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Pegulas taking heat for treatment of PSE employees during quarantine; donate 1.2 mill to WNY pandemic relief


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Posted (edited)
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There are a lot of dark ways about the inner workings at PSE,” said the former employee, who was granted anonymity to avoid impacting his future employment chances. “They are very much about the bottom line and financials — very little about the ‘One Buffalo’ way they shove down this city’s throat.”

A PSE spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry from The Athletic regarding the layoffs, but did email this quote from Verni, which was also included in the termination letter to hospitality workers.


The restaurant decisions follow a misstep in another part of the Pegula empire. While NHL teams and owners have decided nearly en masse to pay arena event workers during the postponement of the season, the Pegulas announced they will wait for a cancellation before giving checks to the employees they are responsible for in KeyBank Center and Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena.

There is no timeline for cancellations, so it could be months before workers receive the pay they have been promised for hockey games, concerts and other arena events. It is the only income for many of the security guards, ushers and ticket takers, who are not technically Pegula employees but are contracted through the teams and receive their paychecks from the Pegula organization.

 

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The hospitality layoffs follow other employee dismissals within the empire. Sources tell The Athleticthat PSE has been examining personnel cutbacks across multiple departments for months in an effort to recalibrate an overambitious portfolio expansion that turned unwieldy.

In November, PSE fired 10 of 30 staffers at PicSix Creative, a marketing and communications subsidiary established just two years earlier to service outside clients.

“They took on more than they can chew, and the people at the top don’t know how to handle anything,” said another former hospitality employee, who cited a secrecy surrounding the organization’s dismissals. “No one knew what was going on. That is how they do it. They are too afraid to address staff and give them possible scenarios. They say they know nothing, and then, bam, ‘You are all screwed. Good luck collecting unemployment.’”

Edited by YoloinOhio
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Posted
1 minute ago, Mango said:

But I thought he could just drill another well....



Terry Pegula made his fortune in natural gas. When he was introduced as the Sabres’ new owner in 2011, he declared money would be no object to creating a winning culture and hoisting Stanley Cups. He famously remarked, “If I want to make money, I’ll drill another well.”

Natural gas was selling at $4.21 per unit that day.

The price closed Thursday at $1.65, one day after dipping to an all-time low of $1.555. With global concerns and warmer weather ahead, a substantial rebound is unlikely any time soon.

The petroleum industry has been devastated in recent weeks by concerns over COVID-19, Saudi Arabia’s formidable investments into its natural gas operations and a Saudi-Russia price war over crude oil.

 

Posted
41 minutes ago, Mango said:

But I thought he could just drill another well....

Per the Athletic:

Terry Pegula made his fortune in natural gas. When he was introduced as the Sabres’ new owner in 2011, he declared money would be no object to creating a winning culture and hoisting Stanley Cups. He famously remarked, “If I want to make money, I’ll drill another well.”

Natural gas was selling at $4.21 per unit that day.

The price closed Thursday at $1.65, one day after dipping to an all-time low of $1.555. With global concerns and warmer weather ahead, a substantial rebound is unlikely any time soon.

The petroleum industry has been devastated in recent weeks by concerns over COVID-19, Saudi Arabia’s formidable investments into its natural gas operations and a Saudi-Russia price war over crude oil.

 

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Posted

I mean, to be fair I don’t think there’s a lot of employers out there that are going to pay their employees for work not performed (mine included). Reeks of typical buffalo media muckraking.

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Posted

Inevitable and so predictable someone was going to criticize them.

 

How about the drama, "But here’s the fine print: They’re not saving their jobs for them." Really?  Are they supposed to guarantee them jobs?

 

 

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Posted
3 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

I mean, to be fair I don’t think there’s a lot of employers out there that are going to pay their employees for work not performed (mine included). Reeks of typical buffalo media muckraking.

It could be. I noticed several bills reporters retweeting and saying Essentially that it was terrible form from them which surprised me (Parrino, Trapasso)

Posted
12 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

I mean, to be fair I don’t think there’s a lot of employers out there that are going to pay their employees for work not performed (mine included). Reeks of typical buffalo media muckraking.

 

This is Vogl's crusade of late. I wonder if he thinks the Athletic will keep paying him if they have to shut down?

Posted

I get the sentiment, and my company is gonna do our best to pay employees if they miss time, but I imagine if the shoe was on the other foot how this conversation would go?

 

Company can’t afford to pay employees for whatever reason, outrage that employees don’t come work their scheduled hours anyway... 

 

 

I get that this is a unique situation, but it’s still basic at will employment situations. The ones that are paying are doing a good service, but I’m not sure there’s a ton of reason to be outraged at those that aren’t paying their people to not work...

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Posted

We can make excuses for him because we like the team. Just bc he owns does the Bills and Sabres doesnt mean he is a good person. It does suck when the owner of the team you support is selfish and heartless. He will rebound from this even if he does have to pay his hourly workers for a time period. He also has options to temporarily lay them off with the promise of a job and continuation of benefits. Seems like he is going the cheapest way possible. 

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Posted

With oil prices so low for now....'drilling another well' may not be a profitable as it once was...so they gotta tighten the belt in other places to make up for it.

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