The Briefing Room
General Category => Economy/Business => Topic started by: Kamaji on August 04, 2023, 10:08:43 pm
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Younger generation has ‘stigma’ against blue-collar jobs, hasn’t had to ‘work hard’ CEO says
By Kristen Altus, Fox Business
August 4, 2023
A cultural stigma around traditional “blue-collar” jobs runs alive and well – and could potentially hurt the next workforce generation and America’s infrastructure.
“You’re not just a widget manufacturer. You’re not just an excavation company. You are building America. You’re building a future for your family. You’re learning the work ethic that leads to good souls for your kids. There’s more to it than just work,” RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes told Fox News Digital.
From electricians and plumbers to homebuilders and stonemasons, the U.S. labor market is seemingly desperate to fill skilled labor positions.
Since the start of this year, there have been more than 770,000 skilled job postings from nearly 95,000 different employers across the country, according to data from PeopleReady Skilled Trades.
Data points from that same study indicate that demand for carpenters has gone up 23% from March to May, while stonemasons are up 45% and construction laborers are experiencing an 18% demand surge in the same time period.
The sudden demand boom likely comes from efforts to vertically integrate America’s supply chains after pandemic and geopolitical disruptions, Crapuchettes argued, but a crucial part of the puzzle is currently missing.
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Source: https://nypost.com/2023/08/04/younger-generation-has-stigma-against-blue-collar-jobs-hasnt-had-to-work-hard-ceo-says/
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Then they're idiots.
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The jobs I worked at 14 would now be considered a violation of Child Labor laws passed since.
Coming from a farming family, even though my dad was not a farmer, I worked in tobacco fields as soon as I could do something useful, picked bushels of tomatoes, baled and hauled hay, stacked bales in the barns, moved cattle and even helped shear sheep. Yep, I remember stomping the wool down in the wool bag and coming out oily with lanolin, as much as being covered with 'barn trash' after stripping tobacco or seeds and dirt from baling hay.
While the heavy construction work, building seawalls and piers was darn sure work, dirty, and as a side effect got me in the best shape of my life, it would not be allowed today.
There's the rub. A work ethic, the willingness to sweat and get dirty for a paycheck, just isn't being instilled at an early age, or even by the mid teens in most, especially in urban and suburban settings. Wait too long, and it isn't likely to happen at all.
Look instead to the guy who is mowing your lawn, roofing, doing drywall, and keep in mind his English will improve.
Notably, most of the oilfield hands I have known either grew up on a farm or ranch, in an oilfield family, or were veterans, all folks who have dealt with having to sweat and more than a bit of hardship in their day.
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This guy is a tech company CEO. I'd be willing to bet he's never put an honest day's hard work in in his life. For people like him, physical labor is for the little people—"the world needs ditch diggers, too."
Let me tell you all a story. I was slow to appreciate physical labor. I did well in school, well enough to get into college and eventually earn a degree in four years. But school was exhausting. The idea of physical labor on top of that, I just wasn't ready for it. Eventually in adulthood I was ready to do it... but it's not like it's steady work. A lot of the manual labor this article talks about involves unpredictable locations, odd hours, all the stuff that makes settling down nearly impossible. They may get married and have kids, simply because their income makes them look like good providers, but they're never home. Not to mention that it's skilled labor, meaning you can't just pull someone off the street who needs a job. There's training, apprenticeship, prerequisites like a driver's license (often a CDL), and preparation that has to be done before they're ready for the work.
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This guy is a tech company CEO. I'd be willing to bet he's never put an honest day's hard work in in his life. For people like him, physical labor is for the little people—"the world needs ditch diggers, too."
Let me tell you all a story. I was slow to appreciate physical labor. I did well in school, well enough to get into college and eventually earn a degree in four years. But school was exhausting. The idea of physical labor on top of that, I just wasn't ready for it. Eventually in adulthood I was ready to do it... but it's not like it's steady work. A lot of the manual labor this article talks about involves unpredictable locations, odd hours, all the stuff that makes settling down nearly impossible. They may get married and have kids, simply because their income makes them look like good providers, but they're never home. Not to mention that it's skilled labor, meaning you can't just pull someone off the street who needs a job. There's training, apprenticeship, prerequisites like a driver's license (often a CDL), and preparation that has to be done before they're ready for the work.
Yep. But there are trade schools, and that used to be an option (studying a trade as opposed to college bound) in High School.
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I can tell you without reservation that anyone willing to do the work necessary to get themselves qualified as any kind of skilled craftsman will do very well for themselves financially.
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I can tell you without reservation that anyone willing to do the work necessary to get themselves qualified as any kind of skilled craftsman will do very well for themselves financially.
It's best if they like what they are doing, take pride in their work, and pay meticulous attention to detail. Do that, and success will follow.
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Is the whole generation worthless? Maybe some of them are skeptical about physical labor because immigrants are doing the work at a discount, many if not most employers prefer to hire immigrants, and both parties are flooding the country with a never ending supply of immigrants. The government is somewhat less successful at undercutting white collar salaries, though it is not for lack of trying.
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Is the whole generation worthless? Maybe some of them are skeptical about physical labor because immigrants are doing the work at a discount, many if not most employers prefer to hire immigrants, and both parties are flooding the country with a never ending supply of immigrants. The government is somewhat less successful at undercutting white collar salaries, though it is not for lack of trying.
No, I think it's regional. Here in the Midwest you got plenty of young folks working blue collar jobs, and in many cases making great money at it while getting all the benefits of small town and rural life. This seems to be a more East/West coast Ivy League snowflake thing.
That said, it doesn't take away from the fact that the failure of the education system applies to managers as well as workers. The idiocy of management is beyond measurement right now, especially with the younger generation. It's hard to do physical labor in a place that's disorganized and mismanaged. No one wants to just be a butt boy putting out fires that should have never happened.
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No, I think it's regional. Here in the Midwest you got plenty of young folks working blue collar jobs, and in many cases making great money at it while getting all the benefits of small town and rural life. This seems to be a more East/West coast Ivy League snowflake thing.
That said, it doesn't take away from the fact that the failure of the education system applies to managers as well as workers. The idiocy of management is beyond measurement right now, especially with the younger generation. It's hard to do physical labor in a place that's disorganized and mismanaged. No one wants to just be a butt boy putting out fires that should have never happened.
:thumbsup:
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Then they're idiots.
@Kamaji
No,they are just spoiled children,passing themselves off as adults.
They probably grew up being told they were "special in this world" every day of their lives,just for being born.
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@Kamaji
No,they are just spoiled children,passing themselves off as adults.
They probably grew up being told they were "special in this world" every day of their lives,just for being born.
Well, @sneakypete , there is a 'trick' (or two) to doing every 'dirty job'.
You don't learn that trick from some professor, you learn it from doing it with folks who will show you how to get the job done well with less effort (if you are humble enough to learn from someone who might not have the formal education you do, and just knows how to get things done).
You might pick up some of those from You Tube, but not everything.
I have known a lot of youngsters who rejected the obvious bullsh*t they were being told about the world in High School, and opted instead of going to college to get more, to work at something where they could see tangible results, maybe come home dirty and tired, but with a sense of satisfaction they'd done something real. They don't want to 'change the world', they just want to earn a decent living for their wife and kids (existing or to be), maybe buy a few toys (boat/gun/fishing tackle, etc).
I haven't given up on all of them, by a longshot.
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Well, @sneakypete , there is a 'trick' (or two) to doing every 'dirty job'.
You don't learn that trick from some professor, you learn it from doing it with folks who will show you how to get the job done well with less effort (if you are humble enough to learn from someone who might not have the formal education you do, and just knows how to get things done).
You might pick up some of those from You Tube, but not everything.
I have known a lot of youngsters who rejected the obvious bullsh*t they were being told about the world in High School, and opted instead of going to college to get more, to work at something where they could see tangible results, maybe come home dirty and tires, but with a sense of satisfaction they'd done something real.
I haven't given up on all of them, by a longshot.
@Smokin Joe
And let's face it,we are all individuals,with individual needs and desires.
I was offered a full ride for free to a state college if I would agree to not quit HS before getting my degree. I refused because I wanted to join the army and become a paratrooper. It was clearly NOT the most clever thing I have ever done,but that IS what I wanted to do. I liked it so well I ended up donning a Green Beret and becoming a career soldier. Even while I was in the army they kept trying to get me to go to OCS,and even made offers of a slot at West Point if I wanted it,but by then I had been in the army long enough to know that NCO's has ALL the fun,and while officers took all the glory,they also took all the blame if something went wrong,so I opted to remain a NCO and have fun.
Besides,if I got a commission,there was no guarantee that I wouldn't get transferred to a conventional unit,and I wanted to stay in SF. I just couldn't imagine a better life than being a SF NCO.
Still can't. Miss it all to this very day.
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Words I have never heard in my life:
"Kids These Days!"
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@Smokin Joe
And let's face it,we are all individuals,with individual needs and desires.
I was offered a full ride for free to a state college if I would agree to not quit HS before getting my degree. I refused because I wanted to join the army and become a paratrooper. It was clearly NOT the most clever thing I have ever done,but that IS what I wanted to do. I liked it so well I ended up donning a Green Beret and becoming a career soldier. Even while I was in the army they kept trying to get me to go to OCS,and even made offers of a slot at West Point if I wanted it,but by then I had been in the army long enough to know that NCO's has ALL the fun,and while officers took all the glory,they also took all the blame if something went wrong,so I opted to remain a NCO and have fun.
Besides,if I got a commission,there was no guarantee that I wouldn't get transferred to a conventional unit,and I wanted to stay in SF. I just couldn't imagine a better life than being a SF NCO.
Still can't. Miss it all to this very day.
My Brother had the option of going to college. Nope. He'd had enough of school. Me, I jumped at the chance, and did ok as a result, studying something I loved, and making a good living at it for most of the 45 years since. In between that, though, I never lost the ability or love for doing a good hard day's work, and the satisfaction I got from doing something more tangible while not having to deal with more theoretical problems. Some people run or work out, me, I have a chore here and there that will make me sweat, and is plenty of exercise, too. Every now and Then I'll get through the slumps in the oil patch by taking a job that means 'real' work, and I always learn something, if only another point of view. I don't hire much work out, because I have acquired the skills to do my own, and thankfully, still can, for the most part, if not as quickly as I used to.
Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life. While not on the 'neat' scale of most military hardware, I have had the opportunity to work with things I never would have been able to afford, and have been the first human being to ever see rock samples from thousands of feet down in eight different states. happy77 Works for me!
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My Brother had the option of going to college. Nope. He'd had enough of school. Me, I jumped at the chance, and did ok as a result, studying something I loved, and making a good living at it for most of the 45 years since. In between that, though, I never lost the ability or love for doing a good hard day's work, and the satisfaction I got from doing something more tangible while not having to deal with more theoretical problems. Some people run or work out, me, I have a chore here and there that will make me sweat, and is plenty of exercise, too. Every now and Then I'll get through the slumps in the oil patch by taking a job that means 'real' work, and I always learn something, if only another point of view. I don't hire much work out, because I have acquired the skills to do my own, and thankfully, still can, for the most part, if not as quickly as I used to.
Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life. While not on the 'neat' scale of most military hardware, I have had the opportunity to work with things I never would have been able to afford, and have been the first human being to ever see rock samples from thousands of feet down in eight different states. happy77 Works for me!
@Smokin Joe
EXACTLY!
Life ain't about money,and I honestly feel sorry for the people who think it is. Life is about getting personal satisfaction out of doing something you love doing,while providing yourself with the funds to live a normal life. That combination is a win/win in MY "book".
BTW,there is absolutely nothing wrong with working at a job like being a Wall Street Broker if that is what "pulls your trigger"
Or any other job that makes you happy while providing you with a living that is satisfactory for you.
I honestly feel sorry for the people who are obsessed with making money because beyond a certain point,"more money" is useless when it comes to happiness. All it does is buy you more "stuff" that you really don't want or need,but buy just because you can afford to buy it. There HAS to be more to life than just earning money,and if there isn't,there just ain't much in life worth living for.
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I graduated high school a year and a half early by passing the GED test. Never went back to school. I was fixing TVs, VCRs, stereos and other electronics at a repair shop job from about 15 to 19 years of age. Then I moved to Sunnyvale trying to get a job as an engineering technician.
Over a few years I was promoted to a senior design engineer at a fairly large well known communications OEM company in Sunnyvale in the mid 80's. I was in my early 20's. Started my own satellite communications equipment company and have been doing that for the last 28 years or so. You don't have to go to college to do high tech jobs. You just have to be willing to learn, apply yourself and doggedly pursue your goals.
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I graduated high school a year and a half early by passing the GED test. Never went back to school. I was fixing TVs, VCRs, stereos and other electronics at a repair shop job from about 15 to 19 years of age. Then I moved to Sunnyvale trying to get a job as an engineering technician.
Over a few years I was promoted to a senior design engineer at a fairly large well known communications OEM company in Sunnyvale in the mid 80's. I was in my early 20's. Started my own satellite communications equipment company and have been doing that for the last 28 years or so. You don't have to go to college to do high tech jobs. You just have to be willing to learn, apply yourself and doggedly pursue your goals.
I graduated high school a year and a half early by passing the GED test. Never went back to school. I was fixing TVs, VCRs, stereos and other electronics at a repair shop job from about 15 to 19 years of age. Then I moved to Sunnyvale trying to get a job as an engineering technician.
Over a few years I was promoted to a senior design engineer at a fairly large well known communications OEM company in Sunnyvale in the mid 80's. I was in my early 20's. Started my own satellite communications equipment company and have been doing that for the last 28 years or so. You don't have to go to college to do high tech jobs. You just have to be willing to learn, apply yourself and doggedly pursue your goals.
@DB
No,but you DO need to be "gifted with the ability to do things like that at birth". If you're not,you will never be anything more than just another drone in a high-tech company.
The real secret to happiness is to find something you are REALLY good at that allows you to earn a comfortable income that you enjoy doing,and then do that for a living. You won't suffer from the stress that others suffer from after trying to do something they aren't really capable of doing
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bookmark thank you
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Younger generation has ‘stigma’ against blue-collar jobs, hasn’t had to ‘work hard’ CEO says
By Kristen Altus, Fox Business
August 4, 2023
A cultural stigma around traditional “blue-collar” jobs runs alive and well – and could potentially hurt the next workforce generation and America’s infrastructure.
“You’re not just a widget manufacturer. You’re not just an excavation company. You are building America. You’re building a future for your family. You’re learning the work ethic that leads to good souls for your kids. There’s more to it than just work,” RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes told Fox News Digital.
From electricians and plumbers to homebuilders and stonemasons, the U.S. labor market is seemingly desperate to fill skilled labor positions.
Since the start of this year, there have been more than 770,000 skilled job postings from nearly 95,000 different employers across the country, according to data from PeopleReady Skilled Trades.
Data points from that same study indicate that demand for carpenters has gone up 23% from March to May, while stonemasons are up 45% and construction laborers are experiencing an 18% demand surge in the same time period.
The sudden demand boom likely comes from efforts to vertically integrate America’s supply chains after pandemic and geopolitical disruptions, Crapuchettes argued, but a crucial part of the puzzle is currently missing.
* * *
Source: https://nypost.com/2023/08/04/younger-generation-has-stigma-against-blue-collar-jobs-hasnt-had-to-work-hard-ceo-says/
I'm going to be honest, and with apologies to Mike Rowe, kids have been taught for years that those were dead-end jobs, and that if they wanted to succeed in life, then they had to go to college and enter the white-collar professional world. I got bombarded with that in the 1980s myself, and to be fair, a lot of blue-collar people tend to be jaded and disgruntled with their lives. Ever talk to your plumber or electrician when he's on a call at your house...usually you get a rant about how he hates his job, hates his boss, hates his company, and just wants to retire so he can go fishing every day.
The COVID shutdowns have now turned the working world on its head, and the skilled trades, once so derided, are now necessarily back in vogue.
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I graduated high school a year and a half early by passing the GED test. Never went back to school. I was fixing TVs, VCRs, stereos and other electronics at a repair shop job from about 15 to 19 years of age. Then I moved to Sunnyvale trying to get a job as an engineering technician.
Over a few years I was promoted to a senior design engineer at a fairly large well known communications OEM company in Sunnyvale in the mid 80's. I was in my early 20's. Started my own satellite communications equipment company and have been doing that for the last 28 years or so. You don't have to go to college to do high tech jobs. You just have to be willing to learn, apply yourself and doggedly pursue your goals.
I was very lucky. My dad was a South Pacific Marine during WWII and my family was very blue-collar. My last two years of HS I went to regular classes for half a day and spent the rest of the day in Mr. Hill's vocational electronics class where we were taught from a book not on the materials list for that course. The book was Dale Carnagie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People". That was the best thing to ever happen to me education-wise. Went to Vietnam right after HS, got married shortly after i got back, and eventually went to work for a company (ARAMCO) that did not care that you had a piece of paper with letters on it, they were more interested in what you could DO and that worked out very well for me.
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I was very lucky. My dad was a South Pacific Marine during WWII and my family was very blue-collar. My last two years of HS I went to regular classes for half a day and spent the rest of the day in Mr. Hill's vocational electronics class where we were taught from a book not on the materials list for that course. The book was Dale Carnagie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People". That was the best thing to ever happen to me education-wise. Went to Vietnam right after HS, got married shortly after i got back, and eventually went to work for a company (ARAMCO) that did not care that you had a piece of paper with letters on it, they were more interested in what you could DO and that worked out very well for me.
Excellent. Most larger companies have HR departments that are the gatekeepers knowing jack about actual ability. It took me a year to finally get past the gatekeepers and into an engineering tech position. Once through I learned quickly and did well.
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Excellent. Most larger companies have HR departments that are the gatekeepers knowing jack about actual ability. It took me a year to finally get past the gatekeepers and into an engineering tech position. Once through I learned quickly and did well.
I was in Saudi Arabia. Fortunately for me, the gatekeepers were all in Houston and NYC.
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Work is no longer valued in this country. Yankee thrift and industry is no longer in vogue.
The elite braniacs' view is that we are living in a post-industrial information age. Information is the value-added product we produce and consume.
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Work is no longer valued in this country. Yankee thrift and industry is no longer in vogue.
The elite braniacs' view is that we are living in a post-industrial information age. Information is the value-added product we produce and consume.
It hasn't been valued for decades. Which is a shame.
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I agree that in the urban areas and the coasts it is not valued. Here in the interior it's a different bird. I like these kids alot, they are alot more responsible than many of my classmates were at that age.
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Work is no longer valued in this country. Yankee thrift and industry is no longer in vogue.
The elite braniacs' view is that we are living in a post-industrial information age. Information is the value-added product we produce and consume.
@DefiantMassRINO
That's because information is what the "movers and shakers" in the Board Room use to manage their personal stock holding in that corporation,as well as other corporations.
If THEY,personally need to buy something,they can always have their secretary buy it from Europe or Asia,and have it sent to them.
it's all they know,so it is what they use.
They are many,many steps "removed" from the realities of the working class,to the point they are for all practical purposes,a different species.
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I agree that in the urban areas and the coasts it is not valued. Here in the interior it's a different bird. I like these kids alot, they are alot more responsible than many of my classmates were at that age.
:thumbsup:
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I had a fleeting glimpse of that world in the mid 1990s.
I was a crew member on a sail boat that was sailing up to Marblehead, Mass, so it could be used for a para-Olympic sailing event.
As soon as we hit the dock, I noticed a G-man looking guy at the top of the gangway. He was a security agent doing advance work for a visit from a Spanish princess, who was going to open the competition.
Next, we walk up the gangway, past parked cars - all luxury Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche - BMW's were to low-brow for this W.A.S.P. yacht club.
Most of the club members there that day were blue-eyed, blond, and the women had diamond rings that outshined Boston Light(house) and were dressed to the 9's.
After sailing for a couple of hours, we were looking for coffee, soda, and cigarettes. None were to be had by the docks.
The yacht club did let us go into the (formal) bar area to get something to drink. This was the oddest bar I've ever been to - they don't accept cash, members bill things to a tab, and guests pay with a credit card. The attendant was too scared to take a cash tip while members were present. Once club members left, we were able to give the guy a cash tip.
It was a bizzarre experience of a segment of high society that was beyond my working class comprehension.
I was glad to get back to our own working-class yacht club that only accepted cash, had coffee, cigarettes, beer, soda, and you were free to leave a cash tip at anytime, no matter who was present.
Before that experience, I couldn't imagine there are places where one does not need to carry cash because everything is put on a tab. But, I guess there are people who live like that (John F'ing Kerry?).
@DefiantMassRINO
That's because information is what the "movers and shakers" in the Board Room use to manage their personal stock holding in that corporation,as well as other corporations.
If THEY,personally need to buy something,they can always have their secretary buy it from Europe or Asia,and have it sent to them.
it's all they know,so it is what they use.
They are many,many steps "removed" from the realities of the working class,to the point they are for all practical purposes,a different species.
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One of my favorite celebs out there is Mike Rowe. I have tremendous respect for his opinion, and he has been preaching this for ages..
Wish, he'd get into politics.
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One of my favorite celebs out there is Mike Rowe. I have tremendous respect for his opinion, and he has been preaching this for ages..
Wish, he'd get into politics.
I've donated quite a bit to MikeRoweWORKS over the years. He is a stand up guy!
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One of my favorite celebs out there is Mike Rowe. I have tremendous respect for his opinion, and he has been preaching this for ages..
Wish, he'd get into politics.
:thumbsup:
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One of my favorite celebs out there is Mike Rowe. I have tremendous respect for his opinion, and he has been preaching this for ages..
Wish, he'd get into politics.
I doubt that even Mike could get the stink off from that sort of job.
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I had a fleeting glimpse of that world in the mid 1990s.
I was a crew member on a sail boat that was sailing up to Marblehead, Mass, so it could be used for a para-Olympic sailing event.
I lived in Marblehead for a couple of years in the early 1990s. There are more blue collar areas of the town as well, but what you describe is definitely to be found on Marblehead Neck and especially the yacht club. Insane amounts of money.
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Work is no longer valued in this country. Yankee thrift and industry is no longer in vogue.
The elite braniacs' view is that we are living in a post-industrial information age. Information is the value-added product we produce and consume.
Information? There's a buttload of it out there, alright, for free and worth every dime you paid for it. Plenty is just wrong, a lot is opinion passed off as fact, and many of the consumers wouldn't know facts if you beat them with them.
If anything, there's an overload of useless trivia masquerading as something worthy of note.
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Work is no longer valued in this country. Yankee thrift and industry is no longer in vogue.
The elite braniacs' view is that we are living in a post-industrial information age. Information is the value-added product we produce and consume.
Well, when we tax sweat of the brow at higher rates than capital gains (realized or "unrealized"), what do you expect?
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Maybe it's because I'm in a rural area, but the repair/service guys seem to be pretty happy and getting very comfortable economically. The guys that mow my yard are in their 20's and making a darn good living, or so they say. :shrug: I needed an electrician not long ago and couldn't beg, borrow or steal one. That is my biggest fear. At some point people will not want these jobs, no matter how lucrative. Or will be so overloaded they won't be able to do all the desperately needed work.
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Cyber wrote:
Words I have never heard in my life:
"Kids These Days!"
Here's Tom Rush for ya:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGvLR14juDc
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Well, when we tax sweat of the brow at higher rates than capital gains (realized or "unrealized"), what do you expect?
Long term capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than short term capital gains and wages to account for the deleterious effects of inflation.
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Reviving this old thread to post this.
The owner of a automobile restoration business in Peoria, AZ, has posted this on Facebook.
AZ AMC Restorations
https://www.facebook.com/amcmusclecars
April 24, 2024
Due to the dwindling supply of quality machine shops and very poor quality aftermarket parts as well as a lack of people interested in learning the engine building and machine shop trades, I regret to inform our many followers and current as well as past customers that we will no longer be taking on any new engine build orders unless it is for a car we are restoring.
Since Covid, we have had to do rework on multiple engine builds due to poorly manufactured parts that failed during break in or machine work that was below our standards due to all the old farts like me dying off with no younger workers interested in taking their place. For example, rod bearings are now made too thin resulting in 390 and 401 crank grinds needing to be ground .0085, .0185 or .0285 under standard rod journal size yet all but one machine shop in the entire Phoenix area refused to do anything other than the standard .010, .020 or .030 grinds. Even worse, when the one shop that will grind the cranks the way we tell them we need them loses their crank grinder to retirement in another year or two, they do not plan to replace him.
Machine work that used to have a turnaround of 2-3 weeks now takes a minimum of 2-4 months due to an acute lack of people interested in learning machine work and doing manual physical labor. In fact, one engine block was at a machine shop for a year and when we got it back hey did such a poor sleeve job in one cylinder that it was not even useable so it is now a 250 lb paper weight.
About 15 years ago I nearly bought out an aging gentlemen's machine shop and continue to regret not doing so due to the lack of availability of places to get the work done.
As for poor quality parts, Edelbrock aluminum heads are now such poor quality and filled with so much manufacturing machining slag that we have to completely disassemble them, reset the valve stem and spring heights and even sometimes have them resurfaced because the slag scratched the head gasket surface. Similarly, there are only a couple of camshaft manufacturers remaining that harden their cams correctly and nearly all flat tappet lifters are now such terrible quality and inconsistent hardness that we are no longer willing to risk losing a cam due to poorly made cams and lifters. In fact, we now only use either rollers or custom ground flat tappets with Johnson made lifters from Howard or Herbert.
For example, we have probably used 50 or more Summit cams over the past 15 years but the last 4 we used did not even make it through break in so they too are now off the list of acceptable quality parts as well.
So what does all of this mean? We will honor whatever engines builds that are not part of a full restoration that we already have in the queue however we must warn all those who have been patiently waiting for their engines to be built that supply chain constraints in addition to rapidly declining parts quality along with a lack of qualified machine shop workers is resulting in our anticipated wait times to get an engine built often doubling in duration. And if anyone is tired of waiting and thinks they can do better elsewhere, we will fully refund their deposit and wish them well.
What used to take a couple of weeks to get back from a machine shop can easily now take 2-4 months or more resulting in our overall engine backlog now being 15-18 months. The bottom line is that custom engine building is on its way to becoming extinct and it won't be too many more years before all of us old farts that currently do this work either retire and/or die off resulting in engine building within the collector car hobby becoming nearly impossible to find And when you do find someone, don't be surprised if they are backed out 2+ years or more and that they only want to do Chevy builds and know zero about our beloved AMC engines. "The times they are a changin'."
And any know it all's that are not in this business who try to show everyone how smart they think they are by declaring that these conditions do not exist, despite literally hundreds of others saying they are experiencing the exact same thing, will have their comments deleted because they are clearly talking out of their ass.
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I saw that post and shared it among several of the local politics groups I run. Sad!
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Mike Rowe posted on Facebook today about his visit to Oklahoma:
... I got a tour of Central Tech, and learned that it is in fact, one of the best trade schools in the country, if not the best. Students come here from seventeen different public schools to get a hands-on experience in dozens of trade jobs. Students who are determined to enhance their high-school education with a skill that will make them instantly employable. Students like Jamison, a gifted welder who will give Rosie the Riveter a run for her money.
Central Tech exists because the industries in Oklahoma that rely on a skilled workforce – oil and gas in particular - didn’t wait for the government to put shop class back in high schools. They simply built a world class destination where the trades are amplified and staffed it with a wide variety of accomplished instructors.
Instructors like Phil, who worked on pipelines for years and decided to help train the next generation in a real-world classroom, for a long list of jobs that can pay upwards of $50 an hour. His students are awesome, eager, and very enthusiastic. They can’t wait to roll their sleeves up and get to work.
And John, who in spite of his salmon sweater, is a bad-ass truck driver with decades of experience on America’s highways. Today, he teaches kids how to drive a big-rig in less than six weeks. Kids who quickly go on to make $70,000 a year, thanks to a national shortage of roughly 50,000 truck drivers.
The success stories at Central Tech are too numerous to mention in a Facebook post, but look for a new television campaign this summer, made possible by OERB, that elevates the skilled trades, and helps me prove once again that opportunity in this country is alive and well - especially in the energy industry, where a long list of critical jobs are waiting to be filled. ...
https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe
I'm kind of sorry I don't have any young people under my wing at present to try to guide toward practical, rewarding careers - and I'm really sorry our niece went to law school!
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My first “job” was to help a local guy, whose business was pumping out septic tanks, clean his equipment and truck at the end of the day. I was 12 years old at the time and I was required two times a week to show up to help him with that and he paid me
It wasn’t glamorous. But I learned things like punctuality. I had to be at his house those days at 5 o’clock. Would work for an hour.
I also trapped furs and did other odd jobs for neighbors and when I was 16, I got a job at the Duluth Arena. I saved up my money that summer to buy my first car which was a 1973 Camaro. And I was open to pick up any extra shifts they had available
I was pretty blue-collar until I finished college
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Don't worry... Hunger is a great teacher. and Hunger is a'coming...
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Don't worry... Hunger is a great teacher. and Hunger is a'coming...
It certainly looks that way...
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It certainly looks that way...
I am glad for the kids who can see it now, and are going after careers in the Trades. Mike Rowe has a scholarship program to pay tuition for young people to get into a Trade School, the application process includes an essay section for kids to convince him in their own words why they deserve it.
His Foundation is at https://mikeroweworks.org/
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Don't worry... Hunger is a great teacher. and Hunger is a'coming...
I tell the kids in no padded terms to get backwoods, self-sufficient, and learn every skill they can, from building a fire, repairing their own clothes, to building computers, lasers and rocket ships if need be.
The young generation is going to have to know how to do everything again, just like those guys that built the country did over 100 years ago.
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Don't worry... Hunger is a great teacher. and Hunger is a'coming...
It certainly is. But how many of today's urban youth will learn the correct lesson? Or just go to stealing and killing to get what they want.
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I tell the kids in no padded terms to get backwoods, self-sufficient, and learn every skill they can, from building a fire, repairing their own clothes, to building computers, lasers and rocket ships if need be.
The young generation is going to have to know how to do everything again, just like those guys that built the country did over 100 years ago.
IOW Redneck sh!t.
You're preachin to the choir, son. happy77 :beer:
But ain't that just always the case, anyhoo? It has always been true for me. Even when I had money, it never occurred to me to buy anything new... Never stopped hunting and fishing, and the garden has always been in my life.
Use it up
wear it out
make it do
or do without.
:beer:
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It certainly is. But how many of today's urban youth will learn the correct lesson? Or just go to stealing and killing to get what they want.
They'll either figger it out or die trying. That's how it works.
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Mike Rowe ("Dirty Jobs" star, narrator on "Deadliest Catch", etc.) is tackling the issue/problem:
https://mikeroweworks.org/about/
https://twitter.com/mikeroweworks
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Mike Rowe ("Dirty Jobs" star, narrator on "Deadliest Catch", etc.) is tackling the issue/problem:
https://mikeroweworks.org/about/
https://twitter.com/mikeroweworks
Big fan of Mike's here, I have donated to MikeRoweWorks Foundation.
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Big fan of Mike's here, I have donated to MikeRoweWorks Foundation.
Me too! And that will continue.
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I am glad for the kids who can see it now, and are going after careers in the Trades.
An oldie but goodie meme seems to fit here... :laugh:
(https://currentpub.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/meme-philosophy-job.jpg)
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If going skilled trades go union. Union trades pay the best- most people going into skilled trades are going that route And recommended go industrial commercial and Unions have the best apprentice programs . Trying to get my 20 year old nephew to go this route. He is aimless right now
A friend's son is a union lineman. 3 or 4 years in and made $168k last year, 25 years old - lots of overtime due to weather
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If going skilled trades go union. Union trades pay the best- most people going into skilled trades are going that route And recommended go industrial commercial and Unions have the best apprentice programs . Trying to get my 20 year old nephew to go this route. He is aimless right now
A friend's son is a union lineman. 3 or 4 years in and made $168k last year, 25 years old - lots of overtime due to weather
HELL NO.
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HELL NO.
All the big construction projects are nearly all union, the new Intel factory, bridges etc, all the govt defense jobs, building ships, subs are all union . Best pay and. Benefits and they have great continuing education programs
Small mom and pop business cannot pay those wages and chance for advancement is minimal . The only ones who do ok are the owners who do plumbing etc. Employees get paid chump change .
Cnc machinery in my area non union 18-23 hr. Union machinest 40 hr + in my area
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All the big construction projects are nearly all union, the new Intel factory, bridges etc, all the govt defense jobs, building ships, subs are all union . Best pay and. Benefits and they have great continuing education programs
Small mom and pop business cannot pay those wages and chance for advancement is minimal . The only ones who do ok are the owners who do plumbing etc. Employees get paid chump change .
Cnc machinery in my area non union 18-23 hr. Union machinest 40 hr + in my area
Nah... Bunch of liberal bullshit. I ran a big paint shop... In my day, bought more oil varnish than anyone west of the Mississippi.
It was a jippo shop. We got paid union scale on anything we cared to participate in that demanded it, but generally stayed away from union jobs. More bullcrap than they were worth.
But I could always, always take the work away from the no-account union shops. With just a phone call.
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All the big railroads are unionized, per the Railway Labor Act of c.1926.
Short lines often aren't unionized. Some of the "regionals" are, others aren't.
I don't think the Florida East Coast is union -- they had a very bitter strike in the early 1960's that drove the unions out. They may still be "out" to this day.
In summary... if you're going to run the trains, you're probably gonna have to join the union.
Having said that, the operating jobs on the big RR's aren't like they once were. It used to be a much better place to work. Not so much any more. Truth is, the railroad unions have never been noted for "being on the strong side"...
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All the big railroads are unionized, per the Railway Labor Act of c.1926.
Short lines often aren't unionized. Some of the "regionals" are, others aren't.
I don't think the Florida East Coast is union -- they had a very bitter strike in the early 1960's that drove the unions out. They may still be "out" to this day.
In summary... if you're going to run the trains, you're probably gonna have to join the union.
Having said that, the operating jobs on the big RR's aren't like they once were. It used to be a much better place to work. Not so much any more. Truth is, the railroad unions have never been noted for "being on the strong side"...
A fellow I know works for BNSF and I think he would agree with your assessment of the current state of things for employees today. We talked about the time off policies quite a bit.