Pueblo jobs: From daycares to restaurants, staffing issues persist. Here's why.

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic is creating a vicious cycle of worker shortages that is not only impacting Pueblo businesses but the daycares that workers rely on to care for their children so they can work.

Regina Montoya, owner of Tiny Tykes Childcare in Pueblo is at full capacity and keeps a waiting list that has her “booked years out; literally. You almost have to get on the waiting list like a year before you get pregnant,” she said.

“The childcare shortage is real in Pueblo. We have lost several providers because of COVID and we actually had one pass away from COVID just last month,” Montoya said.

“We had providers who could not make it financially and shut their doors. The state has made the licensing standards so strict that there are a lot of providers who are choosing to walk away from this field.

“There are hurdles beyond hurdles and they far exceed what employers can understand."

Local Government: Pueblo City Council: New council member Heather Graham elected president

Montoya, who is referred to as “Miss Gina” by her kids, is nearing her 22nd anniversary as a early childhood provider. She is involved with a national daycare association and hears what the daycare situation is like in other states.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act grant funding from the federal government is supposed to help alleviate the childcare issues, however the aid has come with its own share of issues.

“Colorado is the only state in the nation making providers use 50% of that funding to give to our parents as a reduction in tuition," Montoya said.

"They give it in nine payments instead of a lump sum, so we have to apply every month, keep track of what we spent, what categories it went to and we have to prove it with receipts every month to get the next month’s funding.

"So they act like they are taking care of us, but they really are not,” she said. "We are not being appreciated or valued.”

After 11 to 12 hours a day of providing care to the eight children she has in her early childhood education program, she spends two hours on paperwork, cleaning and fulfilling other requirements like parent conferences.

“You make $2 to $3 an hour in profit per child per month. We need people in the field, but we also need the state legislature to push to relieve some of the burdensome regulations,” Montoya said.

Story continues below

Pueblo restaurants still face staffing issues

Luke Fleckenstein, who runs the Pass Key at 3516 W. Northern Ave., said finding workers to staff restaurants continues to be “a little tough.”

He said the restaurant industry has “notoriously low pay, long hours and a stressful work environment so we are more like a stepping stone. We’ve lost a few of our younger helpers to better opportunities which is to be expected, but we have definitely noticed it has been harder to fill those roles and things have definitely tightened up a little bit."

What makes the labor issues particularly frustrating for restauranteurs like Fleckenstein is that the business side of the restaurant is doing very well as sales are up “and have never been better,” despite the pandemic challenges like labor shortages and inflation affecting the cost of goods.

He said it is impossible to pinpoint one factor causing the labor shortage. He admitted the employment situation “is just strange” right now.

“We are noticing people’s patience is shorter but I would not contribute that to why people are not coming back to work,” he said.

With the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases there are those who are “on the sideline who have to stay home for child care,” Fleckenstein said.

“Life is getting more expensive so from the employer’s side we are trying to change the status quo. We’re looking at how we can bring value to our employees lives because they are the ones who are ultimately bringing value to our community and our store,” he said.

Employees need to feel valued

“I have seen a lot of local businesses and even chains that have had to close individual units and stores because of the lack of help. If I had to close for three days it would cost me,” Fleckenstein said.

To avoid losing businesses, he said he would rather work to make sure employees feel they are valued. He said owners and managers are going to have to invest in team members

“At the end of the day if they can have a little bit more meaning to their job, that is worth it. The core people I employ have been here three or four plus years so my hyper-focus is on keeping them happy and able to afford their lives,” he said.

“Without them there is no restaurant, there is no Pass Key. They bring a lot of value to my life - I have a young family at home I would like to spend more time with so if you take care of people they take care of you."

It is a philosophy that started with his grandfather in the 1950s and part of the reason why Pass Key has been a part of Pueblo for so long.

Once a new employee comes in the door, “we try to provide them with opportunities for growth inside our company and we have six days of paid holiday,” he said.

A new law that requires one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked has him thinking, “there should be room to go above and beyond that. Employers should incorporate some paid time off in there as well,” Fleckenstein said.

“With the restaurant industry as we knew it and that hourly rate ($9.54 per hour for tipped employees) people are going to have to move past that. I’ve seen businesses offering free tuition and sign on bonuses,” he said.

"If we could just get the hiring thing figured out."

Fleckenstein said, the focus could stay on those signature Italian sausage sandwiches and keeping Pass Key Specials flying out of the kitchen.

Even better paying employers struggle

As the country nears the two year mark of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, even large-scale employers like the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel Mill, Trane and Concentrix are feeling the lingering effects.

EVRAZ has jobs for mill helpers, tubemakers and quality inspectors ranging from $21.42 to $23.78 an hour. Trane is hiring assembly technicians and material handlers for $15.48 to $25 an hour.

Concentrix had plans to host a hiring event Jan. 12 at its 1228 E. Orman Ave. location but quickly had to shift to a virtual job fair as it worked to hire 103 customer service and sales workers. The customer service company “is now offering an increased, competitive starting wage plus incentives to build that long-term foundation and future opportunity for everyone who begins a career with the company,” according to Kaylin Dunnett, account manager for Evolve PR and Marketing.

Even with all the available jobs in Pueblo, Pueblo County had a 6.6% unemployment rate in November, according to the most recent statistics from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. That is the second highest unemployment rate in the state.

Trending: Details emerge in death of Pueblo mom allegedly shot by husband

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo worker shortages stuck in a vicious cycle as COVID persists