Cover Story
The Great American Labor Shortage
Desperate employers, wary workers and big incentives
At Dough Boy’s Pizza, summer typically brings a steady stream of job applicants seeking work at one of the restaurant’s three locations on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. But “this year, it’s next to nothing,” says owner George Kotarides. For Kotarides and other restaurant owners, a season that had been anticipated as the triumphant closing act
Interview
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Central Va. business leaders discuss their motivations for success.
Published
Brought to you by Virginia Business and Bank of America, join us every other month for the Diversity Leadership Series — virtual fireside chats with a diverse group of Virginia business leaders sharing their insights and thoughts on leadership, their career paths, and diversity and equity. Our series kicked off on July 20 with Brian
Taking shape
Peraton chief coordinates massive integration
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Stu Shea, chairman, president and CEO of Herndon-based national security contractor Peraton Inc., is overseeing the integration of two recently acquired businesses that marked some of Virginia’s most significant business deals in 2021. Shea has been included in both editions of Virginia Business’ annual Virginia 500 issue, a compilation of the state’s 500 most powerful
Opinion
Political Kool-Aid
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Depending on who’s in charge in Dee Cee, plans alternate on what is best for the U.S. economy. The choices are seemingly reduced to tax cuts versus government spending, but things are rarely as they seem. More accurately, these choices are two different sides of the same dollar — or trillions of dollars to be
From This Issue
Roanoke plant still empty after FreightCar America exit
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More than two years after FreightCar America left town, eliminating about 200 assembly jobs, the buildings once occupied by the railcar manufacturer in downtown Roanoke remain empty. Chicago-based FreightCar America opened its Roanoke plant in 2005, leasing space at the East End Shops, a locomotive workshop and maintenance complex of about 900,000 square feet of
Manifest destiny
Port continues cargo growth under new leadership
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Taking on a new job during a pandemic could spell rough waters, particularly if the job relies on global commerce. But the past eight months largely have been smooth sailing for Stephen Edwards, the new CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, which oversees the Port of Virginia. Edwards came onboard in January,
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Caution ahead
Volatile new laws complicate virus cases
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This year was expected to be a rough one for employers, following predictions of a coming tidal wave of costly employee lawsuits and labor complaints powered by the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s racial justice protests. So far, though, that onslaught of litigation hasn’t materialized. Why not? Partly because the pandemic itself closed courts for
Valley Health tells workers to get vaccinated
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Nicole Clark wants the nurses she supervises to do everything they can to keep themselves, their patients and co-workers safe from COVID-19. That means wearing personal protective equipment, social distancing, frequent hand washing — and getting vaccinated against the disease. Valley Health, a nonprofit health system that includes Winchester Medical Center and five other hospitals,
Pittsylvania, Danville governments see labor gap, too
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Businesses aren’t the only organizations finding it difficult to hire employees. Amid dropping state unemployment rates and a nationwide labor shortage, Danville and Pittsylvania County have been seeking new ways to interest people in working for local government. Pittsylvania’s Board of Supervisors approved $1,000 employee referral and sign-on bonuses in July, says Holly E. Stanfield,
Theater project aims to put Wytheville in limelight
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Soon after Todd Wolford became executive director of community revitalization nonprofit Downtown Wytheville Inc. in 2015, he began seeking pictures of the Soda Shop, the Main Street hotspot his grandfather owned in the late ’50s and ’60s. After locating a couple photos of his grandfather’s packed establishment, Wolford had an epiphany: His job was to
September For the Record
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Roanoke/New River Valley Apex Clean Energy is appealing a decision that it ran out of time for its Rocky Forge Wind project in Botetourt County, a proposed complex of 14 mountaintop wind turbines atop North Mountain that would stand about twice as tall as the Wells Fargo tower in downtown Roanoke. Apex informed the county
Boosters seek federal protection for Chesapeake Bay recreation
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For decades, conservationists have lobbied for the Chesapeake Bay to become a national park. During the past year, a new twist on that old idea has gained momentum: establishing the Chesapeake Bay as a national recreation area, stretching from Hampton’s Fort Monroe north to Annapolis, Maryland. National recreation areas extend federal protections to preserve recreational
Clean slate
Power utilities, state government look to carbon-free future
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On April 17, 2020, with a flourish of the pen, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam reshaped the future of energy production in the commonwealth. Signing the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) into law last year, Northam declared that Virginia would become a leader in fighting climate change, and, indeed, no other Southern state has passed legislation
World view
Cranwell International Center supports global Hokies
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Want to see the world? Head for Blacksburg. Well, at least that’s one way you might look at it. Virginia Tech, which sits in the New River Valley (population: approximately 44,300), boasts the largest number of international students of any college or university campus in the state. In pre-COVID years, about 4,000 international students populated
