Worker shortage

[kshansen]

Then the response to the counselor should have been "so, what your saying is you want the brain dead slacker fixing the brakes on your car?"

My Brother who was an assistant principal at a county run trade school up till a few years back used almost those exact words while complaining about the kids the various schools kept pushing at the school he helped run. Not sure it made a dent in their ideas but at least he tried!

 

[Welder Dave]

Trade schools were often referred to as "Dummy Schools". Funny how the "dummies" who were interested in a trade and applied themselves got an apprenticeship coming out of school and the students at the regular/academic high schools had to fight over a minimum wage job at McDonalds. Stupid people in suits decided trades were out and they weren't going to promote the trades anymore. Attendance dropped so they got rid of the trades schools. I think had the trades continued to be promoted, attendance wouldn't have suffered as much and trade schools would have had enough attendance to be self sufficient. There are some who would have loved to go to a trade school but didn't have a choice when it's no longer an option. Schools being obligated to not fail students is another problem. Some of the students who tried but struggled would have excelled in a trade school. Too many people think you don't have to know much to be in a trade. That needs to change but probably never will.

 

[Truck Shop]

23 years ago I sat on the board for the diesel program at WWCC. Really the only thing the board was for was to sign off on accreditation for ASAE. Other than that
the board would meet twice a year-set eat pizza and listen to babble from instructors. I was on it two years but after I was told three would graduate out of a class
of 31 I decided it was a total waste of my time. John Deere has poured a lot of money in their program-and because of poor leadership WWCC no longer has a
worthless diesel program because they are deep in debt, lost some state funding and had to curtail diesel, welding, and machine shop classes.

So my interpretation of the school is idiots leading the blind.

And I'm sure this scenario plays out in other schools around the country also.

 

[John C.]

I was chairman of the advisory committee for the apprenticeship program. The industry people were serious as hell about what needed to be taught and the minimum skills to be mastered for use at the starting level in the industry. I also was on the committee for the reaccreditation of the regular credit program and sat with some pretty serious state people who were going to cost the institution a whole lot of money if the recommendations weren't followed. In the end, the suit and tie people and old women wearing fancy business suits stepped in wanting diversity and psychology classes and then stood up to take credit for the programs we got redone. The quality of the students became a lot of immigrants who didn't speak english and scammed the system until the government folks cut them off. I wrote a letter to the state apprenticeship program directors and laid out what I thought of the programs and processes and then resigned all those volunteer positions. The school is still there but only does stuff for the trucking industry now.

 

[Sberry]

I was at a conference where there was complaining about the workers. I suggested we need to add a class for executives and a woman jumped in and said,, we had thought of that but that was the end of that, went right back to sipping cocktails bitching how they couldn't find all these workers for their entry level jobs.
Got to love the adveryising,,, 15 to 26 an hour,, wonder how many hired on at 26? Bet the rationale was all ready in place as to why that wasn't possible.
At least McD is straight up with it. As I mention earlier wasn't too long ago a guy driving 80k car was "explaining" to a pretty good hand how a dollar was going to bust him. I cant really blame some of the worker bees for saying Fogg off.
Simple and easy to blame the poor for "scamming" the system. Not one banker went to jail in the last big fiasco. Put the blame on people for taking out loans they couldn't afford but they didnt have to give back 2 points on every loan they shoved thru, could not hand it out fast enough.

 

[emmett518]

So is drinking and posting on Saturday morning now a thing? I've been gone all week- I must have missed the new rules.

Jesus.

Working around my backhoe completely sober and rested gives me pause. I try to think through every single activity, asking myself what could go wrong, and if I'm going anything dangerous. I can't imagine being anywhere near these machines or even a construction site, mining operation or on a highway repair if you're impaired. Are people really that stupid, or do they just have a death wish?

Maybe part of my attitude comes from a local cop who was drunk and working around his friend's backhoe. He reached into the cab from the back while he was standing on the ground, and got crushed by the hoe arm. He never worked again, and was never the same either.

 

[emmett518]

Have seen some of the better outfits offer signing bonus's for journeyman mechanics. The Unions can be a problem sometimes too. A few years ago there was a big issue at Suncor. They wanted to do random drug testing of all employee's but the union said it was a violation of the workers rights. The union won in the end but I don't think won is the correct term. Drug use in the oilsands/Ft. McMurray is a problem, actually most big operations that do pay well it's a problem. Why the heck is the union protecting the drug users? Good workers who are clean have no problem taking a drug test and don't want to be around the ones doing drugs. Former neighbors brother was on a pipeline job and said there were guys doing cocaine on the job. He sure hoped the guy running the side boom wasn't stoned out of his mind. It could kill somebody!

I remember needing some masonry supplies from the local outfit in my city. I called the place about an hour before quitting time on a Saturday. We were running a class, and the instructor needed some additional materials that we forgot to order. We made it down to the store about 30 minutes before closing.

When we asked for a particular brick, the owner asked us to substitute something else for our order. When we asked about this, he explained that he had to run a union shop to get state purchases, and his yard guy operating the forklift would make his life miserable if he had to move material to get what we wanted so close to quitting time. The substituted product was close to the entrance, and wouldn't require moving anything to get to it.

We figured the owner had other motivations, but when we went out to the yard with 15 minutes before closing, the union guy was livid. Bitched us out using horrible language for 15 minutes for showing up late, and making his life difficult.

When we went back into the office to pay after being loaded, I asked the owner why he didn't fire the guy. He responded that the union would appeal the firing, and he'd have to rehire the guy anyway, so they just avoided using him to keep him off their case.

I get how companies screw employees, but unions can be problematic as well.

 

[Welder Dave]

I posted before about a welding supply I worked at where the cylinder delivery drivers were in a union. I had just started there and was in the back seeing where everything was kept with not much else to do. A truck came to pick up the empties and drop off full cylinders. I started talking to the driver and he was really nice. Then I started helping move cylinders for something to do. About 5 minutes later I was told to go the front by one of long term sales people. He was basically giving me $hit for helping the driver because he was union and we weren't. He was nice about it but I was thinking wow, I'm just trying to be productive.

 

[Truck Shop]

Yeah don't dare help anyone Dave or show initiative. Oh boy you were really stepping on
someone toes with that move. Frigging people and their petty crap. I suppose if that union
guy had a heart attack only a union guy can give CPR.

 

[Welder Dave]

I thought it was pretty stupid. It was nothing to do with the driver. That's a real good question if you need a union member to perform CPR.

 

[Sberry]

Seems it wasn't a union guy that had the problem?

 

[Welder Dave]

Maybe the guy that called me away wasn't happy because the union guys get better pay or benefits?

 

[Muffler Bearing]

hoo boy! we've hired some new guys. I don't know if the pandemic made them weird or if they were always this odd.

Remember Private Pyle from the movie Full Metal Jacket? that kinda odd

 

[Sberry]

It's kind of simplistic to blame the stupid for the worlds problem when most of them are caused by the educated class. We now are turning out do many advanced degrees to people now feel entitled cause they got the paper. Wasn't trade people got rid of shop class, reall vital when so much of the worlds real work is done with simple tools.
Now everyone needs the degree, this has created some brilliant people but also whole vast level of professional bullshitters. Self serving lying types, cant co.plete a simple sentence without telling contradicting lies and they are put in positions where they manage so much of the world.
This country is being over run with them and now we supposed to feel sorry for their student debt. This is the reason for politics as we have it. We can create so many hot button issues it becomes so fragmented we cant get a bead on who is actually responsible. We have become so worried about our gun we have forgot what we are supposed to defend with it. We are being led by masters of deception.
Now the issue is we dont have enough good worker bees,,, who's fault is that? Out of 200 yellow pages in our little phone book 22 of them are lawyers. Every commercial break 2 or 3 commercials from them, a couple more from doctors, always some genius waiting just to help you. There to promote your best interests.
I dont blame politicians but who voted for them? Even when it doesnt make sense? We want it to be true so much we really dont care if it is.
Saw an interview with avg guy, they ask, do you believe it's true? Guy comes right out and says,,, I know it's not true but I dont care, he gonna vote for it anyway. This wasn't a poor illiterate drop out couldn't hold a job but a guy you might work with every day.

 

[Sberry]

I hate to use the word truth as it's so abused but people willing to state the situation accurately dont stand a chance. We elect the woman comes out and says Hilary has baby burgers for breakfast.
Now,,, that obviously worked for her but what does that say about 1/2 the voters. She not really the problem. We have become that willing to believe anything no matter how absurd.

 

[Sberry]

We look at history and say, how could so many follow Hitler. The battle over guns says it all, it's not being led by liberals.
That's not an endorsement by me, it's a simple observation. But it works it's way down the line to this worker shortage thing when we are looking to blame someone for the situation. They think this may ha e happened in early times, the labor simply left the big cities and walk off in to the jungle.
Problem here is not many willing to endure any pain and cant do without, might not be able till there is real upheaval. All this inclusive,, try to get along is just delaying g it, keeps the same people in charge.
Look how many live in fear over their credit ratings, cant make it without a card and someone right behind that preaching it. Think this pandemic put the world in a spin,, how about everyone maxing out the cards and quit sending the payments tsp. We got a national font buy gas day,,,, ha, should have a font pay cc for 6 months, combine that with car and ho.e loans and we would get somewhere.

 

[emmett518]

hoo boy! we've hired some new guys. I don't know if the pandemic made them weird or if they were always this odd.

Remember Private Pyle from the movie Full Metal Jacket? that kinda odd

WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION?

I want to say that to all of the politicians in Washington.

 

[Buckethead]

I was lectured in almost those exact words as a child when I said I wanted to be operator like my Dad. Or the teachers would go off on a tirade about "truck drivers" not even knowing that is a different occupation than operator. When they humiliate a child in front of his peers for what he wants to do as a career,or for whatever reason, they are not helping him. It's just destructive. Well, now I make more money than they do.

Think about this, would you rather work in an air conditioned office, never get your hands dirty, start at 9am and never break a sweat or work in a hot, dirty, oily shop, start at 6am or earlier and have grease under your finger nails for the rest of your life ? That was an actual question a guidance councilor asked my nephews when they told him they wanted to be mechanics like their uncle.

 

[emmett518]

The guidance dweeb forgot to mention the stress, politics, mind numbing work and many little dicks that seem to breed in modern offices.

 

[Truck Shop]

Fact is not everyone is cutout to be a brain surgeon or for that matter a mechanic or a truck driver. Some have to go through the steps only
to find out a particular job/lively hood isn't for them.
Driving truck over the road is only for a few and not many stay with it. #1 Very hard on ones health-bad food and little exorcise. #2 Very hard
to have any kind of life/family, rarely home on time for holidays, not around for the kids, usually ends up in divorce. #3 Most of the shippers/
receivers could care less about the driver all they want is their stuff. #4 I suppose it's a good job if a person likes getting lied to, dispatchers
tend to be paid a flat plus incentive. Dispatchers will lie their a$$ off to a driver and promise the moon that they will make the next load a good
one-very rarely happens. #5 A driver rarely sees the good side of a city, industrial areas, loading docks mainly the sleazy/and sometimes dangerous
parts of towns/cities. #6 A driver gets sick on the road he has to handle it, no one there he/she knows to help other than 911.
#7 Rate of pay-by the mile, few pay dock time. In some cases drivers can set up to 12 hrs and more waiting to bump the dock or bump the dock
and they take their sweet time unloading because they have no room and use the trailer as a short term warehouse/freezer. Some companies pay
dock time some don't. Loads are appointed load and unload times, even if things were out of drivers control he will go to the back of the line.
E-log and out of route miles to deal with, some companies only pay map miles/city limits-not actual address so driver gets shorted x amount of miles. #8 Traffic/Winter driving. If some dink isn't trying to
cut you off they are brake checking the truck. Chain up areas have become a risky place, trying to install
chains with water and sand dripping down your neck then the next thing you know there's a spin-out headed for you.

I could go on and on-But driving is a lonely tiresome job without much atta-boy's.