Recession

plumber1a

LA is expensive to live, very competitive, tough but good life. Flat rate work it only way to do service work and lowest bid usually wins with contractors. Everyone here who applies for work is a plumber, most couldn't cut their way out of cardboard box with a box cutter.

mrmike

Originally Posted by strathd
Plumbers compared to doctors ? Now thats a good analogy. LOL. Unions killed this country. Unions keeping the wages up ? Why did manufacturing leave ? You dont have a clue dude. Detroit autoworkers making 85k a year with no education, guess they're doctor equivalents too. THE PROBLEM: Unions sucked the life and the profits out of the companies. So you go Dr. plumber

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hersheyplumbing I agree unions keep costs high, worthless people dont deserve equal pay. I think a person should earn what they are worth, if a person is not happy with their pay, go work somewhere else, if it still isnt enough then go in biz for yourself.They(uaw) are the single entity that is killing the big three.

I do not want to get in a debate here,but must reply to you. Please do not bash & stereotyping Union people as being useless, etc. I have worked with many hardworking union people & worked along side of non-union & I can tell you there are slackers on both sides.
Blaming the UAW as the single entity is such a laugh. Seems a lot of people copy this statement. Why? What about so many Americans buying foriegn cars, that had nothing to do with it? If the UAW drives up the price of american cars like "they" say why is it that Japanese cars costs more? Also $85 k a year that you stated they make is the people at the top after many years service. More power to them! Again I hear this same statement copied. Do you think they are doing nothing for it? Do not ever think the "other guy" has got it made until you are in there shoes!

Did it ever occur to you that these workers making a fair wage spend money & help keep the economy going??? The low payed non-union people that have to work at Walmart jobs have no extra money to spend. Don't you get it? "who has a clue" YOU?? We as contractors need people to make a fair wage to support us !! Some say people are not spending right now & are just saving their money. Yea right, where do they get the money to save?
Manufacturing left to get slave labor as cheap as they can get it-so they could make record profits & fill their pockets at the top instead of our American workers getting a peice of the pie? Don't You get it?? The unions tried to save our jobs from going overseas!! But we are weakened by the rhetoric as yours above!

We as true Americans have to stand up for our own & stop this negative ill thinking & be strong again, and yes with Unions too- we need them!

plumber1a

I know it's difficult, but we should only buy USA products, regardless of cost, your saving you own job. I have never owned a foren car, but most of the parts on domestics are import. Most steel use to be USA, no more, how the Chinese can buy our raw materials, ship it to china, turn it into a product, reship to USA and make a profit, how its this? they can't be paying much for labor if anything. I hope I don't live to see the day where Americans are working like the Chinese, but how can we compete with that?, truth is WE CAN'T, so DON'T BUY THEIR PRODUCTS. This will only work in numbers, by myself can and will do very Little, like they say, united we stand, divided we fall, this country must work together. I think we have too many foreigners here who don't care, why should they. Now all I can do is prey.

Hersheyplumbing

Ok, I'm positive both you guys are fine fellers, thats not the debate here so when I say I am anti-union its not directed toward you all. But I have have talked to sooo many union workers and hear how thier job for the day was to tighten a bolt, or sweat a fitting on. Making scale. When a plumbing contractor goes out of biz because they spend every penny they get on stuff other than their supply bills and slop stuff in the walls of homes they run to the union. I know 4 to date. When talks are in progress to save the big three and the uaw says we wont budge, mainly cause they know the gov will bail them out anyways, they suck. Unions could of played a good role in early industrial America, but they used tactics like mutiny to hold companies hostage srong-arming their way to squeeze what they want from them.Are all people who work for unions bad? Heck no! Are most in my opinion overpayed? Heck yes! I'm for buying american.The problem is not everyone deserves to make good money, we have minimum wage to protect them if nobody thinks theyre worth a didle. So when joe blo is at union meeting screaming how he needs more money to support his 5 kids, tuff. Make sure you can offord those 5 kids before you have them. The american way-Work hard and dont spend what you dont have!

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Mark Hershey
http://community.webshots.com/user/z...host=community

Hersheyplumbing

Good thing for 'foreigners' or america would have never been founded.
I work around mexican labor crews quite a bit and most of them are inspiring with their work ethic. Happy to work all day long rain or shine. While the american laborers are hungover, or sneaking off to smoke dope, or high on pills.

I can make good money at what I do. But its not pricing high and fishing bids so I can make the money I feel I deserve. Its pricing in line with the market and working my tail off when the market decides I need to. And sometimes I forget that.

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Mark Hershey
http://community.webshots.com/user/z...host=community

plumber1a

I'm not knocking the foreigners, just the ones who come here just to feed off our give away system in USA and California, many don't know our ways or even care, non foreigners (Americans) are just as bad, but they should at least know better. I know of stories going both ways, It's true that when the going gets tough the tough must get going to make it here, I feel that is what America was built upon, hard work. I too work along Mexican labor crews and many professionals who are inspiring and inspired by the oppertunities this country has to offer for the "honest" worker. Anyone can make it here, but they must try and try again.

ct plumber

Oh my god

Iam getting between 800-1000 with fixtures being extra,i could make more at home dump,i had a guy out bid me for 650 and he only did one house and walked away.

ct plumber

Well,i disagree,these mexicans are killing our trades,thats the reason hes working for 450 a fixture,they take are money back to there **** hole country and screw us out of our own tax dollars,i work next to these dirt bags all day also and i also let them know that they dont belong.Iam not inspired by these dirt bags,iam sick of there not speaking ass.When your kid comes home knocked up by one,things will chage.

Hersheyplumbing

$800-1000 per opening. Thats alot. Do you use copper? At $465 a 2 bath(11 openings) house takes us 15hr from start to finish and material will average $2000. That includes the three tests.

I would make a killing where you guys are.

Thats a rough last statement there, I would be angry too.

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Mark Hershey
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plumber1a

Anyone coming to this country, trying to bring their culture here and enforce it upon anyone needs a direct kick in the ass home. This is America our standards are supposed be higher and in most cases they are. What gripes me most is that I see this ever increasing role of foreign plumbers and other tradesmen coming here to work cheep without the insurances (because they don't need them where they came from) to only underbid the guy that has the burden of insurances, employees, trucks, shops, numerous trade tools, most of all knowledge to the point where they must close up shop and go back to working by themselves to compete. What I see is starting to happen is that these imports are starting to own homes and businesses feeding into it all and creating their own little townships within America, I don't even feel welcomed in them. The trades are falling, just like the proud Japanese Gardner who knew when to fertilize and trim your yard, who educated themselves to do a better job, to only give way to the uneducated, import so called Gardner. MY fear is we are all next in line and a recession is no kind of help. I try to do my little part by not using these people for anything, but fear I'm just one among millions.

Hersheyplumbing

I can honestly say that I have never ran into a mexican plumber, or any other than white or black.

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Mark Hershey
http://community.webshots.com/user/z...host=community

plumber1a

Depending upon where you are and if your able to make some money you will because the Mexican or brown people are leaving California and are spreading around the nation, you are possibly next.

ct plumber

He is right,we have them in ct and there killing us very quick,they have been here for years and have under cut and killed every trade.

Hersheyplumbing

For our journeyman test one of the qualification is you must be a us citizen, is it the same for you guys?

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Mark Hershey
http://community.webshots.com/user/z...host=community

ct plumber

Its the same and you must have finished high school also,but it dosent stop these guys doing jobs that you wouldnt need a permit or just plain not pulling permits.To be realy honest iam just tired of looking at them and watching them destroy my home town,every corner is some mexican store or taco stand.Its so bad up here that our town had to form a team of inspectors to crack down on 20 of mexicans living in a single condo or rental unit.Its just bad.

plumber1a

This could be a very heated discussion for myself and I'm sure many others. I have been involved in the plumbing (building) trades constantly for the past 23+ years, I have experienced the infiltration of foreigners, Mexicans, Russians, Salvadorians, and or whatever else.

Contractors with license hire these guys to do work for them, being under the table workers no insurances or taxes are with held. In the many years these foreigners are here (illegals) they learn the system, start applying for residency claiming numerous reasons and their attorneys have several of them. It doesn't cost much to buy a social security number or use someone else's. The whole system is soo slow they blend into the American life, but bring their own culture in along with numerous family, friends, baby's and they all live together very cheaply, therefor can work cheep, they learn how to do things and become unfair competition.

They then start their own little side business taking away from the legitimate guy who has to hire and pay taxes, rents and so on. This is not the American way of life, but it's being forced upon us, to survive we must come down to their level. I don't have problem with Mexicans, there are just too many of them here, I won't hire them, but there is starting to be enough foreign business owners that will as long as they work cheep, and they do. I guess this is the future for America, unless someone stop's it.

Driftwood

What prices for C.I. where You are per Fixture ? I figure about $2000

plumber1a

Depends upon many factors, but $1500 - $3000