What Do You Pay Your Operators???

[Kalai]

I live in Hawaii and I pay my crew $200 per day for 7 hrs, the cost of living is high over here.
Aloha.

Kalai

 

[Scott S]

I love the Islands we go there often, which one do you work on?

Love to come see your operation next time I am over.

Scott S

 

[Kalai]

Hi Scott, I am on the Big Island of Hawaii, just outside of Hilo.
Your welcome to stop by if your in the area. Send me a PM if you need my contact info, aloha.

Kalai

 

[jane56]

wow that's cheap. Cost of living must be nothing in la and ohio.

that's how it is here in north dakota too

 

[renegade]

What. Theres no trees in NoDAK. But there is black gold.

 

[phil3333]

do the logging co. out west use knuckleboom loaders,just curious I ran my own hardwood sawmill and logging business for 20 years
finally got tired of loosing money so I sold out

 

[PFS]

Everyone in my Dad's crew earns $74,000 a year. And we're experiencing the same problems as everywhere else, everyone because of Australia's huge resources boom, is quitting logging and go to work in the mines for $200,000+ !! Now because of the men leaving, there are quite a few trucks sitting idle in Yards everywhere, with no drivers. And for the next gen, why would they log? you can $200,000 doing nothing in a mine all day. That's how they see it.

 

[Bumpus]

you can $200,000 doing nothing in a mine all day. That's how they see it.

So your saying they go down in a dangerous mine
and do nothing until quitting time, and the boss says it's ok.

 

[forester]

Not quite but around where I'm at here in Alberta labour is tough to find of any kind.

Oilfield operator is $60,000-125,000/year with a one year training program
Coal mines (open pit) are running at around $80,000/yr starting and more with experience.
Forestry...seasonal work and lower wages....can't find people interested. Most government jobs are tough to recruit for as they pay low compared to the local market....but again it's boom and bust economies.

Or for comparision for truck drivers
Log haul $110-130/hr
Gravel haul $130-150/hr
Oilfield haul $150-180/hr
That's an informal price I got off one driver last fall for the cost of running his truck...he just didn't have the trailers to allow him to shift industries. Also some differences on speed of payment, hours of work etc..

 

[SeaMac]

Here in South Florida unless you're working a Davis Bacon Act prevailing wage project you're not making much. If you're on a DBA and you operate an excavator you're making $35 an hour. Dragline and Blue Toppers used to reign supreme but that was when there was construction on every corner. Nowadays you're lucky to find work at all.

 

[Yellowdog]

Here in South Florida unless you're working a Davis Bacon Act prevailing wage project you're not making much. If you're on a DBA and you operate an excavator you're making $35 an hour. Dragline and Blue Toppers used to reign supreme but that was when there was construction on every corner. Nowadays you're lucky to find work at all.

Okay, I'm in the wrong line of work...

 

[blitz138]

So your saying they go down in a dangerous mine
and do nothing until quitting time, and the boss says it's ok.

yup we just lay around drink beer and get paid crazy money

 

[PFS]

So your saying they go down in a dangerous mine
and do nothing until quitting time, and the boss says it's ok.

Open cut mine.

 

[JTL]

Everyone in my Dad's crew earns $74,000 a year. And we're experiencing the same problems as everywhere else, everyone because of Australia's huge resources boom, is quitting logging and go to work in the mines for $200,000+ !! Now because of the men leaving, there are quite a few trucks sitting idle in Yards everywhere, with no drivers. And for the next gen, why would they log? you can $200,000 doing nothing in a mine all day. That's how they see it.

I understand that sounds like a huge amount of money to us here in the U.S. But you guys pay a hell of lot more in taxes that we do right? Dont they base your tax upon how much you earn..i.e. the more you make the more you pay? What is the take home pay on wages like that?
74 g's is 2 years pay for most of the loggers I know, and 200 g's working in mines, not unless you're an engineer of some sort.
I only worked 1600 hours last year. About 500 of that overtime, and made $68,000 before tax, and paid close to $26,000 in state and federal taxes.

 

[dooby]

The wages here in montana are worse than the were 15 yrs. ago that for sure.Then i was cutting and rigging for $275 for 6 hrs. Just accepted a job in Colorado for $25.00 per hr. but they are supplying everything. thats just to start. Oil field work is over rated .I am a top hand in the brush and thats were i am happy. For me its not all about the $ though. $25 hr. to start aint to bad in my book. Missed a chance to go to new south whales to cut heli logs in '91 . Regret that one for sure. $64,000 in 9.5 months is the best i ever did cutting as an employee. Had to lease a 518 swinger and 225 slide boom to top that but after i factored in the extra hrs. required and the time lost from doing what i love outside of work i still wonder if happiness vs. work was worth it. I left the woods for about 4-5yrs. and am going back at it for the sake of happiness.The $25 hr. isnt the reason.

 

[1270d]

I wonder if some of you coastys would let me work for the duration of our mud season here? A couple months to see how coastal logging is done? Sounds like a perfect vacation to me! I can fall timber (our hardwood anyway) and run a processor full time for the last four years.

 

[Plebeian]

Some of the agricultural harvesting personnel drive equipment in both hemispheres' harvesting seasons. I wonder how feasible that would be to do for logging. There are forests in NZ that are 'summer logging ' -probably November through April. When does your mud season occur ?

Now/ Possibly in the future Australian mining staff that are not fully utilized on the mine site will probably be returned to Perth/ other places HQ to drive mine site trucks remotely online.

e.g http://youtu.be/s0RCSX95QmE (Aus mine- remote control trucks driven from long distances away)

 

[1270d]

Mud season typically lasts mid march to mid may. Somtimes we are able to work right through, but not always. I like to take a working vacation of some sort during that time.

 

[Hillbillybjopkr]

I was making $18 hr runnin delimber and processor in No. Cali......moving to washington here in a few months lookin for the same...

 

[whitemike]

Guys , logging down south is totally different from logging in the eastern mountains regions, that is different than western mountains logging, also logging in Alaska and Canada is another animal in itself. So there noway to compare wages. A desent salary in Ga. Is not same for a clearcut crew than a thinning crew, then u have swamp logging down here, this changes pay. If a man grosses $750 here aweek, he is a valuable employee because you can get a good operator for $600.