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What is your advice to this manufacturing worker?
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:48 pm
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:48 pm
quote:
For nearly 20 years, Darrell Eberhardt worked in an Ohio factory putting together wheelchairs, earning $18.50 an hour, enough to gain a toehold in the middle class and feel respected at work.
He is still working with his hands, assembling seats for Chevrolet Cruze cars at the Camaco auto parts factory in Lorain, Ohio, but now he makes $10.50 an hour and is barely hanging on. “I’d like to earn more,” said Mr. Eberhardt, who is 49 and went back to school a few years ago to earn an associate’s degree. “But the chances of finding something like I used to have are slim to none.”
Even as the White House and leaders on Capitol Hill and in Fortune 500 boardrooms all agree that expanding the country’s manufacturing base is a key to prosperity, evidence is growing that the pay of many blue-collar jobs is shrinking to the point where they can no longer support a middle-class life.
I think it's increasingly a myth that someone can work harder and just magically be in the upper middle class.
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Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:52 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
What is your advice to this manufacturing worker?
Advocate for a $48.65 minimum wage.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:52 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
evidence is growing that the pay of many blue-collar jobs is shrinking to the point where they can no longer support a middle-class life.
I think their is a significant difference between blu collar labor and SKILLED blue collar labor. Sounds like this guy was essentially a laborer.
How long does trade school take? Pipefitter, welder, electrician, instrumentation tech, plumber, HVAC, etc...
None of them are making $10.50.
This post was edited on 11/24/14 at 1:54 pm
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:54 pm to Big Scrub TX
Don't vote for Obama and his plan to bring in millions of immigrants willing to work for even less than you.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:54 pm to Big Scrub TX
That guy is delusional and full of shite. There is a massive shortage of skilled labor in this country. He should have said "But the chances of finding something like I used to have near me are slim to none." He may have to move but there are places in this country that would gladly give him 3x what he's making now, he'll just have to seek it out.
I would be very curious to know what that degree is in.
quote:
who is 49 and went back to school a few years ago to earn an associate’s degree.
I would be very curious to know what that degree is in.
This post was edited on 11/24/14 at 1:57 pm
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:55 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
I think it's increasingly a myth that someone can work harder and just magically be in the upper middle class.
Working harder also implies working smarter. If a man has been in mfg for more than 20 years and is going backward, there's far more to the story.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:55 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
I think it's increasingly a myth that someone can work harder and just magically be in the upper middle class.
Moving has to be an option. That is what people from south of the border do. That is what our ancestors did. People want $x in Y place instead of $X in any place.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:57 pm to lsu13lsu
BTW, with that "Union YES" shirt on, I'd like to ask him what his union has done for him.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 1:57 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:It has always been a myth. It takes a special talent or ability to move up whether it be high intelligence, great athletic ability, singing ability, etc.
I think it's increasingly a myth that someone can work harder and just magically be in the upper middle class.
There are several car factories in the South where he could make a lot more than $10.50. Sometimes it takes a major sacrifice. Sometimes, to grow you have to go.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:00 pm to Big Scrub TX
He just needs to hang on. The Neo-Socialist Govt Class and their uber-rich Wall Street type backers are systematically turning the Middle Class into the new Working Poor. Remember, they are all brilliant, and the rest of us are Pee-Ons. Hopefully,it won't take forever to recover from this social engineering disaster.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:02 pm to lsu13lsu
quote:
Moving has to be an option.
Absolutely. People have done this for centuries, move to where the work is located.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:02 pm to Big Scrub TX
You have to work smarter, not harder. Learn job skills and move on if there is no opportunity to advance.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:04 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
I think it's increasingly a myth that someone can work harder and just magically be in the upper middle class.
And for my final comment, it's always been a myth.
Working harder doesn't mean diddly poo.
It's about creating value.
That is the single bottom line when it comes to compensation for 'work'.
Now often times, working harder does create more value in what you produce, but not always.
That guy used to create $18.50 an hour (or more) of value for his old company. Now he only creates $10.50 an hour for his new company.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:06 pm to arcalades
quote:
There are several car factories in the South where he could make a lot more than $10.50.
Hell, he could go work at a gas station and make more than $10.50 an hour. And no, I'm not exaggerating. Baytown, Tx:
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:07 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
And for my final comment, it's always been a myth.
I've seen it work. Filipinos work 2-3 jobs around here and work themselves into the middle class, own homes, nice cars. They don't have a lot of skill, but are dedicated, eager, and do what it takes to more than make ends meet.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:11 pm to Big Scrub TX
My advice to this worker is to stop voting for Dimocrats.....vote for anybody else.....but just stop voting for the new "plantation owning slave masters"!!!!!!
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:14 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
For nearly 20 years, John Smith worked in a factory making Buggy Whips, earning enough to gain a toehold in the middle class and feel respected at work.
quote:
For nearly 20 years, William Johnson worked in a livery making horseshoes and shoeing horses, earning enough to gain a toehold in the middle class and feel respected at work.
quote:
For nearly 20 years, Jason Williams worked in a repair shop fixing VCRs and Phonographs, earning enough to gain a toehold in the middle class and feel respected at work.
quote:
For nearly 20 years, Harry Davis worked in a Western Union as a telegraph operator, earning enough to gain a toehold in the middle class and feel respected at work.
quote:
For nearly 20 years, Ernestine Tomlin worked as a telephone switchboard operator, earning enough to gain a toehold in the middle class and feel respected at work.
I'd tell him that he can whine all that he wants. However, it is not compelling to me and i'll not stay and listen to it
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:19 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
I think it's increasingly a myth that someone can work harder and just magically be in the upper middle class.
Agreed. You have to work smarter not harder if you want to earn more. Isolate a need and gain skills that are valuable to employers. Manufacturing is becoming more automated as the years go on. These jobs should not be counted on as a career. Just the way it is.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:20 pm to Big Scrub TX
Screw that guy. In the new Anerica he makes "too much" and is a failure for having a blue collar job.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 2:23 pm to htownjeep
quote:
Hell, he could go work at a gas station and make more than $10.50 an hour. And no, I'm not exaggerating. Baytown, Tx:
So your advice is for a 49 year old to move across the country to work at a gas station?
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