woodguru

In the 80's I used to work as many as 150 people on a piecemeal basis, paid so much per piece done, and tried to base it on a model of $10 an hour. I knew there were slow people that might be making $5 an hour or even less, but I had plenty of people that were making $12 to as much as $15

I had an obvious philosophy that I had to make sure I was guaranteed of making a certain degree of profit on every job we did, I had the overheads to pay, a delivery van, support labor, etc. But at the same time I got jobs that put a far higher degree of pressure on my workers than normal, there were times I had to ask them to work as much through the night as they could or we wouldn't make a deadline. It was hand assembly for print shops, and the abusive deadlines were like getting a job at 4:30 in the afternoon and being told it was due at 8:30 the next morning. I put an overtime surcharge to the job since they were not leaving me a reasonable time to do it, and I gave everyone that had burned long hard hours a bonus.

What I see out of contractors more often than not is a total disregard for good longer term employees that they have had for some. It's like people do not have any regard for the fact that good reputations are built with really good people. Times often are tougher when someone is building a business, paying employees less than an industry typically pays the best people is a thing that happens.

But then when a guy is getting more and more successful, as they are buying better trucks and cars for themselves and family, boats, and RV's and expensive toys for the kids, the employees that are what helped make the business a success are too often paid little more than they have always made.

I had a solar system installed, I bought the equipment and materials wholesale, and hired a guy to do the work. He had two really good guys that installed a big system in three days, I had paid him $8000 for the job, he had gone on and on about how he had the best guys and how he paid $35 an hour and the cost of healthcare and all... So as I was talking to the guys doing the work and asking them how much they got paid, it turns out the lead guy got $22 and the helper $18...no benefits, when I asked they laughed and said yeah right, benefits, sure.

I called a friend that has a heating and air business that is getting into solar and asked how much he pays, he said between $25 and $35 an hour plus benefits. I set up the greedy b***h's guys with a new job that paid them almost $10 an hour more, Matt wasn't very happy with losing two good guys, but that is getting what he deserves by not taking care of good employees.

Under paid and under valued employees is a common thing in construction trades, and almost never do you hear of guys kicking good workers a bonus even when a job has gone really good. A guy clears $5000 on a three day job and he can't kick the two employees that made the money for him a $500 bonus?

Highlander66 Loc: Illinois

Can’t argue with any of that. They probably appreciated you pointing them at a better employer. If the guy was shorting his people and lying to you about it, he was probably not doing the jobs properly either

American Vet

Who is requiring the people to work?

archie bunker Loc: Texas

This all sounds well and good. But. There's always that, isn't there? The but....
But...aren't you the guy always boasting about your high end life? You know, your Platinum F-150, coating your 4 toilets with the same paint? Whining about how your own father can't stand you because of your own arrogance, and narcissism?
You don't give a crap about the working person. You consider yourself to be one of the elite, and it shows.. Glaringly.

It's nice to be anonymous, and not have to look a working man in the eye while you brag about how good you are, ain't it?
Personally, I think that calling you a specific name would be an insult to lady parts across the board.
There are no words......

Jlw Loc: Wisconsin

I really think wood head never owned a business. I think he had a minimum wage job his whole life