Running Bear's January 2022 Coffee Shop

[roofintrash]

Ha ha ha… paid time off and holidays…
Real funny, guys…
Twelve years in a technical job.
Paid holidays: 0
The business is closed one day— Christmas.
If I want to be paid and take a day off, I get to use a vacation day.
That’s the only good thing, after 12+ years, I get 22 of them, but can only take up to 5 at once. No two week vacations here.

43 years of heavy construction. Mills, refineries, road construction, pipelines. Zero paid holidays!!! If you aren't there, you ain't gettin paid. Spoiled ass office workers!! LOL

 

[chadbag]

Smudge, you are correct sir!

Nearly half (49.2% according to the chamber of commerce) of all Americans work for small businesses. If you include the self-employed (28.2% according to Forbes magazine) I believe these figures may overlap. But it would be accurate to say most americans.

I'm self-employed and a good part of my business has been as a business consultant. Mostly small businesses, but several are fortune 500 companies. I have seen first hand how bad it can be for small business employees. This is where I have to keep my blinders on. I stick to logistics, efficiency and fleet maintenance. The benefits of the employees is out of my sphere of influence.

Most small businesses have have few if any paid days off. Christmas is the exception for many. Some offer vacation pay. Its not unusual for the employee to work 2-3 or even 5 years of service before meeting electability for vacation.

Some unions like the operating engineers have no vacation or sick time. A few of these employers do offer vacation and sick time to these members, but it is not mandatory.. On the other hand the average member can easily make over $100,000 dollars and they have good healthcare and retirement plans.

Wal-Mart and Amazon are the two largest employers in the USA. They do offer better benefits, but pay is near minimum and their dirty secret is, most employees are part-time.

Therefore you can say most Americans have little to no paid days off. Ill go further and say most Americans do not have good benefits especially healthcare. If most Americans get sick and can no longer work, many will face bankruptcy.

The upside, America is still there land of opportunity. If you want more, work smarter and harder. As long as you are healthy enough to do so.

I think you will find that most small businesses DO offer paid time off and paid holidays. Obviously, self employed folks pay themselves and so don't really factor into the equation. I am not sure what you call a "small business" but, at least the ones offering full-time work, the ones I have seen, have offered paid time off. Most small businesses DO offer paid holidays [at least the federal level, non bank holiday, ones] and paid time off (show me factual evidence to the contrary) -- at least in "career type" full time jobs. Fast food and beginning level jobs, most of which are part time, probably don't offer much if any. That is part of choosing a part time, non career level (starter) job.

I encourage you to look deeply at the stats at https://www.zippia.com/advice/pto-statistics/

Again, non of this is mandated by law. Most companies have to offer it to be competitive.

 

[Smudge617]

Smudge, you are correct sir!

Nearly half (49.2% according to the chamber of commerce) of all Americans work for small businesses. If you include the self-employed (28.2% according to Forbes magazine) I believe these figures may overlap. But it would be accurate to say most americans.

I'm self-employed and a good part of my business has been as a business consultant. Mostly small businesses, but several are fortune 500 companies. I have seen first hand how bad it can be for small business employees. This is where I have to keep my blinders on. I stick to logistics, efficiency and fleet maintenance. The benefits of the employees is out of my sphere of influence.

Most small businesses have have few if any paid days off. Christmas is the exception for many. Some offer vacation pay. Its not unusual for the employee to work 2-3 or even 5 years of service before meeting electability for vacation.

Some unions like the operating engineers have no vacation or sick time. A few of these employers do offer vacation and sick time to these members, but it is not mandatory.. On the other hand the average member can easily make over $100,000 dollars and they have good healthcare and retirement plans.

Wal-Mart and Amazon are the two largest employers in the USA. They do offer better benefits, but pay is near minimum and their dirty secret is, most employees are part-time.

Therefore you can say most Americans have little to no paid days off. Ill go further and say most Americans do not have good benefits especially healthcare. If most Americans get sick and can no longer work, many will face bankruptcy.

The upside, America is still there land of opportunity. If you want more, work smarter and harder. As long as you are healthy enough to do so.

That's what I thought, I know I'm old, but I'm not senile just yet. I don't know how you guy's manage it. I don't.
I couldn't live like that, spend so much time and effort working, and and the only reason to spend so much time working is to pay for the healthcare I know I'm going to need, because I've spent so much of my life working I'm f$%^*d oh! And also for my retirement that I can't enjoy because I spent so much of my life working so I'm still f$%&€d.
Hope you guy's don't mind if I stay my side of the pond.

 

[PNKFLOYD]

the red ones you see often in films are London ones.

Jaz- I think you have more buses on your layout than VWs!

 

[OBTC 1909]

That's what I thought, I know I'm old, but I'm not senile just yet. I don't know how you guy's manage it. I don't.
I couldn't live like that, spend so much time and effort working, and and the only reason to spend so much time working is to pay for the healthcare I know I'm going to need, because I've spent so much of my life working I'm f$%^*d oh! And also for my retirement that I can't enjoy because I spent so much of my life working so I'm still f$%&€d.
Hope you guy's don't mind if I stay my side of the pond.

I retired in 2016 but went back to work near the end of 2019 because of the cost of health care. The amount we were spending from our pensions on health insurance left little for anything else, so I went to work at a place that offers employer subsidized health insurance. I'm still spending around $600 a month on insurance premiums for my wife and me, but my employer pays the lions share of the premiums. I'd love to retire again but don't really feel like I can as long as insurance costs what it does.

 

[CambriaArea51]

The official snow amount was 25.5". Today it got to 40 and then back to the deep freeze. Been busy getting things cleaned up and snow pushed back before it ends up a chunk of ice.

 

[PNKFLOYD]

I put in the freight doors and cut out the very fragile freight house roof braces.

Curt- Are you sure that is a freight house? With all those doors, it look more like a 50's motel.

 

[Bruette]

Seems that healthcare isn't important when they have to pay for it themselves.
People want others to invest in them but they won't invest in themselves.

Being self-insured since October 2020 I am more than happy to invest in my own healthcare. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" I have saved over $10,000 in that time being self-insured. Even with a $614 monthly cost for prescriptions. My wife is not happy about it. She worries about a catastrophic health problem.

What I am not happy about is seeing so many people investing in healthcare, only to see some of the the money used to pay dividends for healthcare stock holders. Or seeing my tax dollars go to waste on people having no choice other than to show up in emergency rooms for care. Or worse yet seeing the elderly having to work part time jobs to pay for prescriptions.
I am a deeply proud and committed capitalist, but I will never see the wisdom in any of that!

 

[Bruette]

I think you will find that most small businesses DO offer paid time off and paid holidays. Obviously, self employed folks pay themselves and so don't really factor into the equation. I am not sure what you call a "small business" but, at least the ones offering full-time work, the ones I have seen, have offered paid time off. Most small businesses DO offer paid holidays [at least the federal level, non bank holiday, ones] and paid time off (show me factual evidence to the contrary) -- at least in "career type" full time jobs. Fast food and beginning level jobs, most of which are part time, probably don't offer much if any. That is part of choosing a part time, non career level (starter) job.

I encourage you to look deeply at the stats at https://www.zippia.com/advice/pto-statistics/

Again, non of this is mandated by law. Most companies have to offer it to be competitive.

How many elderly people have you seen working in what you call starter jobs?

I speak from personal experience as a consultant for over 35 years. I have dealt with hundreds of small businesses.

Ill not say any more, as this will become a political discussion. I can hear the propaganda talking points already.

 

[Bruette]

That's what I thought, I know I'm old, but I'm not senile just yet. I don't know how you guy's manage it. I don't.
I couldn't live like that, spend so much time and effort working, and and the only reason to spend so much time working is to pay for the healthcare I know I'm going to need, because I've spent so much of my life working I'm f$%^*d oh! And also for my retirement that I can't enjoy because I spent so much of my life working so I'm still f$%&€d.
Hope you guy's don't mind if I stay my side of the pond.

I love working, I get antsy when I'm not working. My circumstances are unique. My health sidelined me for almost 10 years. I was offered hospice care. Being Catholic i have had my Last Rites three times.
I was fortunate to have the resources to survive. I'm thankful to be able to work again. I love telling my doctors they were wrong about me. "I'm not dead yet!"
I can't do many of the things I once did. I can't be productive for more than a few hours at a time, but I'm still making profit! Now that my wife works with me full time I'm beginning to rival the profits I made in some of my best years. Thank God!
I honestly hope I never have to retire again.

 

[Bruette]

My best advice, if what you are doing is not working, do something else!

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" - Albert Einstein.

 

[NYC_George]

43 years of heavy construction. Mills, refineries, road construction, pipelines. Zero paid holidays!!! If you aren't there, you ain't gettin paid. Spoiled ass office workers!! LOL

All the construction jobs I worked on paid double time for holiday work. Only occasionally did we work on holidays. When I worked on the RR all the holiday passenger jobs were scheduled as round trips. If you had less then 15 years seniority you worked 4 of these round trips getting a day's pay for each. I worked every 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. never having any of them off being one of the reasons I left the railroad.
Went back to the construction industry's seven-hour day except when we were changing out the turbines at Indian Point Nuclear Plant which was 12 hours a day 7 days a week. I only lasted 2 weeks on that job. I told them I want out of here.
George

 

[TLOC]

Hello global modelers. Weather in So. Central Wisconsin is cold and getting colder. A balmy +6f degrees wuith the wind chill feel of -8. Thursday high is real +11 but wind chill feel of -3. It should reach -25 wind chill around 6pm tomorrow. Bundle up, keep the skin covered and carry on.

Medical in the USA is a disaster waiting to happen or as some people have noticed is happening now. Without getting into politics but skirting that, here’s the solution. Stop the healthcare benefits the members of Congress recieve and allow them early Medicare benefits healthcare. Within 2 years USA healthcare would be a world model. But, that will never happen.

Model trains. Sales of pulp wood weathered cars is slow, like non existence slow. BUT, weathered pulp wood cars with custom made removable pulp loads by TomO is brisk. 8 today. I put together 8 loads today and i need more branches but it was too cold to go foraging in the woods today. Still waiting for glue to dry and they will be packaged and shipped by 3pm tomorrow.

Today’s big mistake was spraying camo paint on foam outside of the spray booth. It shrunk the foam and made the house smell. Let’s say the ladies are not happy with me and I am not happy either. Just stupid.

Groceries. We generally shop on Sunday or Monday. Today we hit 2 stores we generally don’t shop at. Krogers Pick & Save and Festival Foods. As per Willie’s reporting method, 100% face mask coverage in both stores. Empty shelves, oh yeah. Kroger had many many empties or almost empty. I did see though a couple aisles had items to be placed in those empty shelves. But, not enough staff to do it. Looked like they were doing one aisle at a time with like 5-8 people working an aisle. Front end cashier area had 3 cashiers and no baggers. The front end supervisor looked close to a heart attack, no one answering her pleas on the loud speaker to come to the front. I think they were in the aisle stacking shelves. Festival Foods had the front end stocked with 2 cashiers and 2 baggers. The front end manager was on a lift loading shelves as were 4 other supervisors per name tags. The butcher was out from behind the counter working the fish cooler. I know one of the supervisors and asked her why she was stacking shelves. They had 6 Covid cases call in this morning and 4 others just calling in as a day off.

Time off from work in the USA. I have worked in Union and non union shops and I can tell you from a managers view I’d take the Union shop everytime. There was time off and benefits for Union shops. Non union shops paid higher wages to start but with no benefits and NO ONE working 32 hours or more. All production staff was part time and not entitle to any benefits. That’s my view but YMMV, I am not going to debate this. I know what I saw but other areas of the USA maybe or were different.

Watching the NY Ranger/Toronto NHL game. I dislike Toronto more then I do the New York team. I totally think Keith Jones is terrible as a TV analyst guy.

TomO

waiting for loads

 

[NYC_George]

The very start of my new project which will be later posted in the structure's forum. I plan on creating a 3D caboose end. Just starting to figure out where the ladder and railing, windows etc. position will be. It will have a white stripped safety paint job. George

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Have a server crash I gotta deal with. Fortunately, it's non-production, but still very important (it runs my backups). I may have to do something different and soon.

Off tomorrow as I'm working Saturday., but I may be working tomorrow anyway.

 

[NYC_George]

Yesterday I said, I worked at the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. At first, I was on the crew that dug by hand 10ft down to the intake cooling pipes from the Hudson River. They had to be changed and new pipes installed. Backhoes were not allowed to do any digging there. It was all done by hand. That was done in 2 weeks. When they then assigned me to go indoors and help with the removal of the turbines which still had, all though small radioactive water in them. I called the union and said, get me out of here. A friend of mine who I went to school with worked the whole outage later got leukemia and his teeth all started falling out. He said it's most likely from the time I worked there but hard to prove.
George

 

[tootnkumin]

Jaz- I think you have more buses on your layout than VWs!

A very, very old saying about London Buses was, "If you miss your Bus, don't worry, another one will be along in a few minutes". My Father told me that he drove new cars across London in 1935 to dealers. A picture of Queen Victoria Street, London 1935

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning Gang!!

Flo, Can I get some sausage and gravy over some of your light fluffy biscuits and a large coffee. Before you bring that can I get 3 fingers of Kentucky bourbon in a glass, neat. Just watched the V.P. on the morning news and I can't get the bile taste out of my mouth.

Willie. The barn looks good!

Patrick, why did the server crash, excessive speed, black ice, hydroplaning?

Tom, like the pulpwood cars!

George. The caboose is cool, would love to see it when it's done! Also sounds like you co-worker needs a good scheister lawyer.

BBL

 

[OBTC 1909]

Good morning all! A toasty 11 degrees and sunny heading for 25 and sunny. I have today and tomorrow off. Gonna try to get some stuff done around here today and then having lunch with my parents tomorrow.

Found out from a news story that my free Google Workspace account is getting phased out in a few months, so need to find new email hosting for my one domain. When Workspace, which I believe was called Apps at the time, went from all free to paid, they promised that the free users would always have the free service but no new free accounts would be allowed. Guess they forgot about that and decided the free users needed to start paying. Not sure what I'm going to do about it yet. Don't need it bad enough to justify the cost of Workspace since the only feature I use is the email portion. Don't even care about the other things that come with it.

Been using the new laptop for a week now and loving it. Windows 11 is ok, but considering switching back to Linux. I've used Linux Mint as my daily driver for years now and it's hard going back to Windows. I don't hate it, I just like Linux Mint better.

Hope to get in some kind of train time today, though I'm not sure what yet. Just gonna see how the day plays out. Hope you all have a great day!

 

[TLOC]

Good morning Gang!!

Flo, Can I get some sausage and gravy over some of your light fluffy biscuits and a large coffee. Before you bring that can I get 3 fingers of Kentucky bourbon in a glass, neat. Just watched the V.P. on the morning news and I can't get the bile taste out of my mouth.

Willie. The barn looks good!

Patrick, why did the server crash, excessive speed, black ice, hydroplaning?

Tom, like the pulpwood cars!

George. The caboose is cool, would love to see it when it's done! Also sounds like you co-worker needs a good scheister lawyer.

BBL

Thank you Karl regarding the pulp cars

TomO