On 5/18/13 11:27 PM, Tim wrote:
On May 18, 1:24 pm, "F.O.A.D." wrote:
On 5/18/13 2:13 PM, Tim wrote:









On May 18, 11:06 am, "F.O.A.D." wrote:
On 5/18/13 10:35 AM, iBoaterer wrote:

In article ,
says...

On 5/17/13 1:08 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 17 May 2013 12:45:13 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

I favor two years of universal service. That could be fulfilled in the
military or in other ways deemed important by society.

I agree 100%. In fact it could really just be a year in some programs
but it should be based on a military model of discipline and
responsibility.

If for no other reason, I liked the military because it made me a
better student. I went from being the "do enough to get by" guy I was
in high school to a guy who wanted to be at the top of my class at
everything I did. The military schools make that a thing worth doing,
Maybe this could also encompass an apprenticeship program if the
thrust of your "service" was in patching up our crumbling
infrastructure. (a worthwhile objective)
The problem is, you could never get this by the unions.

It takes more than a year in an apprenticeship program to learn the sort
of skills necessary to do most heavy and highway, aka, infrastructure,
work. Most of the skilled unions offer three to five year
apprenticeships, half classroom and half work on the job under
supervision. Absolute newcomers usually go through a 12-week job corps
center with union instructors so the students can learn proper job
skills, safety procedures and discipline.

Horse****!

Sorry, but that is exactly how the apprenticeship program works in most
of the skilled building trades.

That is, unless you're like my neighbors son who bought his Carpenters
Union card.

He greased the right palm with 'x' amount of bucks and went to work
the next week earning $28, an hr. plus overtime and $90. perdiem

It happens, but not often, but, hey, all the union corruption since the
beginning of unions in this country doesn't add up to the level of
corruption in the corporate world. And your neighbor's experience still
does not relate to the apprenticeship program.

The "son" must have had some skills, enough to fake it for a while. In
my local, if you claim to have the skills of a journeyman, you report to
the training facility to prove it. If you have some skills, the local
might let you in as an "improver," and then retest you after training
and time on the job.

Not to build metal scaffolds in a power plant. it's like an over grown
erector set. You slide it together and attach bolts with a special
wrench.

The per diem part interests me. In my local, if you have to travel to
work, that's on you, not on the contractor.

Anything over 150 mi. you get the per diem including a motel room for
the week.


Oh. My mistake. I thought the kid had some real skills.