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Finding qualified help

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,445
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
1 of my boss's favorite "tricks" to get rid of someone w/o having to pay unemployment bennies was>>
To do a pop drug test the day u came off of vacation.. EVERYBODY that he did that too, failed.. & was given the opportunity to "resign".. They ALL took the "resign" option..
In SC if u QUIT a job, your not entitled to unemployment bennies..
 

92U 3406

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
3,098
Location
Western Canuckistan
Occupation
Wrench Bender
As you all probably already know, marijuana is legal here in Canada now. Its definitely a strange situation. I still get urine tested every 3 months. I have no idea if they're still looking for marijuana or not.
 

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,445
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
Yeah, I think its a "farce".. IF its legal, one should be able to consume "whatever" on their own time..
BUT seeing THC stays in the bloodstream about 30 days after the initial use.. one could "fail" a drug test at anytime within that 30 day window.. UNLIKE booze..& we all know what happens to that..{flush}
The "new" [old} test is a hair folical test.. they have come up w/ a formula for hair growth.. they can take a sample of your hair at the root & see WHEN u last "imbibed". {partook in the wacky tabaky}
 

walkerv

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Messages
1,125
Location
wingate nc
As you all probably already know, marijuana is legal here in Canada now. Its definitely a strange situation. I still get urine tested every 3 months. I have no idea if they're still looking for marijuana or not.
We still have drug free workplaces so even if it legal or not its a company policy and terms of your employment, in the usa its the states passing it not big govermant in their eyes its still illegal at this time which means cdl holders in states that have legalized best not **** dirty due to they are in fact under federal scrutiny not state laws .
 

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,445
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
Like I said>> "Farce"..
There is NO test {that I know of} that can positively tell if your under the influence at the time of suspicion..
FOR "weed".. I keep seeing on that show "Cops" they give the same test as a DUI for alcohol.. & "find" the tester guilty on the spot.. its a "farce"..
Its always the same>> I can "smell" it in your car & your eyes are red.. "click, click goes the cuffs..
Unlike booze, an employer can send u to the testing place & have u wiz in a cup to check for alcohol level.
OR have u blow into the tester..
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Actually, in this state anyway, with the field sobriety test they only need enough to show you being impaired and can then force to make a choice between a blood test or forfeiting your driver's license. It doesn't have to be weed in your system. We have plenty of other recreational substances that cause problems for drivers.
 

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,445
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
I know this is getting off track so I'll leave it at this.. Have u seen the video of the girl & her friends getting pulled over .. shes an honor student, decorated by the mayor.. all sorts of commendations.. never touched a drug in her life.. & just on "principle" she declined allsorts of "tests" this yahoo wanted to administer..
because he "smelled something"..
It was filmed by 1 of the passengers.. the girl was arrested .. afterwards the cop was "let go".. quietly..
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,425
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
In MO, is still considered a Controlled Substance unless Medically prescribed and then MUST be Declared by the patient to the employer who can furlough or reassign that employee to a position where impairment is not a issue. HE Operator, Truck herder, forklift operator/warehousing, dangerous machine(lathe or mill) operation all can be denied access to work place if impaired on any controlled schedule drugs.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,425
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Had a interesting Listen as I paid a bill this morning. Kid was arguing with a employer that the employer HAD to train new people and should not be hiring off the street qualified help as was hurting the new prospects chance. Kid was adamant he was right and that he could do any job as well as anyone in the yard if given some instruction and coaching. Co. Owner looked at me and winked, told the kid that he could start where all unskilled start and on a truck at $14/hour so the kid without thinking said Yes, was directed outside to the trash truck coming up to fuel was told when could manage to spend six months throwing trash would consider training for something else, kid walked away.
 

Jeckyl1920

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
Yep, because he wants a "good" job. He may be smart, but his work ethic sucks.

When I was detailing rebar, the supers would keep saying we didn't have enough guys on the site. We called labor ready for 12 guys, 8 would get back in the van when they got there.
 

Jeckyl1920

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
So, I had the millennial talk with an old guy at the gym. He was talking smack about healthy guys in their 20s and 30s still living at home with the parents. I'll try to make this quick....

In a nutshell, he save around $1m, with house paid off, has 6 cars paid off and insured, and says he doesn't get it. He lives comfortably with all his stuff.

6 cars? So you pay $120 a month for insurance?

Yes.

About $2000 /year for property tax?

No, about $900.

Ah, so you bought it in the 60's?

Yes.

So you live on about $20k a year?

Yes.

Ok, to give you perspective, my house, at 1100 sf, and a new ford focus, bought today, thru the banking system, with comp and collision insurance, because the bank requires it, would put me in need of making $80k per year, just to survive.

No way!

My house is worth 250k atm. That's $1800 to $2k per month just to live. Car, $300 per month. Insurance, $250-300 with a super clean record and low mileage discount. Assume 300 utilities, 200 for gas, 800 groceries, 600 for medical, 300 retirement. That's 50k out of pocket per year.

Thats not 80k.

Taxes are rough 30% of your income. That's 56k take home. You now have 6k per year to do anything else and cover any random expenses. To live in a 3 bed, 1.5 bath townhome in an ok neighborhood with no yard against a busy street. What if my wife needs a new car?

.....

Oh, and I make nowhere near $80k per year. How many jobs do you know that make $80k per year or more without 10+ years of experience?

.....
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
The only difference between now and when any of us "old timers" started is the scale of what we had to pay.

When we started out we were so poor we couldn't afford toys for the kids. Had to give them an old bones just so the dogs would be friends with them.
 

Jeckyl1920

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
The only difference between now and when any of us "old timers" started is the scale of what we had to pay.

When we started out we were so poor we couldn't afford toys for the kids. Had to give them an old bones just so the dogs would be friends with them.
Ya, and housing and cost of living isn't as screwed up as it is here in so cal.

I understand and I'm not villainizing anything. I'm not saying the millenials aren't for the most part useless as well.

The big problem, is if you look at everything objectively and add it up, a descent playing job is only paying half the living costs.

When people realize this, they start looking for "get rich quick," because "that guy did it, and it works!"

Enter, the millennial.
 

BigWrench55

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2018
Messages
1,176
Location
Somewhere
Cry me a river. What millennials don't understand and refuse to accept is. We didn't leave mama's house with a brand new car and into a new home with cable,internet cell phones etc,etc. I left home with nothing but a bag of clothes. Saved and paid cash for my first car. I didn't even have a phone until I was 25. Never had cable. And I was 35 before I had internet installed. It is a gradual process. You get what you can afford not what you want. So if you are still living with mama, cancel the smart phone, sell your brand new car and buy a cash car, and then move out! Nobody owes you jack. If you want it then get off your butt and get it. No one is going to give it to you. You have to earn it.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,425
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Currently retired but worked from $5/hr in 1975 to the 40+/hr after qualified Operations Tech at the Nuke, On that $5/hr bought tools, a truck, a boat, a home and still had coin to buy gas, go drinking and play with dirt track race cars. So managed correctly and living WITHIN one's means you can live quite comfortably on less money that the Millennial Dreamscape. A common wage around here pulling trash 40-50 hours a week of $14/hr can add up with the OT, NOT buying tools, smaller outside city limits homes are NOT $1800/mo to buy and many are well afforded at less than $600/mo with minor amounts utilities. No need for much of a car or light truck, old does fine, no payments, cheap insurance and NOT in CA. Know too many with two or three kids and living on wages as shown(both parents working) without state or parents aid. Two earning some OT on $14-16/hr can add to 60-65000/yr, with the added deductions can see less insurance ~~70% of that take home. Get a few hours skill time come to a agreement with the boss step up in the ranks to driver or equipment operator and double your income in a year.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,425
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
BTW I also worked Side Jobs, busted my butt to make MORE money as a contractor earning bigger coin for less hours for years, at some points passed myself coming and going while doing without more sleep than could get across my pickups front seat on lunch break. You get what you will accept and nobody is gonna give you a free ride at top dollar to be a learner.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,425
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
That brings up the next battle.

Women(No Offense MD) are pushing for the job I used to have, see it in their necessities to earn the wages I had. I do NOT begrudge them the opportunity but they wish to shirk the rules. Smaller young woman qualified by testing mentally, she passed the psych examinations but got to fire brigade basis tests and failed so has now filed lawsuit. In my mind she is threatening the safety of others should she manage to get the courts to see her way. She dripping wet and fully bunker geared out weighed in UNDER 190 lbs. Bunker gear by itself was 45lbs, SCBA was another 30. So she weighs 110 pounds at 4'5" and frail to say the least. We had to in full gear and SCBA walk 300' across a gravel floor compound, climb a three story tower(Stairs) rope haul a coiled stick of 2 1/2" fire hose to the top then place it HAND OVER HAND back on the ground, exit the stairs, pick up a 1 1/2" hand line hose drag 150' of it to a curb valve, pull the next coupling(100') to that curb valve finally accessing a simulated smoke filled room, find a rescue dummy and retrieve it to the door threshold, proceed to dessout and remove scba, all those steps in under 10 minutes. She never made it past the hose lift. She tried twice, they waved that and allowed her to get to the rescue dummy(typical weight 180lbs.) could not drag it from the building, three tries.

I do not mind, and DID work with capable women on the staff, those I DID trust could drag my big dead arse or myself drag theirs out of a fire situation in an emergency but there has to be a line of limitations.
 

Mother Deuce

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2016
Messages
1,603
Location
New England
That brings up the next battle.

Women(No Offense MD) are pushing for the job I used to have, see it in their necessities to earn the wages I had. I do NOT begrudge them the opportunity but they wish to shirk the rules. Smaller young woman qualified by testing mentally, she passed the psych examinations but got to fire brigade basis tests and failed so has now filed lawsuit. In my mind she is threatening the safety of others should she manage to get the courts to see her way. She dripping wet and fully bunker geared out weighed in UNDER 190 lbs. Bunker gear by itself was 45lbs, SCBA was another 30. So she weighs 110 pounds at 4'5" and frail to say the least. We had to in full gear and SCBA walk 300' across a gravel floor compound, climb a three story tower(Stairs) rope haul a coiled stick of 2 1/2" fire hose to the top then place it HAND OVER HAND back on the ground, exit the stairs, pick up a 1 1/2" hand line hose drag 150' of it to a curb valve, pull the next coupling(100') to that curb valve finally accessing a simulated smoke filled room, find a rescue dummy and retrieve it to the door threshold, proceed to dessout and remove scba, all those steps in under 10 minutes. She never made it past the hose lift. She tried twice, they waved that and allowed her to get to the rescue dummy(typical weight 180lbs.) could not drag it from the building, three tries.

I do not mind, and DID work with capable women on the staff, those I DID trust could drag my big dead arse or myself drag theirs out of a fire situation in an emergency but there has to be a line of limitations.
None taken! Those of us that can, do. Those of us who can't because of the physical limitations of the box we arrived in, either need to develop said container into a qualifying profile to fit the task at hand. Develop a qualifying work around that enables us to complete the task at hand within acceptable parameters or set a more physically attainable goal.

I have found ( as I mentioned recently in one thread somewhere else) that as I have aged (40 years in) I noticed while boarding iron, it seems to be getting taller now. Getting out of the back of a triaxle box is now almost requiring pitons and ropes and foolishly helping a labor who is trying to load a generator into a pickup single handed will result in a 2 day Advil consumption festival. I can still run and I can still drive, however the sands of time have tilted the playing field in favor of "my guy's." (love them like brothers and kids) However given my tenure in our collective chosen path and just outright bullheadedness (<word?)
I am going to keep on keeping on till I reach that predetermined point I have selected for myself or I become no longer able to safely complete the tasks.

I work now because I love doing it. Time is stern task master and I have seen my career zenith, however I can look back on it and the people past and present and smile with great warmth...
If I could give a gift to a millennial male or female in our line of work or considering it. I guess it would be a glimpse of my/our sense of accomplishment and pride of craft.
 

Jeckyl1920

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
BTW I also worked Side Jobs, busted my butt to make MORE money as a contractor earning bigger coin for less hours for years, at some points passed myself coming and going while doing without more sleep than could get across my pickups front seat on lunch break. You get what you will accept and nobody is gonna give you a free ride at top dollar to be a learner.
I never said anything about paying someone top dollar to learn. I'm saying if they have the skills, don't rope them into the same boat as the ones without, and learn how to spot the difference between the two.
 

catwelder

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2016
Messages
383
Location
north carolina
Occupation
welder
if it makes yall feel any better a local contractor got a brand new Kenworth and one of his newest drivers got in and about destroyed the thing before the first payment went out tried to tailgate gravel and hit a tree branch cant remember how it was angled but guy told me if he kept going it would of destroyed the cab. and here's another great thing a local town is growing and cant find or hire any trucks with out paying a stupid amount of money because of the supply and demand.
 
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