Hey Panhead, I like a spirited debate. Right now I have 5 employee's and I pay them a percentage of my gross business so when the company has its ups and downs their pay checks go up and down and everybody is happy pretty much all the time, as long as we are productive.
My crew would weed out a slacker on day one. And I don't have a big turnover of workers they have been with me for years. So we don't worry about hourly rates or how many hours per day they work, they just work until the work is done and when the check comes they get there percentage of the gross before expenses. Its like profit sharing without the benefits and paid holidays or health care. There are times of the year they have some time off. I hand out 1099's like they are all self employed, they pay there own tax's and it seems to work pretty good.
I pulled out this section to quote cause your business model is much like the way i run/ran our family business , the top 5 guys work full time , make a great living & will weed out any loafers by coffee break .
My company crew is all family , i pay them hourly salaries set at 40 hours ,some weeks they work 50 hrs & others they work 25 hrs & i leave their salary the same weekly amount regardless of hours worked, their salaries are covered by maintaining our rental properties & the 2 self storage facilities we own , we keep profits from this end .
We speculate in real estate also where we buy foreclosed homes , put them back up to code , jazz the places up with modern kitchens & bath , toss in some quick landscaping & flip em back out on the market , we shoot for 40% profit margins on these homes , here is where im able to give out bonuses .
The way i ran my business was i kept 35% of the profits from the home sales & dispersed 65% to my men , like you i believe in keeping a small work force well paid & happy vs larger profits , realtors have noticed the difference in our homes compared to other flip this house quickees where shit work was done .
I trained my son to take over the business & he's running the show now , hopefully he can maintain the business we built for the family .
RTW laws dont effect workers who's employers are like you & me .
Not that open up,
I got two steady and sometime a third in the summer. They don`t sign a contract, can come or go as they please, I pay the vendors, stock, and then I pay my help accordingly when they started and progressively after. I leave room for profit. Offer no IRA or Pensions, or Health Care. have been forced to change my work because of the economy and return to it. I pay my guys enough to get or not get simple things like Health insurance or future investments, I aint cheap and get what I pay out of my guys. I`m even open to barter and give a credit line once earned.
I don`t need to act or behave like a large corporation and I certainly don`t need Federal guidance and I certainly don`t want some construction Union bullying me into joining.
I need to be left alone with my crew so I can grow and expand, not work out of my ole beat up puck up truck and scape by because of Politicians or Unions wanting a piece.
I like being able to fire someone at will, I like being able to hire who I choose at will. I like them doing what I say and not someone else`s opinion.
Now look at it like an employee, He can be fired at will, he can be hired at will, he can quit at will with just his last check due. No contracts or rates. You`ll get what you`re worth.
I shouldn`t have to join a Construction Union and kick in shares. I should have a right to choose and so should my crew.
You've never worked in a construction union shop for long i can see so let me correct some of the anti union rhetoric you posted .
1st being that because your union your magically protected from being fired , any union construction worker can be fired on the spot , slugs get sent to the union hall & never work again , any journeyman or apprentice who's not up to par wont last a day .
The 2nd misnomer is some union goon BULLYING you into joining a union , thats tv show & ABC propaganda , real life scenario is that not all companies are allowed or qualified to join a union , the company track record is scrutinized & substandard contractors who arent certified in many different areas wont qualify for union membership , when unions ASK A CONTRACTOR TO JOIN they show the owner the benifits of joining the union , they offer world class training facilities & seasoned instructors to teach their employees how to perform their trade above building code levels.
They show the prospective contractor the above OSHA standard saftey training the tradesmen will recieve & the updated training their workers will recieve to keep thier skills sharp & keep up with new methods & building systems , its not the picture you painted where some 300lb goon shows up trying to force your company to join anything .
Unions arent chasing one man band pick up truck operations around trying to extort anything from them .
Companies unions do target for membership are large companies doing millions of dollars worth of work & companies with larger work forces where the union management partnership will be benificial to both parties .
If your company grows to 50 men or more being a union shop would be to your advantage , you'd have access to highly skilled journeymen foremans & superintendents who know every aspect of the job & can work unsupervised in a productive & safe manner .
You painted a picture of unions being full of lazy unskilled goons who cant be fired & thats farthest from the truth .
I hold 2 Journeyman cards in different trades as well as being a card holding CCO Operating Engineer & spent 32 yrs in the bldg trades ,everything you posted is the exact oposite of the way construction unions operate & the superior skill set the union trades bring to the table vs their non union counterpart .
