Gettin over on me and laid off again

[Arabhacks]

Layoff.

Hello.

I was hired as a class A CDL driver but was given the chance to learn the crane, so I went for it.
$19 an hour, cheap but I was happy to get seat time.
Later I was told to jump on a blade, I said no, I was to be off Sat and Mr. Neal said that I needed to make up for lost time.
Friday I was put on a jackhammer the entire day.
Monday I was told that "I understand that a laborer thinks a crane operator is over a superintendent."
Well, Mr. Truck Driver, unless you are on the lowboy I do not want to see you on anything bigger than a lightplant!
I was on layoff and called back, $14 an hour.
They found some people who would drive and run a crane for cheaper, so another layoff.
But, they lost 2 cranes on the Ira Lee project within 2 months, both times poor operators.
In one case the counterweight was not secured properly, straight from the lowboy to the machine with nobody doing a final inspection.
Finally, I get called back but the offer was for $9 an hour, unemployment is actually more money so simply said I would call back later.
Zachery Construction Company said that they would never lay anyone off, yet hundreds have lost their jobs.
Hell, I want to work for Home Depot!
I love being an operator, it is in my blood, but the way things are now they will take a bum off the street and put him on a machine to save a buck.
And, yes, the projects are just as high dollar as ever, just now the worker is getting the shaft.
That is just the way it is and nothing will change it.
If I am unwilling to jump on a machine for $9 they will find someone who will.

 

[milling_drum]

Obama made some promise to level prevailing wages north to south and have it enforced.........never happened, most likely never will happen. I worked for the one of the BEST asphalt milling companies in Texas that KNOW what they are doing but paid poorly....

 

[Raildudes dad]

I googled "Maryland most expensive toll road' and "Maryland Transportation Authority". Both sites I checked talked about the InterCounty Connector toll road. The MTA site says their facilities are built and maintained with the tolls generated by the facility. That means no Federal funds are being used. No federal funds = no Davis-Bacon wage requirement. They may have promised you union scale wages but I'm betting there's no contract requirement with the MTA if they are not.

Call the MTA and ask if there's a D-B requirement on the particular contract you were working on. The project manager should be willing to answer that question without knowing your name. Even if you give him ypur name, he's not likely to mention it to the contractor. (I manage various highway construction projects and I wouldn't tell the contractor if an employee called to see if D-B wages were required. I wouldn't ask for your name to answer the question.)

 

[Gatornjax]

Greeting Everyone,
As I see it , you like a lot of other people are hurting. You took a job and then did more
than you were getting paid for.I would think that unless you kept a record of your daily assignments.
You could really give them a good kick in the wallet. They are supposed to have those records as well. but I wouldn't be surprised if they are bogus.
It is a tough call. But I would think you made a commitment when you joined the Union. To abide by the rules and honor the contract that you voted for.
I was Union ( Local #487 Miami, Fl. ) for 15 years. been there done that. I left the trade in 89'. now I am semi retired and fighting with the VA.
Good Luck
Gator