loosened or cracked from the constant thermal expansion and contraction caused by New York's climate.

 

The cracks in the façade had let rain in, which had caused the steel superstructure to rust. By 1976, the Woolworth Company had placed metal netting around the façade in order to prevent terracotta pieces from dislodging and hitting pedestrians.

 

The issues with the façade were exacerbated by the fact that very few terracotta manufacturers remained in business, making it difficult for the company to procure replacements.

 

The New York City Industrial and Commercial Incentives Board approved a $8.5 million tax abatement in September 1977, which was to fund a proposed renovation of the Woolworth Building.

 

The Woolworth Company still occupied half the building; its vice president for construction said:

 

"We think the building merits

the investment, in part because

F. W. Woolworth had used his

own wealth to fund the building's

construction."

 

Much of the remaining space was occupied by lawyers who paid rentals of between $7 to $12 per square foot ($75 to $129/m2).

 

The F. W. Woolworth Company began a five-year restoration of the building's terracotta and limestone façade, as well as replacement of all the building's windows, in 1977.

 

Initially, the company had considered replacing the entire terracotta façade with concrete; however this was canceled due to its high cost and potential backlash from preservationists.

 

The renovation, carried out by Turner Construction to plans by the New York architectural firm Ehrenkrantz Group, involved the replacement of roughly one-fifth of the building's terracotta.

 

Since there were so few remaining terracotta manufacturers, Woolworth's replaced 26,000 of the tiles with concrete lookalikes; many of those tiles had to be custom-cut. The concrete was coated with a surface that was meant to be replaced every five years, like the glazing on the terracotta blocks.

 

Similarly, the original copper windows were replaced with aluminum frames which allowed them to be opened, whereas the originals were sealed in place.

 

The company also removed some decorative flying buttresses near the tower's crown and refaced four tourelles in aluminum because of damage.

 

The building's renovation was completed without fanfare in 1982. The estimated cost of the project had risen from $8 million to over $22 million. Much of the renovation was financed through the city government's tax break, which had increased to $11.4 million.

 

The LPC again considered the Woolworth Building for landmark designation in early 1982, shortly after the renovation was completed. However upon the request of the building's lawyers, the LPC postponed a public hearing for the proposed landmark designation to April 1982.

 

That year, the building's entrance to the City Hall subway station was closed because of fears over crime. The LPC granted landmark protection to the building's façade and the interior of its lobby in April 1983.

 

The Woolworth Company (later Venator Group) continued to own the building for a decade and a half. After struggling financially for years, and with no need for a trophy office building, Venator Group began discussing a sale of the building in 1996.

 

To raise capital for its other operations, Venator formally placed the Woolworth Building for sale in April 1998.

 

-- Witkoff Group Ownership

 

Venator Group agreed to sell the building in June 1998 to Steve Witkoff's Witkoff Group and Lehman Brothers for $155 million (about $261 million in 2022). However before the sale was finalized in December 1998, Witkoff renegotiated the purchase price to $137.5 million (about $231 million in 2022), citing a declining debt market.

 

Venator shrunk its space in the building from eight floors to four; this was a sharp contrast to the 25 floors the company had occupied just before the sale.

 

Witkoff also agreed to license the Woolworth name and invest $30 million in renovating the exterior and interior of the building.

 

After purchasing the building, the Witkoff Group rebranded it in an attempt to attract entertainment and technology companies. In April 2000, the Venator Group officially moved their headquarters to 112 West 34th. Street, and Witkoff indicated that he would sell the upper half of the building as residential condominiums.

 

That October, the company proposed a two-story addition to the 29th.-floor setbacks on the north and south elevations of the tower, to be designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who were also leading the renovation of the building. The LPC denied the proposal.

 

The company unveiled an ambitious plan in November 2000 that would have converted the top 27 floors of the building into 75 condominiums, including a five-story penthouse. The plan would have included a new residential lobby on Park Place, a 100-space garage, a 75-seat underground screening room, and a spa in the basement.

 

The developers planned to spend $60 to $70 million on the conversion which would be ready for occupancy by August 2002. However the LPC opposed the plan because it would have required exterior changes to the roof.

 

The commission eventually approved a modified version of the plan. Following the September 11 attacks and the subsequent collapse of the nearby World Trade Center, the proposal was later canceled.

 

-- Security Increases and New Plan

 

Prior to the September 11 attacks, the World Trade Center was often photographed in such a way that the Woolworth Building could be seen between the complex's twin towers.

 

After the attacks occurred only a few blocks away, the Woolworth Building was without electricity, water and a telephone service for a few weeks; its windows were broken, and falling rubble damaged a top turret.

 

Increased post-attack security restricted access to most of the ornate lobby, previously a tourist attraction. New York Times reporter David W. Dunlap wrote in 2006 that a security guard had asked him to leave within twelve seconds of entering the Woolworth Building.

 

However, there was renewed interest in restoring public access to the Woolworth Building during planning for its centennial celebrations. The lobby reopened to public tours in 2014, when Woolworth Tours started accommodating groups for 30- to 90-minute tours.

 

The tours were part of a partnership between Cass Gilbert's great-granddaughter, Helen Post Curry, and Witkoff's vice president for development, Roy A. Suskin.

 

By 2007, the concrete blocks on the Woolworth Building's façade had deteriorated because of neglect. A lack of regular re-surfacing had led to water and dirt absorption, which had stained the concrete blocks.

 

Though terracotta's popularity had increased since the 1970's, Suskin had declined to say whether the façade would be modified, if at all.

 

Around the same time, Witkoff planned to partner with Rubin Schron to create an "office club" on the top 25 floors building to attract high-end tenants like hedge funds and private equity firms. The plan would have restored the 58th. floor observatory as a private amenity for "office club" tenants, in addition to amenities like a private dining room, meeting rooms, and a new dedicated lobby.

 

The partners planned to complete the project by the end of 2008, but the financial crisis of 2007–2008 derailed the plans, leaving the top floors gutted and vacant.

 

-- Residential Conversion

 

On the 31st. July 2012, an investment group led by New York developer Alchemy Properties which included Adam Neumann and Joel Schreiber, bought the top 30 floors of the skyscraper for $68 million (about $86.1 million in 2022) from the Witkoff Group and Cammeby's International.

 

The firm planned to renovate the space into 33 luxury apartments and convert the penthouse into a five-level living space. The lower 28 floors are still owned by the Witkoff Group and Cammeby's International, who planned to maintain them as office space.

 

The project was expected to cost approximately $150 million including the $68 million purchase price. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the changes to the building in October 2013.

 

When the sale was first announced in 2012, the developers expected the building's conversion to be complete by 2015. However, construction took longer than expected.

 

Workers could not attach a construction hoist to the building's façade without damaging it, and they were prohibited from using the elevators because of the active office tenants on the lower floors and the regular public tours of the landmarked lobby.

 

The renovation included many restorations and changes to the building's interior. Two of the elevator shafts only went to the 29th. floor, allowing extra floor space for the residents above.

 

A new private lobby was also built for residents, and the coffered ceiling from F. W. Woolworth's personal 40th. floor office was relocated to the entryway. Each unit received space in a wine cellar, along with access to the restored private pool in the basement.

 

The 29th. floor was converted to an amenity floor named the "Gilbert Lounge" after the structure's architect, while the 30th. floor hosts a fitness facility.

 

In August 2014, the New York Attorney General's office approved Alchemy's plan to sell 34 condos at the newly branded Woolworth Tower Residences for a combined total of $443.7 million. After a soft launch in late 2014, units at the building were officially listed for sale in mid-2015.

 

Alchemy initially intended to leverage an in-house sales staff, and hired a director from Corcoran Sunshine to lead the effort. However, the new sales director left at the end of 2015 amid rumors of slow sales. Following his departure, the company hired Sotheby's International Realty to market the units.

 

The building's penthouse unit, dubbed "The Pinnacle", was listed at $110 million, the highest asking price ever for an apartment in downtown Manhattan. If it had sold at that price, the unit would have surpassed the record $50.9 million penthouse at Ralph Thomas Walker's Walker Tower, and even the $100.5 million record price for a Manhattan penthouse set by Michael Dell at Extell's One57 in 2014.

 

Due to delays, the conversion was expected to be completed by February or March 2019, about six and a half years after Alchemy bought the property. However by February 2019, only three of the building's 31 condos had been sold, since the developers had refused to discount prices, despite a glut of new luxury apartments in NYC.

 

The still-vacant penthouse's asking price was reduced to $79 million. By 2021, Alchemy had sold 22 condominiums to tenants such as the entrepreneur Rudra Pandey.

 

-- Corporate Tenants

 

On the building's original completion, the F. W. Woolworth Company occupied only one and a half floors. However, as the owner, the Woolworth Company profited from renting space out to others.

 

The Woolworth Building was almost always fully occupied because of its central location in Lower Manhattan, as well as its direct connections to two subway stations.

 

The Irving Trust Company occupied the first four floors when the building opened. It had a large banking room on the second floor accessible directly from a grand staircase in the lobby, vaults in the basement, offices on the third-floor mezzanine, and a boardroom on the fourth floor.

 

In 1931, the company relocated their general, out-of-town, and foreign offices from the Woolworth Building after building their own headquarters at 1 Wall Street.

 

Columbia Records was one of the Woolworth Building's tenants on opening day and housed a recording studio in the skyscraper. In 1917, Columbia made what are considered the first jazz recordings, by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, in this studio.

 

Shortly after the building opened, several railroad companies rented space. The Union Pacific Railroad and Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad occupied the ground floor retail space with ticket offices.

 

The inventor Nikola Tesla also occupied an office in the Woolworth Building beginning in 1914; he was evicted after a year because he could not pay his rent.

 

Scientific American moved into the building in 1915 before departing for Midtown Manhattan in 1926. The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America was present at the building's opening, occupying the southern half of the 18th. floor.

 

By the 1920's, the building also hosted Newport News Shipbuilding and Nestlé.

 

In the 1930's, prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey maintained his offices in the building while investigating racketeering and organized crime in Manhattan. His office took up the entire fourteenth floor, and was heavily guarded.

 

During World War II, the Kellex Corporation, part of the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons, was based here.

 

During the early 1960's, public relations expert Howard J. Rubenstein opened an office in the building. In 1975, the city signed a lease for state judge Jacob D. Fuchsberg's offices in the Woolworth Building.

 

-- Educational Tenants

 

The structure has a long association with higher education, housing a number of Fordham University schools in the early 20th. century. In 1916, Fordham created "Fordham Downtown" at the Woolworth Building by moving the School of Sociology and Social Service and the School of Law to the building.

 

The Fordham University Graduate School was founded on the building's 28th. floor in the same year, and a new Teachers' College quickly followed on the seventh floor.

 

In September 1920, the Business School was also established on the seventh floor, originally as the School of Accounting. By 1929, the school's combined programs at the Woolworth Building had over 3,000 enrolled students.

 

Between 1916 and 1943 the building was also home at various times to the Fordham College (Manhattan Division), a summer school, and the short-lived School of Irish Studies.

 

In 1943, the Graduate School relocated to Keating Hall at Fordham's Rose Hill campus in Fordham, Bronx, and the rest of the schools moved to nearby 302 Broadway because of reduced attendance due to World War II.

 

The New York University School of Professional Studies' Center for Global Affairs leased 94,000 square feet (8,700 m2) on the second, third, and fourth floors in 2002 from defunct dot-com startup FrontLine Capital Group.

 

The American Institute of Graphic Arts also moved its headquarters to the Woolworth Building.

 

-- 21st-Century Tenants

 

By the early 2000's, the Woolworth Building was home to numerous technology tenants. Digital advertising firm Xceed occupied 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) across four floors as its headquarters. Organic, Inc. took 112,000 square feet (10,400 m2), and advertising agency Fallon Worldwide used two floors.

 

Xceed terminated its lease in April 2001 during the midst of the Dot-com bubble collapse in order to move to smaller offices in the Starrett–Lehigh Building.

 

One month after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) Northeast Regional Office at 7 World Trade Center was destroyed in the September 11 attacks, the commission's 334 employees moved into 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) across five floors of the Woolworth Building. The SEC left for a larger space in Brookfield Place in early 2005.

 

The General Services Administration took over the commission's space on the 1st. November 2005 and used it as offices for approximately 200 staff of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System.

 

The New York City Police Department pension fund signed a lease for 56,000 square feet (5,200 m2) on the 19th. and 25th. floors in April 2002.

 

Starbucks opened a 1,500-square-foot (140 m2) location on the ground floor in the spring of 2003. In 2006, Levitz Furniture moved its headquarters to the 23rd. floor from Woodbury, Long Island, after declaring bankruptcy a second time.

 

In May 2013, SHoP Architects moved the company's headquarters to the entire 11th. floor, occupying 30,500 square feet (2,830 m2) of space. In February 2016, the New York City Law Department leased the entire 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2) fifth floor for the Department's tort office.

 

Joseph Altuzarra's namesake fashion brand, Altuzarra, signed on to occupy the 14th. floor in June 2016. In 2017, the New York Shipping Exchange moved into the 21st floor. In May 2018, architecture and design firm CallisonRTKL signed a lease for the entire 28,100 square feet (2,610 m2) 16th. floor.

 

-- Impact of the Woolworth Building

 

Before construction, Woolworth hired New York photographer Irving Underhill to document the building's construction. These photographs were distributed to Woolworth's stores nationwide to generate enthusiasm for the project.

 

During construction, Underhill, Wurts Brothers, and Tebbs-Hymans each took photographs to document the structure's progression. These photos were often taken from close-up views, or from far away to provide contrast against the surrounding structures.

 

They were part of a media promotion for the Woolworth Building. Both contemporary and modern figures criticized the photos as:

 

"Standard solutions at best and

architectural eye candy at worst".

 

Later critics praised the building. Amei Wallach of Newsday wrote in 1978 that the building resembled:

 

"A giant cathedral absurdly

stretched in a gigantic fun

mirror. The lobby certainly

looks like a farmboy's dream

of glory".

 

A writer for The Baltimore Sun wrote in 1984 that:

 

"The lobby's lighting, ceiling mosaic,

and gold-leaf decorations combine

for a church-like atmosphere, yet the

grotesques provide a touch of

irreverence".

 

Richard Berenholtz wrote in his 1988 book Manhattan Architecture that:

 

"At the Woolworth Building, Gilbert

succeeded in uniting the respected

traditions of architecture and

decoration with modern technology".

 

In a 2001 book about Cass Gilbert, Mary N. Woods wrote that:

 

"The rich and varied afterlife of

the Woolworth Building enhances

Gilbert's accomplishment".

 

Dirk Stichweh described the building in 2005 as being:

 

"The Mozart of skyscrapers".

 

In 2007, the building ranked 44th. among 150 buildings in the AIA's List of America's Favorite Architecture.

 

In recognition of Gilbert's role as the building's architect, the Society of Arts and Sciences gave Gilbert its gold medal in 1930, calling it:

 

"An epochal landmark in the

history of architecture".

 

On the 40th. anniversary of the building's opening in 1953, one news source called the building:

 

"A substantial middle-aged lady, with

a good income, unconcern over years—

and lots of friends".

 

A one-third-scale replica of the Woolworth Building, the Lincoln American Tower in Memphis, Tennessee, was also built in 1924.

 

-- The Woolworth Building in the Media

 

The Woolworth Building has had a large impact in architectural spheres, and has been featured in many works of popular culture, including photographs, prints, films, and literature.

 

One of the earliest films to feature the skyscraper was Manhatta (1921), a short documentary film directed by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand.

 

Since then, the building has made cameo appearances in several films, such as the 1929 film Applause. It was also the setting of several film climaxes, such as in Enchanted (2007), as well as the setting of major organizations, such as in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016).

 

The television show Ugly Betty used the Woolworth Building as the 'Meade Publications' building, a major location in the series, while one of the vacant condominiums was used in filming the TV series Succession in 2021.

 

The building has also appeared in literature, such as Langston Hughes's 1926 poem "Negro" and the 2007 novel Peak.

Attending the EuroSkills Budapest Conference on 27 September 2018, EUROCHAMBRES President Christoph Leitl underlined the importance that education and training is in tune with the skills needs of the private sector.

As the economy evolves faster than ever due to technological breakthroughs, curricula content and the way it is delivered must prepare young people for emerging new opportunities and enable them to adapt to future needs that cannot yet be predicted.

The last edition of EUROCHAMBRES’ annual economic survey of over 50.000 businesses across Europe revealed a lack of skilled workers one of the greatest challenges. This is in line with a longer term trend, as the skills mismatch issue has been a problem for several years, in times of both high and low unemployment. “We have more graduates than ever in Europe and incredibly talented young people entering the labour force. But what good is this if they cannot find work and employers cannot find staff with the right skills? We must do better in ensuring that education prepares young people for current and emerging employment opportunities”, President Leitl said.

Euroskills plays an important role in addressing this persistent skills mismatch across Europe by showcasing the professional skills sought by many employers across a wide range of sectors. It is also based on a pan-European approach, which Chambers consider an important element in matching supply and demand. “Employers, policy-makers and educators must work together to ensure that vocational education is perceived by young people as a positive option that opens up excellent career opportunities and offers an international perspective. Euroskills is a fantastic way to do this”, President Leitl stated.

Professional training must be dynamic, not static

A World Economic Forum report this month set out how the labour market is set for radical changes as technological advances and artificial intelligence accelerate. President Leitl argued that this underlines the need for reforms: “The economy is evolving faster than ever, but unfortunately our education and training systems generally are not keeping up. Curricula must adapt based on feedback from the economy and so must the way in which curricula is taught. As well as acquiring technical skills, young people need transversal skills that will allow them to adapt throughout their career”.

EUROCHAMBRES calls in particular for the development of more effective vocational training and apprenticeship schemes in many member states, for the closer involvement of businesses in the design of curricula and for more dynamic and interoperable skills forecasting tools to be developed across Europe.

Pictured: Bing Goei, Director of the Michigan Office of New Americans (MONA)

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Attending the EuroSkills Budapest Conference on 27 September 2018, EUROCHAMBRES President Christoph Leitl underlined the importance that education and training is in tune with the skills needs of the private sector.

As the economy evolves faster than ever due to technological breakthroughs, curricula content and the way it is delivered must prepare young people for emerging new opportunities and enable them to adapt to future needs that cannot yet be predicted.

The last edition of EUROCHAMBRES’ annual economic survey of over 50.000 businesses across Europe revealed a lack of skilled workers one of the greatest challenges. This is in line with a longer term trend, as the skills mismatch issue has been a problem for several years, in times of both high and low unemployment. “We have more graduates than ever in Europe and incredibly talented young people entering the labour force. But what good is this if they cannot find work and employers cannot find staff with the right skills? We must do better in ensuring that education prepares young people for current and emerging employment opportunities”, President Leitl said.

Euroskills plays an important role in addressing this persistent skills mismatch across Europe by showcasing the professional skills sought by many employers across a wide range of sectors. It is also based on a pan-European approach, which Chambers consider an important element in matching supply and demand. “Employers, policy-makers and educators must work together to ensure that vocational education is perceived by young people as a positive option that opens up excellent career opportunities and offers an international perspective. Euroskills is a fantastic way to do this”, President Leitl stated.

Professional training must be dynamic, not static

A World Economic Forum report this month set out how the labour market is set for radical changes as technological advances and artificial intelligence accelerate. President Leitl argued that this underlines the need for reforms: “The economy is evolving faster than ever, but unfortunately our education and training systems generally are not keeping up. Curricula must adapt based on feedback from the economy and so must the way in which curricula is taught. As well as acquiring technical skills, young people need transversal skills that will allow them to adapt throughout their career”.

EUROCHAMBRES calls in particular for the development of more effective vocational training and apprenticeship schemes in many member states, for the closer involvement of businesses in the design of curricula and for more dynamic and interoperable skills forecasting tools to be developed across Europe.

Secretary of the Army Dr. Mark T. Esper participated in the Regan National Defense Forum bipartisan annual event as a speaker in the A Defense Industrial & Innovation Base Workforce for the 21ST Century: Winning The Competition For Highly Skilled Workers Inside & Outside the Pentagon panel alongside California Congressman Ken Calvert, Ms. Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President & CEO, Lockheed, and Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy in Semi Valley, CA, Dec. 1, 2018. Mr. Mike Hammer from Fox News moderated the discussion. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicole Mejia)

news.yahoo.com/1-1-dr-ashish-jha-082830031.html

 

We're seeing high levels of reinfection: Dr. Ashish Jha

Martha Raddatz interviews White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha on "This Week."

Duration: 5:18

 

www.dw.com/en/germanys-covid-19-summer-spike-pushes-nurse...

 

Germany's COVID-19 summer spike pushes nurses beyond their limits

 

German hospitals are struggling as beds fill up and nursing staff falls ill with COVID. Even freshly trained health care workers complain about unsustainable levels of stress and worsening conditions.

 

Germany's COVID-19 summer spike pushes nurses beyond their limits

 

German hospitals are struggling as beds fill up and nursing staff falls ill with COVID. Even freshly trained health care workers complain about unsustainable levels of stress and worsening conditions.

 

German health workers are completely exhausted

 

It's not easy to reach Georg Goutrie on the phone. But between two night shifts and an early morning shift, the 21-year-old nurse finds a moment to answer. "What day is it? Sunday, right?" he asks with a laugh. For the past month, Goutrie has been working at the mother and child unit at Berlin's Charite hospital. With over 3,000 beds, the university hospital is one of the largest in Europe.

 

Goutrie's three-year training to become a nurse began right in the middle of the pandemic. During that time, he and other trainees experienced challenges most clinics around the country faced: Entire wards were shut down, with operations postponed and staff moved elsewhere to care for COVID-19 patients.

 

At his current post, Goutrie will likely be spared a similar situation. "My ward now can't be closed. Babies simply arrive when they are ready, and you can't put them at the back of the line." For the time being, however, all patients are being handled as though they were positive COVID-19 cases: in isolation until they get a negative PCR test result.

 

Relaxed regulations meet a new omicron variant

 

Over the last two years, COVID-19 infections have dropped during the summer, when people spend more time outside. This has meant a reprieve for health workers during the warmer months.

 

But this year is different. Case numbers are rising even in summer and the health system is already approaching its limits, according to the Marburger Bund doctors' association. While in early June the 7-day incidence rate was the lowest it had been all year, numbers have since spiked rapidly.

 

One explanation is the new BA.5 virus subvariant. Even more contagious than previous variants, experts say that it could spread rapidly well into summer. Those who have been vaccinated or already recovered from an omicron variant infection aren't safe. Two-thirds of COVID infections are now attributable to the BA.5 subvariant.

 

The spread has been facilitated, as authorities have relaxed prevention measures. People in Germany are no longer subject to contact restrictions or mask requirements in most public spaces. Many are also traveling and attending events once again.

 

Free rapid tests have been abolished due to the expense. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said recently that the service had been costing €1 billion ($1 billion) per month. Now people are required to pay €3 at test centers, with some exceptions. It remains to be seen whether this will discourage regular testing.

 

Virus hits hospital workers

 

A familiar pattern is playing out for nurses once again. With COVID-19 numbers on the rise, they are concerned about fall and winter, when experience shows that infections will continue to multiply. One of the largest clinics in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein already closed two sites at the beginning of July because too many staff were infected with the virus.

 

"It has hit our employees too — there are higher rates of sickness in our workforce than usual, due in part to the coronavirus," reports the intensive care unit at Hamburg's Agaplesion hospital. As in many other hospitals, a COVID-19 ward has been set up here in addition to the intensive care unit.

 

"We have already had to reserve beds due to the situation described above. And this in the middle of summer," the hospital's press office wrote to DW. "So we look with concern to the coming fall and winter."

 

Too many patients, too much responsibility

 

But COVID-19 is not the decisive issue. The pandemic has highlighted the already precarious working conditions in the care sector, a problem that The Walk of Care initiative, in which nurse Georg Goutrie is also active, has been working to repair since 2016. It unites caregivers of all ages and ranks in a campaign for better financial and structural health care policies.

 

"In Germany, we average about 13 patients per nurse, while in Holland, for example, there are only five," Goutrie says. "How am I supposed to take responsibility for 13 patients at once and still provide high-quality care?"

 

Nurses had already been working at their absolute limit for years in both outpatient clinics and hospitals, he stresses. Conditions hit women the hardest because they fill more than two-thirds of the nursing jobs throughout the country.

 

Those who suffer most can't afford to rest after their paid caregiving ends because the unpaid labor of tending to children and dependents awaits them at home. Many also experience racism or sexism in the workplace, but struggle to find new positions, Goutrie says.

 

Low wages, high stress levels

 

According to the German Economic Institute, the country could see a shortage of around 307,000 nursing staff by 2035.

 

The problem has been steadily worsening for years. Conditions create physical and emotional strain, and understaffed teams often mean working overtime — on the lowest possible wages.

 

Anonymous reports by hospital personnel from across the country describe how this feels on a website called "Schwarzbuch Krankenhaus," (Black Book Hospital). Health workers' comments read:

 

"I didn't even have time to care for the dying!"

 

"I love my job and I am very proud of it. But I am so shocked by the abysmal care in this facility that I couldn't stand it for more than two years."

 

"When I broke down crying in the ward, none of the other nurses had even a moment to comfort me."

 

Burnout or coolout?

 

Such accounts reveal a wide spectrum of psychological distress. Burnout is a much-discussed topic in nursing. But there is also a phenomenon known as "coolout" that is becoming more common in Germany.

 

"It's when you don't care about anything. Nothing touches you anymore. It's a state of complete overload. You take care of people in a state of emergency," Goutrie says, adding that this leads to mistakes or even violence towards patients.

 

In June 2021, politicians vowed to make improvements, launching a nursing reform that came into force this year. It aims to alleviate the skilled worker shortage and job stress with better wages and more onsite decision-making responsibility for nursing staff.

 

But Goutrie is considering a career change, to maybe start something completely different, even if the idea pains him. "If you see yourself as a caregiver, it makes sense to go into nursing," he says. "But at what cost?"

Portrait of a steelworker. Ezz Steel production site is located in Alexandria and employs more than 2000 skilled workers. It is the Middle East's leading producer of high quality long and flat steel for use in a wide range of end applications.

 

Country : Egypt

Date : 2008-04

Copyright : Marcel Crozet / ILO

The bronze "Metal Men" sculpture was a popular meeting point for shoppers on Market Street in Meadowhall ever since it opened in September 1990, but controversially they were moved outside in August 2011 during construction work and they remain outside to this day.

 

The sculpture was created by Robin Bell and depicts steel teemers (highly skilled workers responsible for pouring steel into ingot moulds) at work. It is dedicated to Benjamin Huntsman (1704-1770) and it was originally unveiled by a real-life teemer, George Dalton.

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Kerry Junior Whare (22) and Maraea (21) have been locked out at Talley's-owned AFFCO Horotiu while their parents, Kerry Senior (55) and Rangi (53) remain at work.

 

Kerry Whare, his wife Rangi and two children Maraea and Kerry Junior all work at AFFCO Horotiu in Waikato.

 

The Talley's owned company gave Maraea, 21, and Kerry Junior, 22, lock out notices on Tuesday morning, but not their parents.

 

Mrs Whare, 53, is a skilled labourer and has worked at the site for 14 years. She says she feels like the company is trying to break up their family.

 

"Talley's AFFCO only negotiated for 10 hours face-to-face with our union before trying to split up my family," she says. "We've always been solid as a family and we're not going to let it happen."

 

Mr Whare, 55, is a multi-skilled worker and has worked at the plant on and off for 25 years. He says he feels gutted that he drove into work yesterday without his kids.

 

"It's heart breaking driving into work while your kids are locked out," he says. "I don't know how the company chose to only lock out some of the workers including my kids and not others, but I suspects it’s to create divisions in the workplace."

 

Mr and Mrs Whare went on strike for 24 hours from 5am this morning in solidarity with their children and will picket through to the afternoon.

 

Mrs Whare says the family was concerned about losing a further two incomes, particularly since wages have been lower than usual due to low stock numbers and because they are paying off two cars.

 

"We've got no choice to strike in solidarity -you’ve got to stand with your kids," she says.

 

Kerry junior says he always wanted to be like his dad and work in AFFCO, which is the main employer in Ngaruawahia.

 

"I've worked hard for the company and I feel like I've been stood on and spat out," he says. "I feel discriminated against."

 

Maraea, 21, is a labourer and has worked at the plant for four years. She says she is "dead broke" because she’s just had her 21st and the lockout will make things worse.

 

"I love my job and its sucks that I can’t come back in because I'm locked out," she says. "I'd rather be at work, but it was their decision and as far as I'm concerned I've done nothing wrong."

 

Kerry Junior, 22, is a cutter and has worked at the plant for six years. He say they have little prospect for work in Ngaruawahia, a small struggling town in rural Waikato with few jobs.

 

"We haven't even been told when we can go back to work," he says. "If we could find any jobs here, they're not going to employ us because they wouldn't know when we'd go back to AFFCO."

 

Mrs Whare says she always instilled in her kids that the only way they get anywhere is to work hard and earn a decent wage.

 

"What sort of message is Talley's AFFCO giving to our kids by locking them out? We just want the company to lift the lockout and let our kids go back to work."

 

The Whare family has worked at the meat processing plant for a combined 49 years and have other relatives at Horotiu.

 

ENDS

 

For more information contact Meat Workers Union media liason Simon Oosterman on 021 885 410.

Photos are available for free at www.flickr.com/photos/simonoosterman

Pictured: Mayor Karen Majewski, City of Hamtramck

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Portrait of a steelworker. Ezz Steel production site is located in Alexandria and employs more than 2000 skilled workers. It is the Middle East's leading producer of high quality long and flat steel for use in a wide range of end applications.

 

Country : Egypt

Date : 2008-04

Copyright : Marcel Crozet / ILO

Strategies to Identify and Manage Supply Chains

 

The United States offers access to strong networks of small and medium-sized suppliers. These companies constitute flexible supply chains that enable cross-fertilization of skilled workers, specialized assets, and R&D. Learn about opportunities for connecting with innovative U.S.suppliers, including access to resources, programs, and case studies.

 

Moderator:

- Dr. Chip White, Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics, Georgia Institute of Technology

 

Speakers:

- The Honorable Steve Beshear, Governor of Kentucky

- Mr. Reginaldo Ecclissato, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, Unilever North America

- Ms. Cindi Marsiglio, Vice President of U.S. Manufacturing, Walmart

- Mr. Michael McNamara, Chief Executive Officer, Flextronics

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

The Holländisches Viertel (Dutch quarter) was built in 1734-1742, to attract Dutch artisans for an expansion of Potsdam. It is the largest area of Dutch-type houses outside the Netherlands. There are 134 red brick houses, according to one source. The houses in this photo are said to have the original windows. Not enough Dutch craftsmen came, so many of the houses were lived in by various skilled workers, tradesmen, and army officers. This photo is "geotagged."

The cascade at Linn Park, Birmingham, Alabama. The park is named for Charles Linn born Carl Erik Engelbrekt Sjödahl (June 13, 1814 - died 1882). Linn was a sailor, wholesaler, banker and industrialist. He was one of the founders of Birmingham, Alabama. He was an exceptional entrepreneur, extended his investments from banking to industry, organizing two of the city's first such ventures, the Linn Iron Works and the Birmingham Car and Foundry Company with skilled workers brought in from Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio. Linn purchased some of his equipment from the Confederate Iron Works in Selma, Alabama. Linn died in Birmingham, Alabama. He is entombed in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery (source: Wikpedia)

 

Where I used to brew; where, in fact, I was this brewpub's first brewer, in 1996.

 

I've long since left, but the Manayunk Brewing Company still brews, going on twenty years of operation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

— Thomas Cizauskas (YFGF)

 

****************

"In the 1800s, Manayunk was an exciting mill town populated by skilled workers, weavers, craftspeople, and artisans. Our building located along the heart of Main Street was built in 1822 by Ann Dawson as a cotton mill, to take advantage of the key location at the mouth of the Manayunk Canal. Surely she was one of the few, if not only, women in her time to open a factory. Nearly a hundred years later, the building was purchased by the Krook family in 1912, and transformed into a woolen mill. By this time, Manayunk had established itself on the world scene for the manufacture of truly superb textiles.

 

By the end of the 20th century, textile manufacturing had almost completely moved overseas. The Krook family operated their woolen mill until 1992, when they finally closed their doors and sold the building to local entrepreneur Harry Renner IV. He brought the lagging facility back to life as a space for retail business, and established Manayunk Brewing Company and Restaurant in the process.

 

Mr. Renner made the decision to keep the original industrial scale for weighing wool, which you can still see inside our front foyer. Our first batch of Manayunk Brewing Company beer was tapped on October 17, 1996. Since then, we have brewed more than 600 different varieties of beers, and have been selling these sought-after styles all around Philadelphia and New Jersey. Our brewers continue to explore new takes on classic styles, especially when it comes to sour ales and India Pale Ales. You will no doubt see our delivery truck bringing goods to happy customers throughout the Philadelphia region!

 

Mr. Renner’s daughter took over the building in 2004, and runs the restaurant and brewery along with her business partner Mike Rose. Since then, they have expanded the restaurant by installing a stone pizza oven and sushi bar, as well as a banquet space for weddings and meetings. "

 

***************

— Follow YFGF on web: YoursForGoodFermentables.com.

— Follow on Twitter: @Cizauskas.

— Follow on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.

— Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.

A large and enthusiastic crowd – made up of industry and community leaders, MSU Denver faculty, staff, students and alumni, legislators and other stakeholders – gathered on Oct. 8 for the groundbreaking of MSU Denver’s Aerospace and Engineering Sciences building. The $60 million facility promises to revolutionize aerospace and advanced manufacturing education with an innovative, cross-disciplinary curriculum that offers industry a direct pipeline of highly educated, skilled workers.

 

Photo by Sara Beets

Organized by: Philippine Women's Center, No One is Illegal, and Justicia for Migrant Workers

 

December 18th has been designated as a Global Day of Action Against Racism, And for the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People to commemorate and celebrate the struggles of migrants around the world (globalmigrantsaction.org/).

 

Join us in Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories for a community supper and participatory discussion across communities to continue to organize, to resist and to build a strong and vibrant migrant justice movement to demand dignity, justice and status for all.

 

Kenney’s model is one of Permanent Impermanence. We cannot allow divisive stereotypes of migrants ‘stealing our jobs and resources’ to let the Harper government off the hook for putting profit over the people and the planet. On International Migrants Day, stand with us for migrant dignity and human rights and justice for all.

 

-- Greater Vancouver Baptist Church

G. Krug and Son, now including daughters as well as sons, opened on Saratoga Street in 1810. One of Baltimore’s oldest businesses and the nation’s oldest continuously operating blacksmith’s shop, G. Krug has been an anchor on the West Side of Downtown for over over 200 years employing hundreds of skilled workers, serving as a retail destination for artistic wrought iron work, and reflecting the unique character of historic businesses on the West Side. G. Krug and Sons is one of the many reasons why the West Side matters to the people of Baltimore.

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder: Creating Value by Investing in Your Workforce

 

Authors: Jody Heymann with Magda Barrera

 

Publication Date: May 12, 2010

 

Description: Most managers assume that surviving, especially in recessions, requires slashing wages, benefits, and other workforce expenses. And lowest-skilled workers are often viewed as the most expendable.

 

In Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder, Jody Heymann overturns these assumptions. Drawing from thousands of interviews with employees from front line to C-suite at companies around the world, Heymann shows how enterprises have profited more by improving working conditions.

 

She also demonstrates that lower-skilled employees - in call centers, repair services, product assembly - aren't expendable. They can determine 90 percent of companies' profitability. High performers positively shape customers' perceptions of businesses, driving satisfaction and loyalty.

 

To attract, train, and retain top-caliber people in these roles, you must enhance working conditions, creating a system in which your company and its employees profit together. Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder shows what works - from stock options for bakers to flexibility for factory workers to career tracks in call centers.

 

Author Bio: Jody Heymann is Founding Director of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy. She was Founding Director of the Project on Global Working Families and chair of the Initiative on Work, Family, and Democracy at Harvard University. She has conducted research in thirty-five countries; examining working conditions in 189 nations; and advised leaders in government, UN agencies, and the private sector.

 

Other works by Jody:

Raising the Global Floor

Equal Partners

The Widening Gap

Forgotten Families

 

Contact: publicity@hbr.org

Secretary of the Army Dr. Mark T. Esper participated in the Regan National Defense Forum bipartisan annual event as a speaker in the A Defense Industrial & Innovation Base Workforce for the 21ST Century: Winning The Competition For Highly Skilled Workers Inside & Outside the Pentagon panel alongside California Congressman Ken Calvert, Ms. Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President & CEO, Lockheed, and Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy in Semi Valley, CA, Dec. 1, 2018. Mr. Mike Hammer from Fox News moderated the discussion. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicole Mejia)

A home is decorated in buri for the evening's home decorations contest, part of the Bulihan Festival in Sampaloc, Quezon Province, the Philippines. The contest grand prize was 15,000 Philippine pesos donated by the Buri Bag Project. (15,000 pesos is more than two months' earnings for most skilled workers in the Philippines.)

The tower crane counterjib makes the descent after disconnection.

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Pictured: Bob Fowler, President of the Michigan Small Business Association

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

G. Krug and Son, now including daughters as well as sons, opened on Saratoga Street in 1810. One of Baltimore’s oldest businesses and the nation’s oldest continuously operating blacksmith’s shop, G. Krug has been an anchor on the West Side of Downtown for over over 200 years employing hundreds of skilled workers, serving as a retail destination for artistic wrought iron work, and reflecting the unique character of historic businesses on the West Side. G. Krug and Sons is one of the many reasons why the West Side matters to Baltimore.

Be colour bold this autumn (or fall if you prefer)

 

Clearly influenced by the ubiquitous high-visibility jacket beloved of law enforcement agencies and semi-skilled workers from the built environment the world over. we ask only one question: is yellow the new black? The subtle canary yellow tones matching his’n’hers look is complemented by copious amounts of white and beige will certainly turn heads this season, and er...shit and stuff

 

Cuban Cigar is model's own

 

No pensioners were harmed during this photo-shoot. Smoking cigars will kill you. Walking in front of on-coming traffic while the lights are green because you've just got into town from a country where they drive on the wrong side of the road (probably the US) will kill you.

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Pictured: Mark Gaffney, President Emeritus of the AFL

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home

Pictured: State Senator Judy Emmons (R-SD33)

 

The Integrated Policy Exercise provides students with a week-long opportunity to work intensively on a policy issue. All students participate as part of a team representing different constituencies with an interest in the problem being studied. Working in groups of 7 to 10, students are assigned a role such as lobbying firm, public official, or economic group. Groups develop policy positions and prepare a political strategy to achieve their goal(s). More on IPE: fordschool.umich.edu/ipe

 

The Winter 2015 IPE, “Bolstering Detroit's Economic Renewal through Skilled Workers: Implementing Governor Snyder's Visa Plan” took place on January 5, 6, and 9, 2015 at the Ford School’s Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI. More on the 2015 topic and simulated media coverage: sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/fordschool-ipe-2015/home