A friend called me in a dither.  She was watching the news and said they did a short bit about the contracts
to rebuild New Orleans.  Along with the no-bid contracts there are added clauses which include no prevailing wage, no verification of citizenship or green card status, no affirmative action, and this is the
corker for all out here, NO VETERANS PREFERENCE.  I work in construction and this is the first time
any of us have ever even heard of any job anywhere that didn't have a veterans preference clause.  This is unconscionable. 

A friend called me in a dither.  She was watching the news and said they did a short bit about the contracts
to rebuild New Orleans.   Along with the no-bid contracts there are added clauses which include no prevailing wage, no verification of citizenship or green card status, no affirmative action, and this is the
corker for all out here, NO VETERANS PREFERENCE.  I work in construction and this is the first time
any of us have ever even heard of any job anywhere that didn't have a veterans preference clause.  This is unconscionable.   

Who wants vets on the job?  They b*tch about stuff all the time.  "Oh, the nerve damage makes it too hard for me to use the nail gun!" "Oh, I can't work today, the shrapnel in my fanny is killing me!"  "Oh, I have to knock off early for my appointment at the V.A."  "Oh, the government isn't paying me the benefits they promised me, can I get a raise to pay my rent?"
What contractor wants to hear all that cr*p every day?  Just hire desperate Mexicans with no documents.  That way if you get any lip, you can just kick 'em out, and there's a thousand more where he came from!
::)

Along with the no-bid contracts there are added clauses which include no prevailing wage, no verification of citizenship or green card status, no affirmative action, and this is the
corker for all out here, NO VETERANS PREFERENCE.  I work in construction and this is the first time
any of us have ever even heard of any job anywhere that didn't have a veterans preference clause.  This is unconscionable.   


Sounds like the whole process is unconscionable.

A friend called me in a dither.  She was watching the news and said they did a short bit about the contracts
to rebuild New Orleans.   Along with the no-bid contracts there are added clauses which include no prevailing wage, no verification of citizenship or green card status, no affirmative action, and this is the
corker for all out here, NO VETERANS PREFERENCE.  I work in construction and this is the first time
any of us have ever even heard of any job anywhere that didn't have a veterans preference clause.  This is unconscionable.   


In the last 12 years, I can honestly say that my being a veteran (a disabled veteran at that) has never had any bearing on my getting a job.  In fact, other then Civil Service, it does not matter anywhere.

In short, they hire the best person for the job.  Period.  And to be honest, I prefer it that way.  Thet the people best qualified for the job get the job.  I have never agreed with favortism in the private sector for things such as "Veterans", "Minorities", "Disabled", or anything else.

And don't forget who the people employed are going to be: the citizens of the affected area!

The President also mandated that the companies must hire from the local job pool.  Other then specialists who are not available locally, all employees are to be citizens of the local area.  This is to prevent people from outside the area from comming in and taking jobs away from the people who already lost everything.

And having the companies be forced to follow some of the insane "Affirmative Action" regulations would only slow down rebuilding.  They would have to go through the lists of who they are hiring, and then pick people to fit a demographic nitch.

"Oh, I am so sorry, we can't hire you.  We already have our quota of Veterans/Black Males/White Females, we don't need you."

Let the people who want and need the work in the area get the jobs.  No to the horrible AA and beaurocracy that will only slow things down to a crawl.

A friend called me in a dither.  She was watching the news and said they did a short bit about the contracts
to rebuild New Orleans.  Along with the no-bid contracts there are added clauses which include no prevailing wage, no verification of citizenship or green card status, no affirmative action, and this is the
corker for all out here, NO VETERANS PREFERENCE.  I work in construction and this is the first time
any of us have ever even heard of any job anywhere that didn't have a veterans preference clause.  This is unconscionable. 



The clauses I put in bold are the only ones that I have a problem with.


I have a big problem with all of them.  Like, yeah, who cares about ending poverty if its just them damn darkies who are poor?  Sure we support our troops, until their out, then let them fend.  Do the term "boondogle" ring a bell?

They should also be paid the same as other similarly qualified workers doing the same job (and in this case, I believe those wages should be based on what these types of workers were being paid PRIOR to the hurricane).


I think that the removal of the wage will have two different affects.

For one, it will help those with no experience to get jobs.  That way, companies can hire a bunch of "flunkies", who will do basic "fetch and tote" types of jobs.  And it will give these people an income that they do not have now.  And I am sure that a percentage will pick up enough skills and want to keep at it, that in a year or so there will be a lot more people in construction that at the moment have no experience at all.

And those with experience?  I bet THEY will make premium incomes.  Why?  Because there will be nowhere near enough of them to fill all the spots needed.  A good mason, electrician, or plumber will be a hot commodity, and they will be able to make good incomes, much higher then normal.

And the restriction of hiring local people will make sure that the sharks from out of town do not rush in and take all the jobs away from the locals that need it most.

I saw a lot of that first hand after the 94 quake.  We had people flooding in from all over the country.  The specialists stayed.  The people with more routine skills (framers, roofers, etc) tended to leave after a month or less, because there was not enough demand.  And the builders and contractors hired a lot of people for low or basic skills jobs, like loading and unloading trucks, removing rubble, demolition, and the like.  And of course, a lot of them got interested enough to get into construction.

Just like any job, you can't expect to walk onto a job site, and start out as a framer or roofer.  You have to learn some skills first, and "pay your dues".  Construction is a very complicated job, and is potentially deadly if somebody does not know what they are doing.  I am sure that the people that are paid "below prevailing wage" will be doing jobs like clean-up and the like.  But as they are needed for the rebuilding, they will be grabbed to do more and more, getting the skills they will need if they want to continue in the field.

Think of it is a "low pay" apprenticeship.  This is different from most apprenticeships, where you are not paid at all (in fact, sometimes you have to pay to be an apprentice!)

Exploitation?  I am sure there will be some.  But there will be enough work, that I am sure they will get walkouts, strikes, and people with questionable skills.  The people will have enough other choices that they can just walk away and get hired by somebody else.

And does anybody think that the local unions will not be keeping an eye on things?  There are a lot of jobs that I do not think should have unions.  But when the job is dangerous (oil drilling, mining, construction, etc) I have normally not had much problem with them.  They are a great watchdog for workers rights.  If a contractor gets to far outta line, I am sure he will be straightened out real fast.  Either that, or he will not be able to get electricians, plumbers, and the like.