STS, Wabash, IN - Bruce treated you like family. His problem was his heart was bigger than his contracts. He paid his people good wages even if it meant he had to take money from his personal accounts. How many companies do you know that would buy all there employees ( about 20 at that time) a complete set of Carhart's and eskimo boots so they would not get cold in the winter? Granted, eskimo boots advertise you can climb in them but you can't, not easily. I will climb with the best and I had a difficult time not burning poles when I tried to climb in those boots. If my love for "drink" had not been greater than my love for cable I would not have forced Bruce into letting me go. And after ssssssooooooooooooo many chances. At least I got smart and then got sober.
XL Overhead Construction, out of Utah, also treated me right. Would probably still be with them if Mastec had not taken over as prime and set piece rates so low a person could not afford to live in Cali and keep a house for his family in Indiana. Some people may say XL treated them wrong but I would tell those people to learn how to run cable and/or splice. If you were good you got the good runs, runs that were visible. If you were a halfass hack you got sh@# runs in the easement. And if you were a full hack you got gone.
More of us should give cudos to the good companies. Or maybe, people don't want to give cudos because they are afraid of competition. Afraid more people will apply to the good companies; thereby, maybe forcing them out! Could it be cudos are not given because some are persons abilities are not as great as they portray? as great as they have talked themselves into believing?
Just my cudos, thoughts and opinions! Thanks for letting me ramble. Oh, and for those of you who may be wondering, no, I don't believe I am the best splicer/lineman to come down the pike. I will say though, I can keep up with the best in quality and, if not for putting a few more grey hairs on the head (51 yrs old), can still hit 15 locations a day, on hooks, and not just feeder taps.
