Satellite : Dish Network to add 100 McKeesport jobs

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Dish Network to add 100 McKeesport jobs

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Dish Network's McKeesport Customer Service Center is staying put, and that's a dash of good news for the job market in the Pittsburgh area.
"We've signed a new lease, and we're hiring," said Robin Zimmerman, communications coordinator for the Colorado-based company, which has scheduled a job fair for Wednesday at its location in the Industrial Center of McKeesport industrial park.
The company has about 500 employees working at a former U.S. Steel Corp. steel pipe mill site along the Monongahela River, and it recently quashed speculation it may be closing or moving its customer service center by signing a new lease there. Terms were not disclosed.

It hopes to find candidates to fill about 100 open positions at its jobs event, which is scheduled run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the 100,000-square-foot facility at 451 Industry Road.
"Dish Network is glad we have been able to renew our lease and that we are able to offer a variety of career opportunities at a time when very few companies are hiring," said Zimmerman.
A provider of satellite television services, Dish Network LLC was once owned by Englewood, Colo.-based EchoStar Communications Corp., but the two became separate companies in 2008.
Pay offered is $9.50 to $12.50 per hour plus benefits, said John Moon, the service center's human resources manager. The salary scale is generally based on the candidate's level of experience, he said.
"Our customer services reps offer hardware systems support and respond to customer service inquiries, involving billing, technical support and general information requests," Moon said. "We differentiate and pay for experience when we find it, but we certainly are not restricted to those who have call center experience. ... We anticipate hosting at least several hundred candidates."
Echostar first committed to be a tenant at the 135-acre McKeesport industrial park in 1998.
Late last year reports started circulating about a pending move, fueled in part by information on the RIDC's Internet site indicating its space was available for new leases.
Despite the rumors, the attitude of employees at the center remained positive, Moon said. The company notified them of the lease renewal, he said.
"Having that center as an employee destination point is important for the city," said Dennis Pittman, McKeesport city manager.
With employment over the years ranging between 500 and 900, that can mean anywhere between $26,000 and $46,800 in yearly occupation taxes for the city.
A majority of the center's employees come from within a 10-mile radius of McKeesport, although a number come from Pittsburgh and as far away as Uniontown and Greensburg, according to Moon.