These times are definitely not like the old. I spent my earliest years as a Union residential framer in the Bay Area and we had to bust are butts to keep our jobs due to the high costs of labor for these framing companies being affiliated with the Unions and paying into our annuities, vacation, and health care.
Back in the day as a youngster in the trade I remember getting yelled at alot to hoof it and I kept my mouth shut, busted my butt, watched and learned. I was lucky enough to work with some talented journeyman and they would always ask for me when they needed help.
Today I can cut roofs and stairs with the best of them. I've got a ton of plumb and line tricks and my work is second to none. Laying out foundations from property pins and nailing the elevations is fun also.
As a suprintendent I let alot of guys go if they weren't hoofing it. Why? Because thats how I was brought up in the trade.
I never had to wait around in the hall for a job because the companies I worked for new I busted my ass.
Today anything residential is non-union. Only the commercial and Public works projects are Union and the costs of these projects have quadrupled mainly due to job safety requirements which is not a bad thing.
I think about my childrens future and wonder how they will see things in the future. My main concern is that they are happy in whatever they choose to do in life but one thing they know for sure is that there are no free rides.
It's a parents responsibility to teach their kids the realities of life.
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Gaetano Cosentino
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