Unions in the beginning were great[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]But, here lately, they are a pain in the azz and really aren't worth the money they are payed[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]And yes, they do hide their shananigans behind loop holes in laws[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

MD, you must belong to a union?! man, our Longshoremens Union is ridiculous. you can earn 6 figures a year doing unskilled labor. and they can shut down the economy when they decide to strike. they're one of the few unions left with supreme power, thus the ridiculous wages. last week my buddy made $2k gross in a week, and he's a junior guy. other unions like IBEW are really busting their hump to survive. they still have some stiffs, but they've got a lot of good workers too. they've lost a lot of power here.

skinner, interesting gig you guys got going. nuthin like specializing and having your niche market. I've heard lots of guys say they got bigger and made less $$, so sounds like your boss has the right formula. I'd like to get a few folks working for me, but I've had poor results in the past. if you're really good at the job, ya end up going solo. but solo guys like me have a worthless business when we go to sell, and have a tough time competing with bigger companies that can bid work at a cut rate, have work done by juniors or superficially do the job, but the companies don't care, it's all about doing it cheap, not well.

 

I had belonged to a union since I was 16. We did belong to a union (it represented all work forces, not just officers) for legal representation during disciplinary issues. As far as contracts, we had an attorney that my association hired do that. 4 years ago, we clashed with our union over what was called the rat patrol. It was one of those things they could do because the law protected them[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]But, they (union reps/members) continued to harass officers when they were called out to the scene to investigate calls of disturbing the peace at a job site.Part of the harassment was telling the officers "we" were in the same union and that we should leave them "alone"and look the other way. Basically not do our job. We tried to work with the union, but, let's just say, it wasn't pretty. So, we servered our relationship and work strickly with Attorneys for everything[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] and it's worked out very well for us.
Unions here, IMO are doing more harm then good. Right now, the largest nurses union in Ca. just went to Sacramento to let Arnie know, they weren't happy with him prolonging the law, that increased the nurse to patient ratio. Good law in a way, but, what has happened is, it's caused hospitals to get rid of the other pertainant employess like, respiratory therapist, x-ray techs, lab personel, etc. to help pay for the additional nurses. So, now the nurse's case load has actually gone up[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

ya, our nurses were severely underpaid. they got one of the largest, ugliest woman I've ever seen as their union prez. she's one of these people who probably has 20+ cats for companionship, cuz not even Toyo would touch her after a rough night of bowling. Actually, Toyo saw a bunch of big red welts on her and asked what they were, she said "(20 foot) pole marks". anyways, she was hard and fast that they hold out for a 200% pay increase!!! and they ended up getting huge concessions from the gov't. but then a lot of others wanted better deals and it became a mess. the nurses get good shift pay and sat/sun is paid way better, so by working those days, their pay was already pretty good. when gov't runs health care and it's all unionized, it's pretty scary.

 

That's why we don't need the gov't involved down here[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Only mess it up[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] and mess it up good[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

And then he grinned[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] like he has a 20 foot pole, lying around somewhere[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Only in his dreams[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

Speaking of Toyo, he must be really busy[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]


Last Visited On: Tue December 07, 2004 4:24 PM


He must be holding out for something bigger and better[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Can't even stop by and say hi to old FBK buddies[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

We've been "salted" and so have other contractors. Bascially they send in union pukes, and record anything that you screw up on. Problem is, you can't do everything 100%...there are conflicting laws. The "business manager" used to show up at our office before 8 when only the boss was there so the office manager couldn't block him. He'd just waltz his little a** right on into the boss's office. He's lucky the boss didn't get too tweaked and pull out the Glock in his desk. Hell, I'd have had him arrested for tresspassing. I should have called in a hit-and-run when he backed out and hit the planter in the middle of the driveway..it's about an 18" raised concrete thing. Plus squeeling his tires.

I know Clovis Unified Schools don't have unions for the teachers. They have this faculty senate thing. They negotiate with the district. No unions. The teacher's unions (some anyways) don't care about the students. Hell, you're lucky if they even care about the actual employees.

Ok, diff. subject. My supervisor was given this boat by his father-in-law. It's a 1973 Christ Craft something. 17'. Teal hull. It's got some kind of a Buick V6 (at least that is what it appears to be. Has a GM style starter & fuel pump) that's got serious issues. It's not 100% locked up, but it barely turns maybe 2-3%. One guy who is familiar with them thinks it's a 225. Well, this boat has a grand total of 35 hours! Yes...35 hours. We started tearing into it this afternoon. Pulled the valvle covers, and front engine cover (down to the timing chain). Looks perfect inside. There was some copper in the oil when we drained some. THe guy is saying it's probably a main bearing. Going to pull the motor Friday. This should be interesting. First time I'll ever be involved with rebuilding a motor. It's sat since the early 1980s.

The motor should be going to the machine shop for cleaning up either Sat (if he's open) or early next week.

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Skinner, just make sure when you put that vessel back together, you use all marine approved items. If you use automotive items, I wouldn't ride in it. Just asking for an explosion[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]Seen explosions happen and vessels sink[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] due to the owners using car parts in the engine compartment.

 

Yeah the other guy who's worked on boats was telling us about what all they do differently. The air filter on this thing is some crazy looking thing. Everything is anti-spark/flame/etc. We had to cut the outdrive control wires (forward/reverse) to get it off. So we'll need some splices that are approved. Everything else should be just fine.

The big thing that needs to be bought is a new fuel tank. The old one is SEVERELY rusted on the inside. It was cleaned once and still looks nasty. Looks like that will be the only non-stock type of item to go in. The other guy really wants to do it back to factory stuff. To help keep it's value. NADA on the thing was like $1500 for it. He says it's worth MUCH more then that. I can't find anything online for the 17', but the 19' with a small V8 seems to be about $6K. The best we can guess was the original purchase price was about $6900 by what was written on a brochure we found with all the stuff.

The boat is in great condition. Only seen one small 1.5" scratch on the back of the boat. Otherwise a goody washing/wax/detailing and she'll be gorgeous. It sat in a dry barn for nearly 20 years.

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