r/Construction

So I used to like to wear the wife beta let those arms, shoulders and neck get nice and tan. Then I’ll go home and cover my chest and tan my belly so I got a sports bra tan line goin. Then the next day I’ll go shirtless at break and at home because walking towards people looks like you were wearing a bra then they turn back as you walk by and your back looks you had a wife beta on. It’s good for a day and will impress everyone with your commitment to pull it off. But I’ve been hesitant to bust this out recently as I sure someone will be offended.

"100 men swing clubs and bats and we all wear protective hard hats!"

I'm pretty sure it was from a Mad magazine story from like 55-60 years ago. Some satirical story about striking construction workers or something. A whole crowd of them laid into the scabs who were trying to break the picket line, chanting that little ditty. Stuck with me, all these years.

Asking for a friend: Got pretty serious injuries that require multiple surgeries from an accident on the job. Was heavily overworked and relied on for everything, doesn’t care for employees, no foreman on site. Unsure if company will be paying hospital bills, and time off. (This is all they would be hypothetically suing for) Meeting with them in a few days but want to be prepared if company decides to not take care of the bills.

They’re worried if they sue (if company refuses to pay) that they will be blacklisted & unable to find another job. (Not worried about losing current job)

Anyone have any experience/knowledge on whether this could lead to being blacklisted? Do they eat the cost of everything for the worry of not finding another job??

Thank you in advance!!

Edit: they’re an employee, not contract labor!

I worked in sales most of my life, I have kids. I have bills to pay and I'm trying to figure out how I can get into a trade job and what trade job I should look at with zero education. I feel like I've been going around in circles in my own head trying to figure this out. I know going to college can help but I need to have insurance on my kids. I'm 40 years old. I've been just looking at different things and I feel like I'm starting to go a little mad. Honestly I'm just looking to see if anyone else has been in my boat and what they decided to do and how did they go about doing it. Anyways, any help would be great.

Quick backstory: 

I was the first non-blood relative hire, 4 years ago. We currently have 7 employees and have grown exponentially. We’ve been through some sh!+. We do so many things. From demo to framing to finish carpentry, to some ground work and concrete, pole barns, some commercial, remodels, new construction, you name it. 

First year I was salary. Second year, switched to hourly, which worked in my favor because overtime. At 3 year mark I got another raise of a couple bucks, and I had to have a conversation about inflation and how even after my raise I was making less money than when I first started. So I got another $2 bump. 

Because it’s such a young company, every year is different. Everything changes. Theres such little consistency and I hounded them for 3 years for an employee handbook before they finally got one. (Which isn't much help at all and reads more like a "This Book Covers Our A$s and Holds All Employees To Certain Standards, But Not Us...") On the flipside, they do continually add benefits each year. Which is nice. Where I live, getting PTO, Health Insurance, etc, isn't the standard unless you in a major company (typically commercial). Yes, its a Right To Work state.

Fastforward to now, its been 13 months since the last raise, and this is the email exchange we just had…

…..

Me: 

I noticed that it's been about 13 months since my last raise (pay period Jun 4 - 17, 2023, i believe). 

Just curious if or when i will get another one, or if standards have changed and i missed it or have forgotten? I wouldn't put it passed me to have missed something! Haha.

Please let me know if there's something I've done or anything that needs to be addressed. 

I do appreciate you guys and all you do. i know i don't communicate that enough.

Cheers

Employer:

Well we have given a raise annually out of the kindness of our hearts, it’s not a standard or a guarantee to get one every year.  But if you would like to discuss it we can.  

……

I realize context is everything with this sort of thing. But I don’t know how much context would be needed in this particular exchange. 

If someone would like to shed some light on this in a different way than I have interpreted it, by all means! Please help. But me, knowing very intimately every single detail of context, my blood pressure has been through the roof ever since I received the reply. It’s like a major slap in the face. Wind taken out of my sales is an understatement. 

What would you do…?

The company I work for supplies us with hard hats of varying color depending on position. They are the basic MSA full brims. I was wanting to look at the lift DAX suspension system since I know it’s much more comfortable than the cheap MSA suspension. Does anyone know if the lift suspension systems will lock into an MSA brain bucket? I cannot for the life of me find the answer on google so I appreciate y’all!

I’m a physician working on a project to address the high rate of opioid overdose in construction workers. One of the questions we have is about access to treatment benefits for those who do have a problem that needs treatment. Setting aside (for now) the issues of work injuries, pain, lack of time off and stigma about use, and focusing only (for now) on the issue of health benefits, can you help me understand how often those of you who are independent contractors, or are hired via a platform like Instawork, or hired via temp agencies have access to decent healthcare benefits?

I would appreciate your insights.