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ROCHESTERNEXT.COM
MEETTHEMAKERS
Basically we’re acommunity workshopand art studio. Our goalis to encourage people tolearn by using tools andmaking things.ROB ROLL,Makerspace president
At his jobwith a telecommunications compa-ny, Rob Roll doesn’t make anything tangible.
“I was getting older and realized that I’ve al-ways enjoyed doing that and wanted to domoreof it. Basically, I wanted to be around other peo-ple who enjoy making things and enjoy beingcreative,” Roll said.
So he started Rochester Makerspace, a localnonprofit group that ispart of theglobal “makermovement.”
“We really don’t care what people make. Wejust think its important to encourage people toget away from their TVs, their video games,surfing the net at night, and go out and learnsome skills andmake things,” said Roll, Maker-space president.
Traditional DIY hobbyists are morphinginto a technology-tinged maker movement,
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANI CHERCHIO
Hobbyists gather,get busy creatingBennett J. LoudonStaff writer
SeeMAKERS, Page 5E
Mark Manning ispresident ofInterlockRochester. JAMIE
GERMANO/STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER
WHY IT MATTERSThe maker movement is helping to spur economicactivity by bringing together creative types to sharespace, resources and knowledge.
Democrat and Chronicle Sunday, August 4, 2013
Len LaCara Business Editor (585) [email protected]
Len LaCara
Valeant’s leader J. Michael Pearsoncame out of the shadows last week andcommunicated publicly his intentionswith his latest conquest, Bausch +Lomb. The Orwellian language in thecommunication to employees made himsound like a cheerleader at a publicexecution.
Unfortunately, the next page in thepredator’s handbook is to reduce B+L’straditional severance pay, knowingterminated employees are not likely tobe in a position to sue for more. I canonly hope conscience prevails overpersonal ambition. But I also recall aquote my father attributed to legendaryfootball coachWoody Hayes: “Hopinggets you nothing.”
Our community leaders’ defeatistreaction, other than the routine “out-rage” letter by the politicos to theannouncement, has been akin to, “Here
we go again; I hope this one doesn’t hurtas much as the last one.” We seem totake solace in the fact that the salesforce and manufacturing facilities willgo largely untouched, for now.
The writing has been on the wallsince B+L’s January announcementabout going public, and I predicted thisoutcome. Who was negotiating on be-half of Rochester and B+L employees?Is this the best soft landing we couldnegotiate with Valeant? When privatenegotiations yield this outcome, publicnegotiations may be warranted. Has
Rochester lost its nerve? I hope not.It is not uncommon for community-
conscious acquirers (which Valeant hasyet to show any signs of) to work withlocal politicians and economic devel-opment agencies to create a transitionplan. Such a plan would spread out joblosses while simultaneously providingsome financial support, through a com-munity foundation, for arts and charita-ble organizations that have relied ondonations from the employees who willsoon be out of work. If these conversa-tions were had, they evidently fell ondeaf ears.
It is time to act and publicly demanda meeting with Mr. Pearson to discussthe carnage he so gleefully is bringingto our community and what Valeant iswilling to do to limit the damage. If heis like most financial engineers whocreate the illusion of a long-term busi-
ness strategy by paper-clipping togeth-er a number of acquisitions with otherpeople’s money, he is more concernedabout his public image than the futureof Rochester.
Where do B+L’s affected employeesgo from here?
First, they should not assume theywill be OK. Most likely, they will beused to get through a transition andthen summarily dismissed. So it is timefor them to get cracking and look fornew jobs now with heightened urgency.It is critical that they spend a signifi-cant amount of time doing primaryresearch into organizations that alignwith their skills and experience. Thiswill require a prodigious effort thatcan’t be started too soon.
Now is the time to respond to Mr.Pearson, not react.
So let’s get to work.
Make predator Valeant limit the damage to B+L
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