By Kara Shire
Tri-Valley Herald

Sept. 08, 1999

DUBLIN — A few years ago, David Woo had a thick stack of applications from people eager to work at his Dublin coffee shop.

These days, it's not so easy. Woo's "Help Wanted" signs aren't bringing the response they used to, and the store owner said he is having a hard time filling vacancies.

With national unemployment rates at 4.2 percent, workers have the luxury of picking who they work for, and businesses that don't offer special incentives and higher wages are often times being left on the sidelines, business owners and industry watchers said.

A Starbucks Coffee spokesman said the Seattle-based company is working to stay in the ball game.

While the Bay Area has al ways been a challenge for the coffee company, benefits such as stock options and health insurance for both part-time and full-time employees help keep the popular coffee shop's stock of baristas (a name for a coffee maker) bubbling, said Jeff Davis, regional marketing man ager.

The free pound of coffee each month doesn't hurt either.

Still, Davis says, it's tough.

"The entire Bay Area is just one big challenge," he said.

Which is why just about every one of the coffee company's stores are hiring, and current employees are offered incentives -- sometimes up to $2,000 -- for referring potential baristas and managers.

Woo says he's no match for Starbuck's brand of competi tion.

Either is Edgardo Gomez. A "Help Wanted" sign has been hanging in front of the Dublin dry cleaner he manages for five months, but Gomez says he hasn't had any takers.

"Nobody wants to work for minimum wage," he said. "It's really difficult to find people."

And when he does find someone, Gomez said, the person doesn't stay much longer than three months before being lured to a new job.

To combat this problem, Gomez offers his own brand of incentives. Employees who stay for three months get a 50-centan-hour raise as well as free dry cleaning for the entire family.

At Daniel's Cafe in San Ramon, it's the same story.

People aren't just turning down minimum wage jobs, which bring in $5.75 an hour, they're turning down $8- and $9-an-hour positions, said cafe owner Daniel Lau.

And when businesses have to increase pay rates to attract workers, the cost is passed on to consumers, said Bruce Kern, Alameda County's director of Economic Development Alliance for Businesses.

"It increases the cost of doing business in the region," Kern said. "Consumers pay for these increased costs. We are at an unprecedented low unemployment rate for this community. It is a very tight market."

Kern said he doesn't see the situation softening. The area will continue to grow, he said, and employers will continue to feel the pressures of a more competitive job market.