Is it really the pace and conditions, or the pay, that are not attracting US workers? I don't blame US workers for not wanting low-paying jobs that will require them to hold multiple jobs to raise a family. Pay people a decent wage they can raise a family on, and I think plenty of US workers would be just fine with the pace and conditions in these plants.
This is a very long discussion that depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the work itself. People who have grown up in the US just aren't going to work by in large in meat and poultry processing plants which is just one example.
This is a good reply. Over the years, I've represented a number of machine shops. Everyone who wants in this discussion should go and spend a couple of hours in one...
i spent about 3 months working on a furniture assembly line after academic struggles in my first two years in college.
Working a hard job can be very motivating. My son is a good kid who never gets in trouble but really hates traditional academics. He's a hard worker though and very smart with great test scores.
That reminds me a lot of my own son. He made straight A's since birth, but after graduation from HS, decided on a career path of skill. He joined the union (IBEW) right away and is currently wrapping up his last year as an apprentice. He likes working with his hands and figuring out problems that require thinking around corners. He is also keenly aware of his earning potential.
it was the tedium, danger, and how dead end it was that really made an impact on me.
LOL! Life and its parallels. My granddaughter first decided she wanted to be a marine biologist and actually got a scholly offer from the University of Alaska, of all places. However, her SO is in the Coast Guard in the VA Beach area, so she decided to become a welder. She spent two years in community college learning the trade. After a couple of years of working at it, she had the same realization and went back to school and got a degree as a vet tech. She's now considering vet school...
I had made the point that when he was 50 and old and fat like his old man, lugging that welding gear in the hot sun and cold winter would be much less fun than a desk job building the machines to make the welder... His engineering degree has lots of hands on stuff, perfect for him!
there were quite a few folks there in their 40's and probably early 50s (i was 20 so everyone was old) making around $5.50-$6/ hr
There arer a lot of trades that pay really well. That being said, many of them require hard physical work, sometimes working outside in the heat or cold. And after installing a few faucets in my lifetime, I believe that plumbers deserve the good pay that they get. No way I could do that for a living.
Been there, done that, came to the exact same conclusion. And Evan is getting training in both residential and commercial electrical work, so he's familiar with the hot and tight spaces. Still, the idea of being stranded in an office is a fate worse than death for him. His long term goal is to work until he qualifies for his pension then go into business for himself. And he'll have the capital to do it because he hates spending money. No kidding, he's 22 years old and worse than Scrooge McFreaking Duck. I've never seen a kid quite like him.
Tell him to make sure and take good care of his health. I see way too many blue collar guys who work too hard and don't do the things to remain healthy. #1 on that list is making sure you take care of your teeth!
Oh, he already knows. There's a reason he's taking his pension ASAP and starting his own business. He knows he'll have to do most of the work to get it off the ground, but when he gets the business grown to the right point, he can concentrate on running it and hire some young bucks to go out and do the hard stuff.
They ought to just go out there and drop one name per day.
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