craftsman help!

[the_chief]

I'm looking for a union website that shows hourly charges by the trade, or something.

I am doing some sidework for some dickhead and he says union would be cheaper, haha. I'm working for 35 per hour (on site service work), and he thinks I am way too exspensive, I thought I was doing him a favor dragging thousands of dollars of tools into a cramped poo-hole to accomodate him and get his business going.

I am non--union, it's just what he thinks, i'd like to show him. Any advice or point me in the right direction. I'm a cabinetmaker, furnituremaker.

thanks again naxja!

 

[mdl]

What's wrong with the union?

 

[the_chief]

nothing is wrong with the union, i wish i was. That's not what i said either. the guy's telling me he could hire a union service person cheaper than me, and i am working for him on the side very chep. i'm not charging for service calls or anything else either. just actual labor at 35. nothing in between the shop and his business.

edit: when i said "union would be cheaper haha" i meant that I doubt the union would be, in fact i know so.

 

[mdl]

Oh I misunderstood. The union charges significantly more if i remember (carpenters union right?) habitat6286 works for the carpenters union here in MA and he tells me that it's expensive to hire the union for a job. Maybe he will chime in.

 

[Boatwrench]

You must like the job, I wouldn't work for an boss that was always haranging me...but try here: http://http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm

Took me less than two minutes of searching starting with google then keyword = wages. At my wages that would be roughly $1.50 to find and extract that info.

Tom

 

[the_chief]

Oh I misunderstood. The union charges significantly more if i remember (carpenters union right?) habitat6286 works for the carpenters union here in MA and he tells me that it's expensive to hire the union for a job. Maybe he will chime in.

I'm not saying the union is neccesarily exspensive or overpriced either. I am simply stating they have a set rate at the fair current market value. that rate is signifcantly more than mine, i'm guessing 75 an hour plus 75 for the call, plus, etc...

 

[the_chief]

You must like the job, I wouldn't work for an boss that was always haranging me...but try here: http://http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm

Took me less than two minutes of searching starting with google then keyword = wages. At my wages that would be roughly $1.50 to find and extract that info.

Tom

good info, even though I am looking for the elusive going rate for service, those are more like employee wages. I tried to find a union shop and call, but to no avail. thanks guys, anybody else?

 

[RichP]

good info, even though I am looking for the elusive going rate for service, those are more like employee wages. I tried to find a union shop and call, but to no avail. thanks guys, anybody else?

For business I charge $120 hr min 2 hr
For Homes I charge $75 but thats not if they want ALL their virus and spyware cleaned off, thats for a wipe and repave back to OEM.
Network cabling, $150 a drop which usually takes 2 hours and includes T&M, I really do well when multiples go to the same points. Thats in copper, when I do fiber it still $150 but materials are not included but does include terminations. If I have to fuse that gets more expensive when the toshiba gets dragged in and fired up.

 

[mdl]

Rich youre cheap... I charge $120 for homes min 1 hr and for buisnesses i do $150 min 3 hr. People pay.

 

[DrMoab]

What's wrong with the union?

Oh I dunno. Ask all the GM employees who have been priced out of work because their unions got greedy.

Downfall of this country I say.

 

[SCW]

Oh I dunno. Ask all the GM employees who have been priced out of work because their unions got greedy.

Downfall of this country I say.

Agreed. The pendulum has traveled too far into the other direction, rather than protecting empoyees, unions are protection for the weak workers at the expense of the empoyer and other employees. And they are crooked as hell....

 

[Boatwrench]

It wasn't the greed of the UAW Union that placed GM in dire straits, it was mismanagement; i.e. not investing the workers pension fund correctly, producing an inferior product for years and then trying to catch up to the market share that GM used to command. If you look at the company's that are defaulting on their obligations to the retired workers it's company's with a private company pension plan. Most company's prefer this plan as it allows the company to use the workers pension to make captial investments without risking the stock holders options. If the company is successful, like GM was for a time it's not bad a bad plan for all parties. But good times end and then there are these outstanding payments that need to be paid to hard working tax paying Americans that in good faith to GM worked long hours.

Had the UAW been smart it would have insisted 40-50 years ago, to have GM pay contributions into a 'trust fund' with trustees from both GM and the UAW sitting on the board. However 40-50 years ago who would have thought that GM was going anywhere but up.

The Union I am the former President of did just that (prior to my time) set up a trust. The IAM represented all the dealership mehanics in the San Francisco area. The dealers are notorious for being run bad and always going out of business which left the workers with a zero pension, lost vacation days, etc. In the 1960's our local started a 'trust fund' just as I described above with the pension contribution, generally 7% of the hourly wage being placed into the trust. The mechanics that joined this plan were paid 10% less than those that didn't, however when the dealer went belly up, some still had a pension in the bank and others...well...let's hope they invested that 10% wisely. Every dealership in San Francisco could go out of business and my pension would stil be gauranteed due to this trust.

Mechanics die early ( below the national average) and a lot of pension money goes unclaimed. This allows for funds available for future mechanics for a long time.

Tom

 

[RichP]

Mechanics die early ( below the national average) and a lot of pension money goes unclaimed. This allows for funds available for future mechanics for a long time.

Tom

Thats the Social Security model the feds used when they first setup Social security, they figured with the average life span of 55 back then they'd never have to pay out anything or very little, if anything the feds would love to up the age to 75 or 80 now a days.

 

[Boatwrench]

Yep, Social Security model, then two things happened: The majority of us started living longer and congress started expanded benefits for which the plan was no originally established.

About mechanics life expectancy while preparing for some negotiations a few years back the negotiating comittee was able to harvest this gem from the Dept of Labor: For mechanics, every year before the age of sixty mechanics retire they add a year to their life expectancy, for every six months after age 62 they subtract a year. Retirement between 60-62 the data was inconclusive. This led to the 85 year rule in our pension plan. When age + years service = 85 one gets full 100% pension. So if someone starts at 25 years old and then works 30 years until 55 y.o., they can retire at 55 with the maximum pension benefit. Someone coming in at 35 will need to work until 60 y.o. That's 25 years service + 60 years old = rule of 85.

 

[RichP]

The age thing can almost be directly attributed to medical coverage. Almost every job I've had I've had full Blue Cross and Blue shield where I was covered 100% and had scheduled checkups. The last two gig's I had it was with other companies where I had to fight for every benefit that I hardly ever used. Now I'm back with bc/bs and boy what a difference..
I also remember growing up in the 60's and working in a neighbors gas station as a teenager pumping gas and up to my elbows in a tub full of gasoline, sludged up engine parts and god knows what else for a couple of hours a day, back then it was no big deal, also worked a nite job as a commercial welder on fixtured welders making 3ft to 60ft diameter pipe joints, no mask, respirator or other safety devices, ventilation consisted of open doors on the hanger sized plant and in cold weather they just shut the doors, costs money to heat that work area, now they know better. Nothing like blowing black snot while I worked there...

 

[Ghost]

Oh I dunno. Ask all the GM employees who have been priced out of work because their unions got greedy.

Downfall of this country I say.

HOLY SHIAT BATMAN! I agree with Dr. Moab!