Living Lean by Brett Hinsley, Business Manager, Cement Masons LU 555, Oregon and SW Washington
My
grandmother lived in Koosherem Utah during the depression. The only
things that grow there are rattlesnakes and potatoes. She used to tell
us that there wasn’t a way to cook potatoes known to man that she has
not tried. She was adept at making a living out of nothing. She never
wasted food, she always repaired things instead of buying new and she
cleaned chicken coops for .25 cents an hour as a young girl. She taught
us how to live lean.
My grandfather worked as union Teamster
hauling graders, dozers and other large equipment for LA Young
Construction Company all over the Southwest. LA Young was the only
union construction company in a 300 mile radius. He worked on dams,
roads, bridges and military facilities. He did this for over 30 years.
We didn’t see much of him because of the time that he was on the road.
He taught us about hard work and sacrifice.
I come from 4
generations of construction workers. I grew up on the jobsite. I would
pack block and mortar for my dad, I would strip basement forms, and I
would stay in the hotel room when he was working out of town and wait
for him until the end of the day. I knew from a very young age what I
wanted to do. I also knew what I was asking for. I knew that Christmas
could be lean and that summer could be fat. I knew that there could be
long lay offs and short intense busy summers. I learned that when
everyone is working and you are living high on the hog you do not buy a
new truck. You don’t live paycheck to paycheck. You sharpen your
skills, and work hard because when work slows down the competition gets
tougher.
At our union meeting last night as I scanned the
audience I was struck by how many new faces I saw. Our membership is
changing, over a third of those at the meeting were apprentices. We
have 70 apprentices and about 50 of them are 55% first term
apprentices. For many of them starting this apprenticeship is their
first experience with construction. They do not understand the
lifestyle. They may not be preparing for the lay off. Many times their
first lay off freaks them out enough that they will not continue and
they go back to something more familiar and less intimidating. They
don’t realize that if they manage their wages they can make just as
much in 6 months that they did in 12 months with their previous
employer.
If you remember the panic and uncertainty of your
first time getting a lay off check, take the initiative and pull that
apprentice aside and share some of the lessons that you have learned in
the trade. Let them know that the fat doesn’t last forever and that the
lean times don’t either.
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My
grandmother lived in Koosherem Utah during the depression. The only
things that grow there are rattlesnakes and potatoes. She used to tell
us that there wasn’t a way to cook potatoes known to man that she has
not tried. She was adept at making a living out of nothing. She never
wasted food, she always repaired things instead of buying new and she
cleaned chicken coops for .25 cents an hour as a young girl. She taught
us how to live lean.
