Town hacks

[treesquirrel]

How so?

Pienso que mis amigos hispanos se ofenderian por sus observaciones. Ellos probablemente le mandiarian por un alegre y se le envia a su madre

The metro Atlanta area has a huge illegal worker problem. Contractors know this labor is available for little to nothing and they will put a chainsaw of all things into the hands of an individual who has had no formal training and tell em to hack away.

It affects the industry in that ignorant or perhaps stupid home owners will hire based on price. Not on skills or otherwise. I've passed by many a job site where a swarm of these folks are using unsafe and reckless procedures to get a tree on the ground. It will be sliced into thousands of tiny peices and left on the curb for the garbage men who of course are not gonna pick it up.

I have benefitted slightly from them on a job close to my home by showing up with my dump trailer and doing the haul off for the homeowner. In this case a single mother had hired the contractor who she said seemed very professional and gave her a price too good to turn down for the work. They left her a mess. Of course after talking to her she did not get anything in writing nor did she realize when she paid the bill that all the debris was going to be left on her curb. She also said while they were working she approached one of the crew to inquire about the job and none of them could communicate reasonably well in english.

This not only drives down what consumers expect to pay but creates a bad reputation for the industry. The contractors hiring these crews and setting them loose in areas they do not belong should be prosecuted. Problem is nobody is policing the contractors.

If you find a legitimate worker who has know how in the business then more power to you. But showing up at the local gas station and picking up a crew of day labor and handing them chainsaws is bad for all of us.

I'd hope you don't find a way to defend this practice and if you do it will be interesting to hear.

 

[Dixie1]

We have the same stuff around here. One day they are cutting trees the next day they are mowing grass. I can tell you this much, this practice is driving the industry down more than most people care to admit.

how dare they!!! you know, i belive caucasians are also guilty of this as well, but that's okay, apparently. it sounds to me like "they" are good at multi-tasking.

 

[Dixie1]

If you find a legitimate worker who has know how in the business then more power to you. But showing up at the local gas station and picking up a crew of day labor and handing them chainsaws is bad for all of us.

i agree with this statement, but that should apply to EVERYONE, not just the singled out group you mentioned earlier. I have personally had 3 drunk caucasians in a pick up knock on my front door asking to remove a dying 50 foot tall post oak that is at best 15 feet away from our brand new house. these men were not licensed, bonded, or insured. Of course I'm not going to let them near my house. This should apply to EVERYONE!

 

[ani]

Re "Town Hacks"

Hi Bushhogm,
They do the same thing here in Dayton, Ohio and the trees look terrible. There is a small but elite town called Oakwood and they are notorious for it.
Ani

 

[treesquirrel]

how dare they!!! you know, i belive caucasians are also guilty of this as well, but that's okay, apparently. it sounds to me like "they" are good at multi-tasking.

Touche'. Too general and over the top.

My beef is with those here illegally and moreso with those who hire illegals.

 

[DonnyO]

How so?

Pienso que mis amigos hispanos se ofenderian por sus observaciones. Ellos probablemente le mandiarian por un alegre y se le envia a su madre

THIS is HILARIOUS! I don't necessarily agree with you but funny none the less! (even funnier that some people are commenting when they clearly have no idea what it says!)

 

[OTG BOSTON]

The metro Atlanta area has a huge illegal worker problem.
I'd hope you don't find a way to defend this practice and if you do it will be interesting to hear.

I wouldn't dream of defending illegal workers, please point out where you think I did and I'll edit my post.

I will however, defend hispanic workers.

There is a shortage of people willing to do manual labor in this country. It is recent immigrants who fill this gap, as it always has been. Just because there are a lot of people immigrating from spanish speaking countries doesn't mean they are all illegal or all 'mexican'.
I am learning to speak spanish because I believe it is a skill that is very useful
in the green industry. Those who don't are cutting themselves off from a large section of the workforce. If I had two job applicants with similar backrounds, and one was bilingual, I'd hire the bilingual one, its just smart business.

BTW my little brother is getting married this weekedend, to a beautiful Puerto Rican girl. My toast is going to be half in English, and half in Spanish.

 

[Dixie1]

Touche'. Too general and over the top.

My beef is with those here illegally and moreso with those who hire illegals.

what if some hot and sexy lady from Brazil asked to trim your trees, what would you say then? would you ask if she was legal? doubtful. granted that isn't a huge problem, but justing using it as an example. i think everyone living and working in this country should follow the rules too, i never said illegals were okay either. Yes, knowing you are hiring illegal workers from anywhere in the world isn't okay. The only point I was trying to make is the word "Mexican" being used today like a slang, derogatory word geared to a group of people that don't deserve unfair treatment without knowing their status is wrong. It is fine to use it if you know that they are from Mexico, not all are. There are lots of people from El Salvador, Honduras, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. All are different coutries. When you see hispanic people working, how and why would you asume they are illegal? just because of their race. that's not fair. that's all i'm saying.

 

[treesquirrel]

I wouldn't dream of defending illegal workers, please point out where you think I did and I'll edit my post.

I will however, defend hispanic workers.

There is a shortage of people willing to do manual labor in this country. It is recent immigrants who fill this gap, as it always has been. Just because there are a lot of people immigrating from spanish speaking countries doesn't mean they are all illegal or all 'mexican'.
I am learning to speak spanish because I believe it is a skill that is very useful
in the green industry. Those who don't are cutting themselves off from a large section of the workforce. If I had two job applicants with similar backrounds, and one was bilingual, I'd hire the bilingual one, its just smart business.

BTW my little brother is getting married this weekedend, to a beautiful Puerto Rican girl. My toast is going to be half in English, and half in Spanish.

Nothing wrong with being progressive. I try to be. I think we have merely misunderstood one another.

I have no problems with legal immigrants. Without them our workforce as you say would be stressed to the breaking point.

My specific frutration is with:

A) Illegals of any nationality taking advantage of a capitalist system we worked hard to develop.

B) The contactros that hire them keeping them coming back for more.

These are the cut and dry problems that drive me crazy. End result is bad for the industry and it does in fact drive the generally accepted compensation customers are willing to dish out for SKILLED work. I don't want to be lumped into the non skilled labor pool when I have insurance that is astronomical and job hazards that can easily kill or cripple.

Be safe and have a good day sir!

 

[Dixie1]

agree, too

 

[OTG BOSTON]

All I can say is take the high road. Its been posted here many times before, the people who are looking for the cheapest price aren't the ones you want to be working for anyway.

Being insured and CERTIFIED and educating the public are ways to set yourself apart.

 

[Brush Hog]

Help my post has been hijacked. Quick someone call the authorities:help:

Update, seems the 15 ft stumps have disappeared

 

[ani]

Post Highjacked 15" Stump Disappeared

You live in Conneticut. Did you get the snow that we here in Ohio got?: