Jobs Americans won't do

VaSteve · 12-03-2007, 04:31 PM

I was in NYC last week and saw something that really surprised me. Middle aged white guys doing construction. I saw this 40 something guy repairing a tile on the sidewalk near City Hall (or the mayor's house) speaking in English to some other guy. Then I saw a bunch of guys digging out some pipes in the street. This was interesting, all the work was done in a trench in the cold (since there were like 50 pipes in this trench). They put all the dirt into a big handled bag and I guess a buldozer lifted it out. Yeah, I know it was probably all Union labor, but I was really surprised to see it.

Discuss.

Joeaksa · 12-03-2007, 04:53 PM

Americans will work given descent conditions or money to overcome crappy conditions.

Its just the group trying to push illegal's saying that Americans will not work who keep pushing this idea. My first job was washing dishes at a pancake house, second was cutting grass and shoveling out the waste treatment plant at an airport. Was happy to have a job at the time...

VaSteve · 12-03-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Its just the group trying to push illegal's saying that Americans will not work who keep pushing this idea. My first job was washing dishes at a pancake house, second was cutting grass and shoveling out the waste treatment plant at an airport. Was happy to have a job at the time...

As a middle aged guy would you still want to be doing that? I'm not sure which surprised me more, that I saw regular Americans doing the work or that they would even WANT to do that work. Digging in a hole is hard work, but do be doing it at ~45 in the cold? F- that.

I hear what you're saying with the argument...I'm just surprised to actually see it.

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Like the main character in Office Space....he got fed up with working for Innatech, filing TPS reports and working on Sundays... and after the building burned down he found that he liked construction work better.

SlowToady · 12-03-2007, 05:04 PM

How about working at a Jiffy Lube for $7-8 an hour, changing oil in cars that aren't allowed to cool down in 100 degree weather. Or changing oil in the middle of the winter while it's crapping snow and is blistering cold, with the garage doors open while wearing the equivalent of jeans and tee-shirt, sometimes a long sleeve shirt. I know for a FACT it happens, and routinely. I worked there. Plenty of older guys with families working there.

I poop on your "jobs Americans won't do" argument.

VaSteve · 12-03-2007, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlowToady

I poop on your "jobs Americans won't do" argument.

I wasn't saying I held that argument, just made a nice title. I grew up around DC, so I always see a lot of different folks. Whenever I leave this area, I find what we'd describe as "typical Americans" doing all sorts of stuff. I was really surprised to find it in NY.

berettafan · 12-03-2007, 05:17 PM

i put myself through college washing dishes, bussing tables and later waiting tables in a busy italian joint in OC. that dish pit on an August night was NOT a pleasant place to be i can tell you. in fact it was so painful i remember when the owners introduced a fruit punch machine for the employees and someone had the wise idea to add grain alcohol to it. good gravy those were some rough nights! i will never forget the night Brian C. got so liquored up he stripped completely naked save for a small apron and climbed up on the stainless counter making monkey sounds within sight of the swinging doors that went out in the dining room. and he was a bright mf'r too. quite a few of us were really, we just didn't have mommies and daddies with big pocket books to put us through college.

jobs Americans won't do my ass. people who say this are telling an awful lot about themselves (and none of it is positive).

PatrickB · PatrickB's Garage

It's more about illegals doing work that American's won't do for a 50% pay cut.

tdatk · 12-03-2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaSteve

Middle aged white guys doing construction. .

I resemble that remark

Actually Steve I'm getting upper middle aged at 49 and still get dirty at work. You need to drop by the plant sometime, you'd be suprised at how many middle aged guys are out there making an honest living.

Zeke · 12-03-2007, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatrickB

It's more about illegals doing work that American's won't do for a 50% pay cut.

Spot on. I've been run out of a couple of trades that way. However, that's not a bad thing in some ways. I'm not gonna start some kind of racial argument here because none of it would be valid, but one doesn't see a lot of non-white, high end finish carpenters. No reason for that, IMHO, because there are tons of guys working in the furniture industry in factories. They could take it out in the field if they wanted to.

I think we are stereotyping.

2.7RACER · 06:39 PM

Americans hire illegal aliens, always have.
There has been a quiet "wink wink" regarding this since before WW2.
Really way before that if you count the Chinese that built the overland railroad system over 100 years ago.
Cheap labor and huge profits.
A huge segment of agriculture today owes it's profits to "imported" labor.
All of these businesses have a vested interest in keeping the stream of cheap labor.
These Americans are now and for generations have been very successful in the halls of state legislatures and Congress to limiting any laws restricting the use of this cheap labor.
So why is it agriculture and construction seem to be the biggest users of illegal labor?
Simple, you can't out source picking fruit or building homes like you can with manufacturing.
Hey if I build my TVs in Taiwan or Indonesia I get the cheap labor and I don't worry about some border patrol types.
Can't get my apples picked in Taiwan because they are on my farm in Washington.
Now this is the American way.
Can't outsource truck driving or serving burgers, but "these folks" are looking for cheaper ways to do that to.
Oh, by the way, "these folks" are you and your neighbors always looking to cut cost of doing business.
Illegals make great union busters too. But that's another story.
I'll guaruntee you if all these aliens weren't hired by loyal Americans at half the price they pay Americans to do the same job, the alien issue would dissolve in a heart beat.
So all of you folks that want the "illegal" issue solved talk to the Americans living on the hill making a fortune off illegal labor.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I have never seen an immigrant doing a job that I haven't already done - wash dishes, construction, flip burgers, work at 7-11, move furniture, deliver boxes, bus tables - I've done it all.

A close family friend was a vp at Warner Lambert for many years, made huge money and then got canned in the early 90's. He then started a small payroll business that didn't do too well and folded. Still, he didn't need to work anymore, but wanted to work with his hands. For the last 15 yrs. or so he's been a construction worker, not a gen. contractor, not a boss. He's on a crew. He bought a big pickup, works outdoor, builds stuff and is the happiest guy in the world.

the · 12-03-2007, 06:35 PM

Fluffer used to be a distinctly American job, until the damn Swedish took it over.

URY914 · 12-03-2007, 06:47 PM

What about being a moderator on a forum? Outsource it.

1fastredsc · 12-03-2007, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlowToady

How about working at a Jiffy Lube for $7-8 an hour, changing oil in cars that aren't allowed to cool down in 100 degree weather. Or changing oil in the middle of the winter while it's crapping snow and is blistering cold, with the garage doors open while wearing the equivalent of jeans and tee-shirt, sometimes a long sleeve shirt. I know for a FACT it happens, and routinely. I worked there. Plenty of older guys with families working there.

I poop on your "jobs Americans won't do" argument.

I did that for a summer for less money, but they provided washed mechanics overalls to keep our normal clothes clean. A lot of fun that job was, definitely one of the better ones i've had.

Shuie · 12-03-2007, 07:28 PM

Add building cabinets to the list. There isn't a single person in this city that works on a cabinet shop floor that will admit to being able to speak english.

2.7RACER · 12-03-2007, 07:45 PM

Shuie,
It would be instructive to determine the owners of those cabinet shops.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

That dude on "Dirty Jobs" looks like a gringo to me. . .

Americans will do any job for the right price. Think of the guy that has to jack off bulls in order to inseminate cows artificially with a turkey baster. American guy? Yep.

If someone is willing to jerk off livestock, I can't believe there are any jobs an American won't do.

dd74 · 12-03-2007, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Americans will do any job for the right price. Think of the guy that has to jack off bulls in order to inseminate cows artificially with a turkey baster. American guy? Yep.

I know an American guy who does that with race horses. You don't want to know the bank he makes. Maybe you do want to know that he speaks to the horses in French.

SlowToady · 12-03-2007, 09:41 PM

High five for J-Lube guys:-P I did it for around 4 and a half years for $6.75. I bought and maintained my 944 on that money. Man, do you know many many quarts of oil I had to drain, and how many oil filters I had to change to buy that car? Damn! Hehe...

We also had uniforms, I was just likening them to jeans and tee-shirts, because, basically, that's what they were. They cleaned them, but we paid $7 or $10 a week for it.

I agree, that job was actually a hell of a lot of fun. Met some cool people, learned a LOT of about both life and cars, and had fun doing it. There was also a lot of $$ to be made on the side if you were sharp and on the hustle...

VaSteve, that wasn't directed at you specifically:-P Sorry if you felt that it was, I didn't intend it to be. It was just a general statement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1fastredsc

I did that for a summer for less money, but they provided washed mechanics overalls to keep our normal clothes clean. A lot of fun that job was, definitely one of the better ones i've had.