What you do for a living (work, job)?

Profile pic change !!!??

 

Thats a lot of RUBBER !!!

 

I bet...i've met you and i deduced that you're a strong person to have in any circle, even if it's a bunch of 50 year old kids.

I can tell you this, and i'm not tooting my own horn....i do a hell of a job and it's noticed. It takes a certain kind of personality to deal with unionized groups and still have the upper hand. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but having been a part of an enormous amount of diversity i can relate to any one of them, piss them off one day and then be best friends the next. When the water all boils out i'm still a nice and tasty buttery substance that they're left with.

 

go to the "green room" and find the graveyarders thread. You'll be quite entertained at the avatars that have been jacked with!

 

I'm not anti union by the way. It just seems the longer "some" of these guys work the more entitled they think they are to do almost nothing. Hell , I've been doing this for over 37 years working harder than ever in a 40 hr week and still teaching the young guys. It doesn't take long to figure someone out. Emm....butter. Although I'm more like bacon.

(Got snot by the way??) heh heh

 

I worked graveyard for 18 months in a plywood mill ages ago. Totally different world. No one was normal after awhile. Not necessarily a bad thing...

 

I'm not anti union either. I'm not part of one, but my techs are. From their experience so far (it's been a year now) they would rather me represent them than their local chapter. IBEW is not for cable workers but they somehow got the contract. I'm pretty sure they have no idea what our business is about. I really like most of my techs, and i even like the IBEW higher ups. I've a great rapport due to my ability to see all sides and the relationship i have with the shop stewards. Our relationships have not suffered one bit, and i definitely like the perks they've received in return for joining the union. It makes my job a little more rigid, but i can handle it. It's actually working out very well for all parties in the area i manage, which is a fairly large portion of CO. Working for AT&T has been an enormous change from DIRECTV but one that has posed more of a challenge to my capabilities rather than my soul. I kinda like the ever changing duties rather than the monotony of olden ways.

 

When I started running projects 35 years ago one manager told me that the key to success was to be able to tell someone that they are a no good worthless SOB and have em walk off thinking you're a really great guy!

 

I can call a guy to tell him that he's being written up for breaching Code of Business Conduct and we end the conversation laughing. I've been told that i'm too lite of a manager, though my sites perform in the top 3 every month out of 25 in my region. I'm 43 and have been managing different organizations since college and i can tell you....corporate management is a totally different ball game.

 

I'm pretty pro union. Working my way up through the ranks from apprentice to journeyman, Forman, GF, superintendent, and management doing contracts and bidding while learning how to build CPM schedules and presentations for JOC and design build work.
I've stayed with contractors that allowed me to decline the company package and keep my union fringe. Work has ranged from water treatment and ground up architecture to heavy civil with both dry and wet utilities. Have 2 national awards for historical restorations, AZ State capitol and a courthouse. I'm looking forward to being retired in 6 months, having built every house I've lived in (except for the first one I bought at 19 in Tucson), I'm tired of this crap. Will be looking for a manufactured home on acres with a huge metal building for building furniture and my blacksmith shop.

 

THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!!!!! You've had a great career and been able to craft it how you wanted it. I'm not near there, but have been in multiple industries; foreman for a small time homebuilder in Charleston, SC, respiratory therapy, restaurant management, taught different types of outdoor skills (rock climbing, rafting, kayaking, etc), many other menial positions, and now management in telecom. This is the most rigid of all industries i've been in, and rightfully so i would assume. It's a fast paced industry and i'm not in the union due to being in management. The IBEW was just awarded the contract mid 2016 and so it's very new to many, including myself. It would seem that HR is more intimidated by the process of dealing with the union than the actual actions of the union. I appreciate what they've done for my guys though it ties my hands a little more, which is absolutely fine with me. I've never really had an issue with my employees anyway.

I'm appreciative of what you shared in your last post. I love hearing that a long line of hard work eventually pays off, and the mention of the work is not via complaint.
I'm proud of you for guiding a career in the direction you've been able to appreciate. I'm not in AZ very often but really would like to see some of your work. I'll reach out next time i head that way!

 

What kind of facility is it you manage?

 

@Almaboy our posts crossed in the zone. I'm sure we Will enjoy tipping a beer or sharing a good scotch! I'm located about midway between flagstaff and Phoenix.
Do you get this way often?

 

AT&T purchased DIRECTV at the beginning of 2016. At that time i had 3 peers and we managed about 50 technicians installing and servicing DTV covering 57,000 sq miles in the northwest portion of CO (Vail, Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, Grand Junction, Durango, and many other small towns that fit into that northwest corner). Basically, the cutoff line is about 50 miles west of Denver all the way to Utah, into Wyoming, and reaching to about 80 miles from NM.

NOW, it's me and one other field manager (managing more techs) that has to cover that entire region by ourselves, QAs, on site visits, scheduling, routing, and MANY other duties that AT&T has thrown at us. The pro is that the clout that i'm gaining from covering those areas, the people that i'm in contact with, and doing 50% of my peer's job has placed me in a very valuable position. The day to day humdrum is a means to make it where i need to go, wherever that may be down the line. The everyday duties are drowning me, but to fire off that i manage the people in those high end customers' homes, and areas for a Fortune 5 company will hopefully put me in a position down the road that will seem more valuable than i really am

 

Not unless i have a reason to. I would like to visit. Maybe travel that way when it's a little cooler? I love Flagstaff and Sedona. Never been to Phoenix

 

Lol......JACKED is putting it lightly !!

 

A sad thing is that last summer I was managing a job in Colorado upgrading traffic signals and re striping the state hi way from Cortez, bayfield, Alamosa, pagosa, Mancos, and some other municipal areas. I ended up with several weekends alone and nothing to do. One weekend I went and checked out zapata falls. Although I was on the forum, I was a lot less engaged.

 

Comedy at it's finest!!

 

That's beautiful!! I need to get down that way more often. CO is an incredible state. I moved here 5 years ago from Hilton Head Island, SC. I'm originally from the southeast

 

Zapata Falls is nice. Not far from my property in Ft. Garland. I've hiked up there with my dog a few times.

 

Data quality Analyst for one of the top carbonated beverage companies. Love what I do..love working from home three days a wk..my boss is a mechanical engineer and a 3rd degree lean six sigma black belt..best boss ever

 

Cable guy.

 

By day I'm an Engineering Director designing and developing various electronic systems to protect those who protect us.

On weekends and evenings I fit in all the fun stuff; airplane, motorcycle, Jiu Jitsu, and most recently - developing the FRAC harness for the betterment of Tundras all across the land!

 

I'm a custom builder. I've built new homes, barns, remodels, additions, pool pavilions, commercial projects and more. Here is a pool project I just finished this week. I've also got a 3,000 sq ft addition project that I'm almost done with.
Addition project before any work. Home was built in 1938. All the original tile roof was removed from the home. All of the concrete addition and framing was engineered.

 

Thank you for the compliments. To have a home built around SA area can range greatly pending your home specifications. Examples: lot or land, exterior and interior finishes. But for just a general idea $150-$250 per square ft. You will find track homes for less per sq ft.

 

I'll be in Telluride, CO again December-January. My wife and I have discussed moving to CO. So who knows maybe I'll start building there.

 

I'm going to start up a new division of building just barns. I'm going to make a platform for my designs and process and have a proven platform to go nation wide with. Colorado definitely has a lot of horse owners looking for a well built barn. So long term I plan on either moving to CO or having a second home in CO.