Tarrifs

[NVR FNSH]

Originally posted by Sled Puller

Good laborers are hard to come by, and worth much more than the $18/hr they get.



Gene

And you wonder why jobs go offshore... $18/hour for digging a ditch? Yep, highly trained operators I'm sure. I was digging out irrigation 'sluice boxes' (I don't know the right name) for $6/hour while in college.



Brian

 

[Sled Puller]

What part of "GOOD" laborers did you misread?



Not part time kids that are digging their way through college, and don't know jack about construction, real laborers, that know what is going on and can solve problems.





There is much more to construction than digging holes and filling them in.

Gene

 

[Champane Flight]

Uh Huh

I make $18. 62 . I have to do a utilitys locate request, respond to every utility in the area and explain or meet to show them what I am about to dig up, do a report on the utlilitys that responded. Then contact hoe operater and laborer and set up dig time, contact pipeline control and set up dig time. Clear with superviser and make risk assesment. Then go to the dig site inspect site, call control, fill out excavation permit, Hot work permit, go over emergency plan ( block valves location ect ) , Locate and flag pipeline, Probe for line confirmation, and finally start dig. Of course I have to make sure I have a qualified operater and equipment has to come to our standards (bucket without teeth) and so on. The hoe also has to line up parralel to the line and cannot dig within twelve inches of the line until exposed by good ole shovels. After the dig a whole new set of rules apply!



This is just one part of the four jobs I rotate in and out of. I have been doing this for seventeen years now. If everbody has a college education, some of them would HAVE to get their hands dirty. Sorry, but a formal education isn't everything. How would you like to work for someone for 20 years and get a cut in wages because some Puppy started hiding under the bosses desk? Not this cat... ... ... ... ... ...

 

[NVR FNSH]

mea culpa, mea culpa - the conversation was about ditch digging and I took it literally. Easy there, Sled Puller. Laborer doesn't exactly describe what CF listed as his job description.



There's a big difference between a good ditch digger (the literal version) and what you two are describing.



Brian

 

[Steve M]

I didn't know Mexican made Rams were superior to American made Rams. Is this a fact or just another union bashing rumor started by someone's opinion? I've owned both. Haven't had any problems with fit or finish on either. The two Mexican Rams were actually alittle higher priced. When do we see the huge savings created with NAFTA? Or was it all just a ploy to create more profit for the shareholders?

Champagne Flight,

I'm in about the same income bracket as you are. I also have to know alot about electrical wiring, electronics, computer programming, relay logic, and a whole lot of mechancal ability to do my job. Not to forget, we can't even get commercial insurance as our job risk is too high. Compared to some of the salaries I hear about for positions that aren't even necessary to run the business, I'm providing relatively cheap labor for what I do. We don't have seniority pay but we do have union representation to prevent the puppy love you refer too. That was classic, I'll have to remember that one!

 

[illflem]

Boy Gene, your ditch diggers are cheap. Last time I worked union the laborers were getting $22/hr. They were a great bunch of guys that would bust butt all the time in some sort of macho contest. They took real pride in their labor and their pay matched it.

 

[Jeff H]

Lets see if anyone could shovel steel out of the ground. After five minutes yer back will go south. Just how do we drift off the subject.