Ironworkers and Riggers fight back in California

As we all gathered for the safety meeting at 6:00 am Saturday morning, the safety man ordered everyone up to do a serries of stretches and excercises. Surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for a morning workout, The safety man singled out a few workers that chose not to perform the exercise and ordered them to go home for three days without pay. Since when is this a violation of safety? What the man didn't count on was the coworkers of the men sent home gathering their things and getting in line for the bus home behind them. Mangement has been pushing workers around and getting away with it for some time now due to the lack of jobs, but we finally reached our breaking point. We are already getting screwed out of travel pay and per diem and most of us are from out of state. When the plant operators and S&B mangement saw the support of 50 workers lined up behined the workers that were sent home, the decision was reversed. The safety man ended up quitting when he saw the mess he created. What we need to learn is there is strength in numbers. Mangement has pushed us around for long enough because they know we are in a bind because the lack of work. So I say to you all, stand together and fight back, the job can't be done without us.

If you don't know someone, forget getting the job.

Unlike the few years before the recession started, getting a job as a contractor is damn near impossible if you don't have a contact on the inside. Job lists are quickly filled with workers that are mainly kinned or friends with supervisors, management, and Human Resources. Although this seems unfair(and it is), employment will mainly be obtained in this way until the economy rebounds. Not only is this hiring practice unfair to qualified workers, it should be illegal. Manning up jobs this way leads to a crew less experienced which in turn make jobsites unsafe. Companies might as well just take their job hotline numbers and e-mail addresses off websites. Over the past year, when I have completed a job and started looking for another, I am always given a number to call to get my name on a list. The thing about this is, the number goes straight to a recording that tells you to leave a name and number and we will get back to you. I have yet to get a human on the phone. Management is looking out for themselves, family, and friends for consideration on jobs and don't even bother to hire the most qualified applicants. Unfortunately, this is life and how it will continue to be for a long while. If you really want to use the internet for jobs, I suggest http://www.indeed.com/. It will search all employment sites to find the listings you are looking for, but act fast when you see a post. Jobs fill fast these days and the number of applicants looking for jobs have grown exponentially lately. The best way to find work is by calling friends and family or past coworkers. This is the law of the land right now and you have to network to find jobs. Also, don't wait around for a recruiter that promised work soon to call you back. I have one recruiter that has been saying "any day now" for a month. If you are offered a job, take it. If the recruiter finally calls you back, make your decision to leave your job or not on job duration. Being on a jobsite is your best way to meet new people that have solid job leads and to show off your skills.

Per diem may be a thing of the past for workers.

Being in the construction business for 10 years, me and the rest of the craftsmen have always been paid per diem when working 60+ miles from the house ranging from $35 to $100 a day depending on location and company we work for. Since the recession hit, companies have slowly but surely been omitting this from our paycheck. The companies I work for are based in Houston, Tx but we are sent all over the country, coast to coast on jobs. Per diem was paid to us to help out with motel rooms and eating expenses while working out of town. Since jobs are hard to come by these days and big corporations like Chevron, Exxon, and other major oil companies know this, per diem is almost non-existant now. They know that people are going through hard times and will work for a lot less than they used to. I have 10 years experience in my crafts which are boilermaking and rigging, and have seen my hourly wage slashed by $10/hr in the past 1 1/2 years, and I see no sign of wages hitting bottom. Now with per diem and travel pay being cut, I guess I could say my pay has fallen $15/hr. I have to take these jobs to support my family, even though the pay is falling, there is no where else for me and others in our crafts to work. If I raise hell, they just tell me to go away and they will find someone else to fill my spot because they know there are 100s, if not 1000s that will work for less. Eventually, things will get better and jobs will be more plentiful, but it will be a long time before our per diem is reinstated. They have seen what they can get away with paying us now and they don't mind kicking us when we are down.