> I see, from your user profile, that you are with C.C.I. which is based way up in Iron Mountain, MI. (God's country some have told me...) so here is a small town analogy for you: Let's say that you graduate from high school, back in or around 1980, and immediately get a job at the local feed & grain. You happily discover that the work suits you quite well and the folks that you work with and for are wonderful. Over the next fifteen-year period you receive average yearly pay increases (unamortized for the purpose of this particular example) of 3 to 5% per year, which is more than enough to keep up with inflation and even puts a few extra bucks into your pocket so you can get married, start to raise a family, and even count on doing a regular bit of deer hunting and ice fishing. Then, in the sixteenth year, your employer begins to annually DECREASE your pay rate by approximately 6 to 8% per year with no tangible prospect of reversing this disturbing new trend. Also, to maximize revenue your employer has been shorting customers on the quality of the various product lines, which you carry. The theory being that "we are the only feed & grain in town so what else can they do?" Last year a Walmart and a Pet Smart opened up just outside of the town limits and many of your formerly loyal customers now shop there instead. Oh yeah, one more thing: Throughout most of your employment you have received your check on a weekly basis. The new policy is that you will get it within 30 to 45 days. Now imagine that it is a particularly cold and nasty December winter morning and you are up before the dawn, pulling on your long johns and Carharts and looking forward to the prospect of another day of slinging around 100lb bags of feed. Whoo hoo!!! Chris, you are fortunate in that you work for a great company (employee owned if I am correct?). I would count your own blessings on a daily basis and try to be more empathetic to those who do not share your relatively bountiful security. Have a safe and happy holiday, avoid the black ice and watch out for those other deer hunters during the extended firearm season!
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> > That's a nice neat little package you posted. Too bad it doesn't work that way most of the time, although it should. Maybe next year....Happy holidays.
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> > > Just a couple observations here. (1) In almost all professions 30 days has long been the standard waiting period before being paid, particularly if you are performing the work for a company rather than for consumers in the general public. In fact, some industries work on 60 or 90 days. I've had personal experience in the auto service industry and the building trades, and can tell you that if you can't afford to wait at least 30 days for your money in those businesses your company will never make it. It's different if you are just one guy on your own and working for individuals as customers. You can expect cash on delivery in that situation, but as subs we don't work for individuals, do we. (2) I agree that waiting 30 days in this industry can be dangerous because of all the low-life primes and subs that have cropped up. The answer to that is to check out a prospective company and the project carefully before you sign on the dotted line or travel halfway across the country. If you don't think you have the time or money to do that, what makes you think you will have the time or money to chase your pay when the job turns out to be a fraud? I always ask for solid, verifiable references of any company that is offering me a contract, and the righteous ones never have had a problem with it. The ones who take offense are the ones to avoid. (3) There is an awful lot of complaining done on here about lack of work, lack of pay, pay too far out, cheating primes, cheating subs, cheating cable companies, etc... but most of that is done by a fairly small group of people when you consider how many folks work in this field. I'm not trying to slam anybody here, but the reason everybody here seems to be complaining is that they are the only ones who have time for it. The majority of cable dogs are too busy working to hang around here whining, and come to think of it they don't have anything to complain about anyway. I've worked with a lot of guys, both subs and in-house, and you know what? Even in these tight times, the ones who keep the whining to a minimum and do decent work still have all the work they want, and at way better prices than you'll find posted on here. These folks have found that a good reputation is money in the bank. I know a sub who is paying subs under him 35-40 cents a foot for splicing in midwest right now, and has been for years. He recently told me he was looking for a few more splicers, and asked me to pass it on to a couple guys we know, but you'll never see that project posted here. Most of the good work goes to guys that have already developed a good rep with the guys doing the hiring based on past personal experience. (4) Sorry to get up on a soapbox at the end there. I'll be quiet now, and take my punishment like a man.
