scaffold builder going to fort mac, help please

Kakato

Kakato

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countryboy said:
That's an assumption, Gerry. You don't know the circumstances of his employment and neither do I. I do assume it's a legal arrangement or else he won't be able to get past the border.

And, I don't think the term "leech" is appropriate anyway. He's working for his money, he's not coming here to "rob" anyone! You know the arrangment, I'm sure - a fair day's pay for an honest day's work.

By the way, using your analogy, there are lots of Canadian "leeches" down in the U.S., stealing jobs away from Americans. I used to be one of them. And I wouldn't appreciate being called a leech - to my knowledge, I never was...in fact, I made a lot of good friends down there.
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My bro's a mechanic at the fort for Finning and he says they have guys from australia working for them, and because of the modified shift schedule they have employees from Australia that fly home every 3 weeks for their days off.
My bro moved to California and commutes to mac also.

Fort Mac is the last place I would go for work and I know allmost all the big wigs there as they mostly came from the shell mine here.
So when cp/fording took the mines here over in a hostile takeover many of the guys went to the Mac and are there still but they commute home for days off.

My bro says he should have went up there years ago,as a heavy duty mechanic he makes close to a hundred grand a year without OT.
 
Canaduh

Canaduh

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Kakato said:
My bro's a mechanic at the fort for Finning and he says they have guys from australia working for them, and because of the modified shift schedule they have employees from Australia that fly home every 3 weeks for their days off.
My bro moved to California and commutes to mac also.

Fort Mac is the last place I would go for work and I know allmost all the big wigs there as they mostly came from the shell mine here.
So when cp/fording took the mines here over in a hostile takeover many of the guys went to the Mac and are there still but they commute home for days off.

My bro says he should have went up there years ago,as a heavy duty mechanic he makes close to a hundred grand a year without OT.
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My dad works as a foreman on one of the biggest mines in Western Australia and has friends in upper management for a global crane/ rigging company. He said that Canadian mining companies are trying to recruit Aussies for anything from truck drivers to heavy duty diesel mechanics.

I highly doubt the mining companies would pay millions a year in air fares, plus the visa requirements/ hassles if they could get local skilled labor. All this talk of foreigners taking Canadian jobs is a joke.
 
Kakato

Kakato

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sensfan said:
My dad works as a foreman on one of the biggest mines in Western Australia and has friends in upper management for a global crane/ rigging company. He said that Canadian mining companies are trying to recruit Aussies for anything from truck drivers to heavy duty diesel mechanics.

I highly doubt the mining companies would pay millions a year in air fares, plus the visa requirements/ hassles if they could get local skilled labor. All this talk of foreigners taking Canadian jobs is a joke.
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Good mechanics can make lots of bucks and fort Mac isnt the nicest place to live,money isnt everything.
Airfare is cheap compared to moving someone from the east and subsidizing their housing and everything to get settled.

Oh,and we still havent forgiven you Aussies for stealing all our China coal contracts with your heavily subsidized coal mines back in the 80's but we got them back.
You guys cost Canadian miners thousands of jobs and billions in dollars because you couldnt compete on a level playing field and had your govt. bailing you out.

Free trade must have really sucked for you guys when it went through.
Were back to being China's #1 customer for clean coal now.
Aussie mines could take a few lessons from Canada on running a mine,your mines may be the biggest but their not very efficient and dont know how to make a profit without subsidys.

We on the other hand are experts in mining as shown by our global involvement in new prospects around the world.;-)
 
Canaduh

Canaduh

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Kakato said:
Good mechanics can make lots of bucks and fort Mac isnt the nicest place to live,money isnt everything.
Airfare is cheap compared to moving someone from the east and subsidizing their housing and everything to get settled.

Oh,and we still havent forgiven you Aussies for stealing all our China coal contracts with your heavily subsidized coal mines back in the 80's but we got them back.
You guys cost Canadian miners thousands of jobs and billions in dollars because you couldnt compete on a level playing field and had your govt. bailing you out.

Free trade must have really sucked for you guys when it went through.
Were back to being China's #1 customer for clean coal now.
Aussie mines could take a few lessons from Canada on running a mine,your mines may be the biggest but their not very efficient and dont know how to make a profit without subsidys.

We on the other hand are experts in mining as shown by our global involvement in new prospects around the world.;-)
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Tell me about it. The amount of money Rio Tinto/ BHP/ Woodside and however many other smaller companies throw away daily would be enough to run most canadian provinces on, its just ridiculous.

A few years ago when the labor shortage was at its worst they where flying in basically anyone that could walk. Mostly from other states then paying their rent, chartered flights FIFO, a days pay at penalty rates for flying and every other type of allowance they could get. My dads mine had cleaners starting on 90k, dump truck/ water truck drivers at 110k and anything skilled like boilies/ mechanics etc 130k.
 
jjaycee98

jjaycee98

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Jan 27, 2006
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azezzo said:
ok I am a carpenter/scaffold builder from chicago and i am supposedly going to be getting a job building scaffold up at fort mac, hopefully taking 2 carpenters with me, they will fly me up there but wonder if i would be better off driving up there instead, i have a newer 4x4 truck diesel. So do i need a car up there or should i leave it at home.
how much is diesel up there per gallon? are things in the stores more expensive up there, being that its in the middle of no where? any and all info/advice would be appreciated, i am supposed to go up next month.

thanks
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You haven't said how long this job is going to last and whether it's 24/7 till done or if you will have the odd day off. What about rainy days?

You could ask the people for whom you are doing the job, if there is a vehicle available to go into town once in a while. There may be others to get a lift from also.

Is it possible to go with your truck and have expenses paid so that you have some independence? A friend says there are some good fishing spots up there too.

By the by....have you checked out the distance from Chicago to Fort McMurray?
 
Canaduh

Canaduh

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Have you checked if the mining company is supplying the tools?. The Scaffolding itself is a given but the tools used to erect it isn't, most contractors etc would be expected to provide them.
 
Kakato

Kakato

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jjaycee98 said:
You haven't said how long this job is going to last and whether it's 24/7 till done or if you will have the odd day off. What about rainy days?

You could ask the people for whom you are doing the job, if there is a vehicle available to go into town once in a while. There may be others to get a lift from also.

Is it possible to go with your truck and have expenses paid so that you have some independence? A friend says there are some good fishing spots up there too.

By the by....have you checked out the distance from Chicago to Fort McMurray?
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Most jobs there are 2 weeks in one week out or a version of it.
When in camp you dont have much time to go into town,you just work,eat and sleep and wait for your days off.
 
A

azezzo

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Jan 7, 2010
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ok , a little more info from me for anyone interested. I have been a union carpenter since 1990. 2 years ago I learned that Canada was asking for U.S. carpenters to go to Fort Mac to do concrete and scaffolding, at the time i was busy, then the price of oil dropped and canada didnt need U.S. workers any more, well I went to my local union meeting last wednesday and was told canada needs guys again, not told much more than that. I called around and my district council is now sending me to the carpenters training center in las vegas this coming week to train on the type of scaffold being used in canada, (I have plenty of industrial scaffold experience here) and i need to get a federal background check done so that i can come up next month. Also the Canadian carpenters union is apart of the U.S. union carpenters.
and since Nafta years ago americans are not happy with the mexicans coming and taking jobs, so i can understand what the other gentleman is saying, but the real problem is with them working cheaper than the locals, basically whoring themselves out, I have no intention of working cheaper, or any harder than my canadian partners, i wouldnt be there to "rock the boat." as a union brotherhood we all need to work together.
 
JLM

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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azezzo said:
ok , a little more info from me for anyone interested. I have been a union carpenter since 1990. 2 years ago I learned that Canada was asking for U.S. carpenters to go to Fort Mac to do concrete and scaffolding, at the time i was busy, then the price of oil dropped and canada didnt need U.S. workers any more, well I went to my local union meeting last wednesday and was told canada needs guys again, not told much more than that. I called around and my district council is now sending me to the carpenters training center in las vegas this coming week to train on the type of scaffold being used in canada, (I have plenty of industrial scaffold experience here) and i need to get a federal background check done so that i can come up next month. Also the Canadian carpenters union is apart of the U.S. union carpenters.
and since Nafta years ago americans are not happy with the mexicans coming and taking jobs, so i can understand what the other gentleman is saying, but the real problem is with them working cheaper than the locals, basically whoring themselves out, I have no intention of working cheaper, or any harder than my canadian partners, i wouldnt be there to "rock the boat." as a union brotherhood we all need to work together.
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I don't have any problem with a guy belonging to a Union but I do have a problem with a guy who won't work as hard as he reasonably well can.
 
gerryh

gerryh

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I don't know....what fuels the americans need to bomb the crap out of anyone that thay don't agree with or won't kiss their ass.
 
countryboy

countryboy

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Nov 30, 2009
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Kakato said:
I sense a new topic here.:cool:

Why cant we all just get along?
What fuels the hatred inside so many people for their fellow man?
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Well, I'd guess that one would prompt a few thousand posts! Good idea, though. (When will you start it?) :-?
 
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