Groundmans Duties

[MasterBlaster]

Hey! The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few!

 

[PTS]

I have found that even with strict rules it in a scense screens out good vs. bad employees. The ones that are good, I go out of my way to take care of them. Little things like by the guys lunch or pop or things like that. I always allow them to put thier family first, they way it should be and in return they respect me and don't abuse the system.

Ultimately if you taking care of the employees is what will keep them there which you don't seem to have a problem with if he has been there for over two years. So just keep doin' what you're doin'

 

[Big A]

had a really generous boss once who frequently treated us to ice-creams, then pocketed the tips we were given. Nice. Rather buy my own then have the tips.

 

[Ny finest]

JPS,
I don't go out with my guys just for that reason.The guy I was out with was a friend since grammar school.And every one has that thought that you need them as much as they need you.I've gone through at least ten guys in the past two years.I've never gotten a notice from one of them.Up here in NYa lot of people got this idea of getting rich doing nothing.Others just can't handle the work.I pay decent at ten/hr and a raise after 30 days (usually 12/hr) and I still have problems.Maybe I'm spoiled;in NC guys would be running if you paid themthat kind of money.So in a way I'm just glad my guys come in sometimes 7dy/wk.

 

[Chucky]

JPS,
Up here in NYa lot of people got this idea of getting rich doing nothing.Others just can't handle the work.I pay decent at ten/hr and a raise after 30 days (usually 12/hr) and I still have problems.Maybe I'm spoiled;in NC guys would be running if you paid themthat kind of money.So in a way I'm just glad my guys come in sometimes 7dy/wk.

That's what we call Kodak Syndrome. We get a lot of ex-union workers from Kodak and other big dying industrial-sector companies in the Northeast, who after the big layoffs, earn their CDLs and try driving big-truck long haul for a living. The pay is comparable, but they soon learn they have to bust their butts for it, and they quickly become disillusioned and quit.

Long haul truckers were traditionally largely from the South (even today Yankees talk "southern" on the CB radio), but that's all changed recently. The turnover rate for drivers now is about the same in the North, South, Midwest, and West -- very high -- over 100%.

The reasons for such high turnover are many, but I think the biggest reason is a gradual shift in the mentality of the worker since the 1950s and before, when there was a so-called "Protestant work ethic," and workers took pride in their work, and were loyal to their employers, no matter how hard the work was, or how menial the work was perceived to be. But that was back when the working man counted on working for one employer until retirement, and when he never had to fear losing his job without seriously screwing up.

Now, with a more competitive global atmosphere forcing more and more decent-paying less-skilled jobs going overseas, many have to settle for less-paying, less-stable jobs that come and go, and the worker has no reason to work hard or express loyalty to his employer.

Every so often, a recruiter for our company will land a farmboy from some backwater of upstate New York. Every driver manager will thence make a mad scramble to get this bumpkin into his fleet, because he knows this kid, untainted by the malaise and complacency so common in the modern workplace, is instilled with the pride of a job well done, and he'll produce day after day with nary a complaint -- and make a good paycheck.

Today, one such driver, Martin Dann, called telling me his father was on his deathbed with cancer. He had a multi-stop K-Mart load due in Vermont that he took home with him Saturday to deliver Monday, first stop in Rutland. He said he could run it (45 miles) to the terminal and drop it, then go back to the hospital to see his father (for the last time).

I told him to unhook from the trailer, take the lock off, stuff the bills in the trailer nosebox, and go straight to the hospital, and that I'd have a driver down there asap to get the load.

I had to fight back tears thinking of this guy, his load, and his dying father.

 

[Jumper]

I think the old addage "You get what you pay for" applies here. It is hard for many to get worked up for $10 an hour, as there are a multitude of jobs available for that wage that do not involved busting your butt hauling brush. Most people would rather sit in a warm call center or warehouse, than be outside in the heat, rain, snow whatever. Most companies I worked for required a personal vehicle as they were located off the beaten path of transit, and not many people at that wage seem to have a reliable vehicle.I also think a lot of people at this wage level are transient ie they are looking for something better (whatever that might be) and when it becomes available, they are gone. People also have a greater ability to deal with BS at a higher wage than a lower one, not that every position out there as a groundie is like that.

 

[Ny finest]

Juniper,
But we all know the saying you got to start somewhere.I personally am not looking for the warehouse or indoor guy types.I love my jod partly because its out doors,even if that means around 100 days of rain/snow a year.Also,if people were inclined to ambitious behavior I think theres more career opportunities than your typical $10/hr job.I try to get young people with able bodies and show them there's more to life than working at mickey d's or some dead end job.

 

[Jumper]

Juniper,
But we all know the saying you got to start somewhere.I personally am not looking for the warehouse or indoor guy types.I love my jod partly because its out doors,even if that means around 100 days of rain/snow a year.Also,if people were inclined to ambitious behavior I think theres more career opportunities than your typical $10/hr job.I try to get young people with able bodies and show them there's more to life than working at mickey d's or some dead end job.

You are really fortunate in that your job is tailored to your particular mind and skill set. I was just trying to say people are pretty transient at the lower end of the pay scale, and around here $10 hr is not much more than you get on welfare when you factor all the expenses in. You sound like a great boss. Been called many things but never "Juniper" lol. Off to the beach.