BOARDMAN - AT&T's announcement Thursday that the phone giant is bringing 150 new jobs to Boardman is getting celebrity treatment by officials working to reverse the Mahoning Valley's steep economic decline.
''This is a big shot in the arm,'' said state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Austintown.
The jobs being added to AT&T's South Avenue mobility call center will be phased in starting early next year, said Tom Pelto, AT&T Ohio president. About 200 already work there.
Starting pay is $10.27 an hour, and workers are eligible for pay increases every six months.
''I think this underscores the importance of our work to make Ohio attractive to new investment and jobs,'' said state Rep. Ron Gerberry, D-Austintown.
Applications are now being accepted online.
Pelto said the call center handles calls for AT&T's wireless business from 10 different states across the Midwest and Great Lakes region, stretching as far west as North Dakota and South Dakota, ''They'll deal with all kinds of customer issues, from billing to service plans,'' Pelto said.
The jobs were added because AT&T's wireless business is growing, and they were added to the Boardman location because of excellent service, Pelto said. ''One of the critical factors for Boardman was the customer survey satisfaction results were among the highest in the country,'' Pelto said.
''It's a testament to the employees working there, their hard work, their great performance which led to AT&T officials putting more jobs there,'' said Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally III.
Additionally, what led to the Boardman decision was the available work force in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. ''People are eager for these types of jobs, there should be a lot of competition for them,'' Pelto said.
Workers will be phased in starting early next year. The first four-week training class is scheduled to begin in March.
Pelto stressed this is for AT&T wireless customers who need issues resolved.
''This is 100 percent inbound, not 150 people calling you to bug you to buy stuff,'' Pelto said.
In August, VXI Global Solutions Inc. of Los Angeles announced it was planning to hire nearly 500 people and occupy space in a downtown Youngstown office building.
A public-private partnership between the company and Youngstown allowed for the upgrades to the city-owned former Phar-Mor building, where Global is locating the new contact center. It had been formerly occupied by InfoCision.
