US Elections (& Politics) :)

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Look at me, look at ME! I'M STILL RELEVANT! IMO, she is the new Jane Fonda.

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Does anyone know of someone who is "on the fence" regarding Kamala? If so, point them to this story, told by a black man, of how she ruined the lives of a black mother and her critically ill black daughter who were nothing more than stepping stones in her quest for power as a prosecutor in CA.

The link I provided below picks up the video at the aforementioned actions by Harris. She is a digusting excuse for a human being. Anyone that thinks she'd be a good choice as POTUS is an idiot.

 
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garycrist said:
When I worked @ Yellow Transportation in the Teamsters, I used to teach a lot
of new Casuals (Not full timers) their job. As we sat on our forklifts, I always asked
them why they gave them these expensive forklifts to use. The reply always had to
with them getting work done faster or a greater volume. The real answer is to lower
Workman's Compensation Claims.

How many more Billionaires does the world need? It is always we workers fault as we like
to eat and sleep in a comfortable environment too. OUR MIDDLE-CLASS WEALTH has been stolen
bit by bit and concentrated in the the hands of fewer and fewer each day.

Fixed costs in a business are fixed. The only thing not fixed is the GREED side or profit one
desires on the end. The easiest is cut the worker's side as that is the biggest easiest thing to do.
We Union people WORK OUR ASSES OFF FOR YOU come rain, shine 27/7 365 so that the rest of you may cuss us out
for doing things you would never do.
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There was a time and a place for unions. That time has passed for most industries. There may be some where it’s still relevant/needed ?
I was CWA for a few years in the late 70s. Honestly it wasn’t needed except for the workers safety aspect. (ATT Lineman) Regulations on safety made that obsolete.

I quickly figured out that making $5.05 p/hr climbing poles in BFE Kansas was not as lucrative as other careers even with the intangible benefits.
 
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bigredfish said:
There was a time and a place for unions. That time has passed for most industries. There may be some where it’s still relevant/needed ?
I was CWA for a few years in the late 70s. Honestly it wasn’t needed except for the workers safety aspect. (ATT Lineman) Regulations on safety made that obsolete.

I quickly figured out that making $5.05 p/hr climbing poles in BFE Kansas was not as lucrative as other careers even with the intangible benefits.
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Out of all the different jobs I had in my life, Lineman, or Lineperson as they call them now, lol, was the most fun job I had. I miss my Hooks...

Not joking about Lineperson, I saw a billboard sign thanking the Linepersons after our hurricane this year...can't say I have ever saw a female hook a pole...
 
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Being able to climb allowed me to transfer back to Dallas after just a year. No seniority at that point, but because Dallas needed climbers my transfer sailed right through. They were helpless without a bucket truck :rofl:
 
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bigredfish said:
Being able to climb allowed me to transfer back to Dallas after just a year. No seniority at that point, but because Dallas needed climbers my transfer sailed right through. They were helpless without a bucket truck :rofl:
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In the first 3 years of my 31 year career in traffic signals I drilled, set and anchored about 4 dozen wood poles for 12 new intersections, strung 3/8" galvanized span wire, used 3 bolt clamps, dead ends, hung and wired the traffic signals. I did get to climb about a dozen of those creosote-treated poles in the hot, humid Georgia summers and recall the splinters, burns and blisters and the fragrance for the experience. I got to use a bucket truck mostly for the next 28 years but at least I could climb if I had to....just glad that I didn't have to, though. I was pretty beat up when I retired at 55 in '04....falling 8 feet to a concrete floor from a pallet rack in '86 didn't help much. :cool:
 
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bigredfish said:
Being able to climb allowed me to transfer back to Dallas after just a year. No seniority at that point, but because Dallas needed climbers my transfer sailed right through. They were helpless without a bucket truck :rofl:
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Yeah, I use to laugh when I saw Bell Linemen using a ladders. I know being up on a pole for a long length of time does wear on you, even with Redwing boots on, the arches of my feet would hurt, since it is holding up all your weight. So if they were splicing for a long period of time I could see using a ladder, I guess. I did Cable TV and worked for the Light company. Still have my hand pole drill...:)
 
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David L said:
Yeah, I use to laugh when I saw Bell Linemen using a ladders. I know being up on a pole for a long length of time does wear on you, even with Redwing boots on, the arches of my feet would hurt, since it is holding up all your weight. So if they were splicing for a long period of time I could see using a ladder, I guess. I did Cable TV and worked for the Light company. Still have my hand pole drill...:)
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Yes, even with the steel arches in the Redwings.

On weekends me and 3 other guys would moonlight installing signals in north Georgia for a contractor to make extra money. The boss's teenage son left the electric drill at the shop 50 miles away (he remebered the generator) so yours truly used the old brace and bit to drill those new, green poles by hand for the thru-bolts. I was only 23 and 140 lbs. but still could only drill one hole before I'd have to rest 5 minutes, my arms would go limp. Of course it was in the Georgia July sun at high noon so that didn't help either....ah, such good memories! :p

Heck that was back in the day when we'd take salt tablets!
 
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TonyR said:
In the first 3 years of my 31 year career in traffic signals I drilled, set and anchored about 4 dozen wood poles for 12 new intersections, strung 3/8" galvanized span wire, used 3 bolt clamps, dead ends, hung and wired the traffic signals. I did get to climb about a dozen of those creosote-treated poles in the hot, humid Georgia summers and recall the splinters, burns and blisters and the fragrance for the experience. I got to use a bucket truck mostly for the next 28 years but at least I could climb if I had to....just glad that I didn't have to, though. I was pretty beat up when I retired at 55 in '04....falling 8 feet to a concrete floor from a pallet rack in '86 didn't help much. :cool:
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Creosote is not easy to get off your hands either...did you run across the newer reddish-brown powered treated poles? They were slippery with gloves on...for me...I liked the chewed up/gaffed up older poles. Newer poles, your gaff was harder to pull out.
I remember my first gaffout, I fell 20 feet, learned to hit with my feet and spring/roll backwards. I had a pole break at the base on me once, I was hanging over traffic, I slowly, very slowly strapped down that pole ;) Had I not been strapped off I would guess that pole would of thrown me into the traffic. Of course everyone drove by slowly to look :)
 
TonyR said:
Yes, even with the steel arches in the Redwings.

On weekends me and 3 other guys would moonlight installing signals in north Georgia for a contractor to make extra money. The boss's teenage son left the electric drill at the shop 50 miles away (he remebered the generator) so yours truly used the old brace and bit to drill those new, green poles by hand for the thru-bolts. I was only 23 and 140 lbs. but still could only drill one hole before I'd have to rest 5 minutes, my arms would go limp. Of course it was in the Georgia July sun at high noon so that didn't help either....ah, such good memories! :p

Heck that was back in the day when we'd take salt tablets!
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Wow never used a power drill. We had to hand drill all our poles. I installed new Coax for Cable companies. We were paid by the foot. We would run, on avg. about a mile of cable a day. That is installing hardware, running the strand wire, coming back and running the cable and then lashing the cable up. Bug Nuts, now there is a term only Linemen know.. They were used to tie off lashing wire. So now thinking back, the mile mentioned was strand wire install, we would come back later and work on the cable which took longer.



We used preform wood loop makers, did it by hand, alot seem to have changed, we only single wire lashed too. I was hanging 3/4 inch coax for trunk installs, like the video. Did 1/2 coax for distribution/subdivisions. Also, we had to do so many wire wraps (I think 3 or 4 each) around each bolt side of the Bug Nut then tighten the nuts. We are talking 80-90s, hard to remember details ;)

Last story, not to ruin this Thread, we had to lash up a cable across a freeway, I-45. They had to stop traffic, of course, I remember running across across the freeway pulling a lasher with a rope, haha. Had to jump the center barrier...
Alot of our lashing was with a rope to a truck and we just held down on the rope and walked behind the truck...this only worked on roadside lashing/poles, of course.

Sorry :offtopic:
 
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David L said:
Creosote is not easy to get off your hands either...did you run across the newer reddish-brown powered treated poles? They were slippery with gloves on...for me...I liked the chewed up/gaffed up older poles. Newer poles, your gaff was harder to pull out.
I remember my first gaffout, I fell 20 feet, learned to hit with my feet and spring/roll backwards. I had a pole break at the base on me once, I was hanging over traffic, I slowly, very slowly strapped down that pole ;) Had I not been strapped off I would guess that pole would of thrown me into the traffic. Of course everyone drove by slowly to look :)
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Strangely I liked the smell of creosote. But later on from '79 to '92 I encountered another black, smelly goo when changing out florescent light ballasts in transit bus maintenance overheads or neon transformers in the older "Walk-Don't Walk" pedstrian signals....it was the same oil found in transformers of that time which contained PCB, a known carcinogen. It helped with heat tranfer and cooling. I had that damn stuff on my arms up to my elbows A LOT.

I never fell in my short experience from climbing poles but did have the bucket truck I was in hit twice by vehicles while working in the roadway on a traffic signal. By the grace of God I wasn't knocked out because I wore ZERO safety harness. That was '73 to '75 GA and it wasn't until I was in CA from '75 to '04 that the safety practices and regs when in the roadway and/or elevated were strictly enforced....as they should be. :cool:
 
David L said:
Wow never used a power drill. We had to hand drill all our poles. I installed new Coax for Cable companies. We were paid by the foot. We would run, on avg. about a mile of cable a day. That is installing hardware, running the strand wire, coming back and running the cable and then lashing the cable up. Bug Nuts, now there is a term only Linemen know.. They were used to tie off lashing wire. So now thinking back, the mile mentioned was strand wire install, we would come back later and work on the cable which took longer.

Click to expand...

Used Klein's "Chicago" grips and a chain "come along" on 3/8" and 1/4" messengers, 3-bolt clamps, dead end grips and a Klein wrench, would set expanding anchors for the back guys.

Geez, it was wierd looking at this hardware, couldn't even remeber some of the terms and names....it's only been a little over 50 years. :winktongue:
 
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