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ROUND-UP: SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF NORTHEAST BLACKOUT
Following are experts who can discuss the two-year anniversary of the Northeast blackout of August 2003 (This round-up originated in July 2004 with a focus on the first anniversary of the blackout):
**1. CINTA PUTRA, CEO and co-founder of NATIONAL NOTIFICATION NETWORK (3n), is an expert in emergency communications and can speak to the strategies organizations must use to ensure they can communicate immediately and effectively with employees, customers and other key constituents in a crisis: "Reliable communications are a requirement for any effective emergency preparedness plan. The 2003 Northeast blackout emphasized the need for emergency plans that are prepared in advance, tested throughout the enterprise and located offsite for reliability." Putra can speak on lessons learned in 2003 and why many disaster plans are in jeopardy without the vital communications piece.
**2. LESTER LAVE, professor of economics at the Tepper School of Business at CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY and co-director of the ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY CENTER, believes there are instructive parallels between the anarchy that existed in the skies before the air traffic control system was set up and what is occurring with the management of the electrical grid: "If human error is indeed at least partly responsible for the major blackouts that occur about three times a year, we ought to look at the vast improvements in air traffic control, which have reduced the potential for disastrous human errors in getting planes up and down safely."
**3. DONNA CHILDS, founder and CEO of CHILDS CAPITAL, a Wall Street firm that was profiled by the Department of Homeland Security in connection with its "Ready for Business" campaign, is an expert on risk management and preparedness and can provide helpful tips for businesses to protect themselves in the event of a power outage: "According to the International Energy Agency, we face the risk of power blackouts in the second half of 2005 because we have under-invested in electricity generation and transmission capacity." Childs is the co-author of "Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business Guide" (Wiley, 2002) and the 2002 winner of the Signature Award of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
**4. MIKE GORDON is president and co-founder of CONSUMERPOWERLINE, a strategic energy asset management company that helps large property managers, commercial, residential industrial, etc., rationalize their energy usage and turn under performing energy assets into regular, predictable money makers. Gordon is a 24-year veteran of the energy industry, having built several profit and non-profit businesses that have saved buyers more than $400 million through aggregated purchase of commodities. Beyond creating market makers in the demand-response sale of capacity and energy, Gordon has written and delivered energy curricula, listening and critical analysis curricula, and environmental responsibility curricula to 200 schools, national educational campaigns, and the central New York City Department of Education.
**5. RICK BUSH, editor of TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION WORLD, is an expert source who can talk about how the industry is responding to blackouts; the increased focus on right-of-way management, including recommended practices by joint U.S. Canadian task force; increased knowledge of events occurring on other utilities systems; increased building out of the transmission grid; and increased development of tools to control power flows.
**6. JENNIFER TRIPP, professional engineer with R.W. BECK, INC., is an expert in transmission grids and has more than 20 years of experience in the power industry. When the blackout occurred in 2003, Tripp provided commentary on CNN Headline News. She can address all aspects of what happened, the steps that have been taken and other market developments.
ROUND-UP: FUTURE OF ORGANIZED LABOR (continued)
We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID =10454
**1. MARK NEUBERGER, labor attorney at BUCHANAN INGERSOLL: "The most immediate impact from the breakup of the AFL-CIO will be on non-union workplaces. The key issue that caused the schism was the debate over how much money to commit to organizing. As a result, there will be intense pressure on both the withdrawing unions as well as those remaining in the AFL-CIO to pull in new members. This means employers are likely to see much more organizing activity. Non-union employers need to get their acts together and be prepared for the onslaught. Because the unions that pulled out -- the SEIU, Teamsters and UFCW -- focus on representing employees in service industries, you can expect to see lots of organizing attempts in the hospitality and health care industries in particular. On the political front, whatever clout the unions had left is now gone as result of the split. The passage of CAFTA-DR is proof of that."
**2. ADAM MERTZ, grocery workforce expert at UNICRU INC.: "The UFCW's split from the AFL-CIO will likely result in increased labor costs over the next five to 10 years, and grocers will have to be much more vigilant to reduce them on their own since they're not a key issue of the UFCW. The UFCW says the split is in favor of its members and rooted in the desire to spend more time organizing companies and to strategize against non-union giants like Wal-Mart, but grocers will begin to feel big pressure to act on their own. They have to be ready."
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LEADS
**1. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: COMMUNICATION VITAL TO SUCCESS OF NEW BENEFIT PLAN DESIGNS. SCOTT BROWN, CEO of HIRESITES, a developer of products and services to help people move ahead in their careers: "The employee benefits package is the most important recruitment and retention tool employers have. Today, the average employer spends more than 40 percent of total compensation on employer-paid benefits. Most employers find that they perform a delicate balancing act by trying to provide a competitive package of benefits while holding down costs. However, the money employers spend to provide an attractive benefits package is wasted if employees don't know what benefits they have or how to use them efficiently. An effective benefits communication program reinforces the value of the total compensation package."
**2. FRANCHISING: THE HOT AND COLD WORLD OF FRANCHISING. KERI WILLENBORG, small-business owner and co-founder of SUPPER THYME USA, a provider of fix- and-freeze meals, can talk about the hot and cold world of franchising: "Franchising your business concept is an exciting and exhausting process. Paperwork, marketing plans, recording commercials, flying around the country to meet with franchise applicants -- it's a busy life." Willenborg can share her expertise on retail franchising and time-saving tips for busy parents.
**3. INSURANCE: SEPTEMBER IS LIFE INSURANCE AWARENESS MONTH. PATTY REINERS, life insurance expert at AMERITAS DIRECT, can help consumers dispel misconceptions and possibly save some money on their life insurance: "September is set aside as Life Insurance Awareness Month, a time for people to review their policy needs as their lives change. One of the most common misconceptions out there is that the group coverage you get from your employer is always a good deal -- not so." Reiners can speak with authority on common mistakes when purchasing policies and the newest no-load policies on the market.
**4. TECHNOLOGY: WILL RINGTONES BE THE BEEPERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY? JOSEPH ANTHONY, CEO of VITAL MARKETING, a youth and multicultural marketing agency: "With U.S ringtone sales reaching more than $400 million last year (CD sales were $600 million), many industry experts have speculated that phone tones will soon be outselling CDs -- that isn't the case. The ringtone craze is going to go the way of the beeper a decade ago. There is currently a demand for musical rings, but as MP3 and iTunes phones become available, there will be no need for this market. With new phones being able to play MP3-quality music, there's not going to be any reason for consumers to pay money for a 10- to 30-second clip. Like beepers did, until cell phones became affordable, ringtones are filling a void in the market that will soon be replaced by better technology."
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