Originally Posted by Joethemechanic

Actually the Local 332 Ditch diggers (Laborers) are a couple steps above the nonunion truckload carriers in pay and benefits.

Here is the lowest laborer's pay rate in my county.

LABO0413-002 05/01/2006

Rates / Fringes

Laborers:

Unskilled...................$ 18.04 / 18.30

That comes to $36.34 an hour for wages and benefits.


For those of you that don't know anything about Davis-Bacon? Maybe you should look.

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Originally Posted by newbiewannadoitright

GEE, so I guess all of those guys on Trick My Truck or the Chrome Shop Mafia are really a bunch of psycos and have short commings. I thought is was all about hopped up custom trucks. Just like the guy you had in the photo sitting in his truck. You know we used to do the same thing with our cars, and I still do the same thing with my motorcycle. I've been to truck shows where the trucks still had to be "working trucks" and were tricked out and customized. If that's the case, how come all of those Puerto Rican Union Dock Workers I've seen in New York, have all of those customized cars? I'll bet I can find lots of Union workers with custom cars, trucks and bikes. Does that mean Union guys have short commings and psyco problems too?

Originally Posted by newbiewannadoitright

GEE, so I guess all of those guys on Trick My Truck or the Chrome Shop Mafia are really a bunch of psycos and have short commings.

Originally Posted by latanea

using that logic one looking into my garage would assume I am as smooth as a ken doll down below!

Originally Posted by Joethemechanic

What those guys do to a truck is ridiculous. They do some of the stupidest stuff I have ever seen. But then again, they get yahoos to pay them for doing it , so maybe they are not so stupid. They are probably laughing all the way to the bank.

I really hope people understand that those aren't good productive working trucks when they are done.

That show is selling a fantasy. It's TV it's all about selling you something. Didn't Schneider or whoever with the orange trucks used to have recrutier ads running during the show?


If Schneider is paying the bills you can bet that what you see on that show is exactly what they want you to see to plant the seed of a "trucker lifestyle" fantasy

The show is scripted. and the guys who write the script have one thing on their agenda. They want to create "wannabes" because wannabes if fed even more fertilizer bloom into "noobs". And noobs are cheap new meat to fill the seats that are vacated by their 100% or more turnover rate.

Originally Posted by Joethemechanic

A truck is a piece of equipment to make money with. Just like a crane, a drill press, a welder, a lathe, or an alligator shear are equipment for making money with.

You can have pride in your job by keeping the equipment clean, well maintained, and performing your job duities in a professional manner.

A guy I know named Jimmy has been with a steel company for almost 30 years as a driver. His first truck there was a B-67 Mack that was a beat up 15 year old piece with a bent bumper, dented fenders, cracked rear window, and an interior that was so disgusting I did'nt want to get inside it to fix anything.

Well Jimmy was a clean and professional guy and started stoping by my shop to use the pressure washer every night. After about a week he got all of the crud off and the truck didn't look so bad. Jimmy started wiping the truck down with a rag and a little bit of diesel while he was waiting at a stop. He cleaned his windows every morning before he went out.

Now this old "rag tag" B Model starts to look pretty good even with the dents. So one night he comes in and I call him over and we straighten the front bumper with a torch and a forklift and I spray it black with some spray can paint.


None of this is done perfect, but all in all this truck is starting to look like a clean older piece.


Jimmy kept his old B-67 this way until it got retired for jockey truck duities, and they gave him a 3 year old R-600. The R-600 was always just as clean and he drove it for 10 years. Then they bought him a brand new CH and it was always clean inside and out. Now he drives a brand new rental KW and it always looks good.

All in all, Jimmy was one of the best drivers I know. He didn't need chrome do dads, and chicken lights to show that he had PRIDEin his profession.

That is the kind of driver you want to hire. The man is always clean and he wears a company uniform with his name on it. When you are in busness, that is the image you want to project. Clean professional and safe.

That isn't the image that trying to "look cool" and putting so many lights on your truck that people think that the Ringling Bros are coming to town projects

Originally Posted by latanea

I like my toys - but a truck to make an income should be practical...

the whole fantasy string is accurate in describing the silliness that surrounds us sometimes...


almost as bad as the guy I saw last week get out of a werner truck wearing leather jacket - fingerless gloves and CHAPS...


the dud had full battle dress on - looked like he just came off a biker road trip... best of all it was real cheap crap and shiny new...


he looked like an idiot - but he was living the fantasy "bad mutha trucka".

Originally Posted by latanea

well I was refering to the non union ditch diggers - set out to labor at 7 bucks an hour...