Quote:
Originally Posted by knothead
Jiff, Being a relatively small rigging business, I may be talking apples and oranges but personally, I do think about what people need to have a decent life. I can tell you that if my life is any more decent than anyone who has worked for me, it's because of personal decisions, it's not because of how much I pay them.
You can't imagine how much I wish I could pay people more or offer better health insurance and all the other things that make for a decent life.
For my little company, the money is not there.
Why? It's a vicious cycle.
If you don't grow, you can't make a lot of money. If you don't make enough money you can't attract or keep qualified people.If you can't find qualified people, You can't grow.
We have schools pumping out truck drivers, plumbers, and many other noble and well paying occupations. Most of the skills used on and around boats aren't taught in schools. It's a whole different kind of industry.
I certainly am not attempting to defend boat-yards carte-blanc, and I have had some pretty unpleasant experiences as well. I'm just saying, most of the people in business that I know do not set out to screw their employees. On the contrary, because a good man is hard to find, often people get second and third chances that they may not deserve.
Nor do they try to screw their customers. That's just ludicrous.
I am so fortunate to work with someone who is qualified and gets along with my wife and me. He has been with us for years and makes as much as I do and more than my wife.
Wish I could clone him  |
knothead, I totally understand what you're saying, and I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I should have clarified that my ramblings were aimed more at larger companies with many employees. Now that's not to say that all companies are bad to their workers when it comes to wages, but we all know those companies are out there. Once I had a larger company doing what I do, and for the first time I was able to practice what I preached, but I had a lot of volume then which was key. I had a lot of good men working for me, most all of them willing to go the extra mile for me...and they knew I would take care of them. Those times allowed me to build a company that had as much as possible, all the good things, and a minimum of bad things, that I had experienced as a worker in other companies. But like you mentioned good men are hard to find, and I admit I had a few workers that I would have replaced in a heart beat, if I could have found qualified people to replace them with...very frustrating. Sometimes I would think "How can I soar with the eagles, when I'm flying with turkeys."
I think most bosses dream "If I just had 6 more men like me I'd be rich!
When I closed down that company the during the last recession, and started back up as a 'one bucket' shop, I couldn't do those benefits again for my sole worker. Now I do what I can for my 'main man', but I know things could be better, and they will once the building trades turn around again.
I guess I became a workers advocate in a way, but I do understand mangement's problems too.