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I agree with the other guys Hussman still makes some good equipment. Some have all the bells a whistles and other don't. The corp. office get what they pay for. Now days they all want to save a buck and cry when something happens.

If you want valves on those units put them on. Be like the FRAM filter man pay me now or pay me later. Believe me some store chains will buy some real JUNK!

DON'T GET EXCITED

You're doin' fine I'm sure.
You seem to ask all the right questions for someone who's digging into the systems. You'll get it , it's really not that bad.

The ABSOLUTE WORST is the summertime on call.

Hang in there..the money will come

Originally posted by NedFlanders
R-12 , what did you do before got into markets ?

Despite what some hacker pasted into my online resume a few months back ....and which were all untrue, by the way ...
I have done commercial refrigeration, ice machines and commercial A/C service.


I love commercial refrig. I love ice machines.

I saw some job openings here locally in market service so I posted the question, what's the secret about market work?
And the answers I got lead me to ask my present employer for a chance.

So, with a great deal of encouragement from y'all online here and some help from two co workers in the field, I am doing market service today.
No training, no books, no question and answer stuff.



It's amazing I havent blown something up already!


The learning curve is a bit weighty at times. There are many things I havent a clue about ... but this equipment is so old ... and so under-controlled .... it is not all that difficult to keep online.

Yes id like to know what you did before you got into markets r-12. Your not gonna any more money doing markets then you will doing hvac/ or control systems, or commercial refrigeration. If your good you'll make top dollar at no matter what you do.....Eric

[ deleted by Boss ]
Sorry - please read the rules Forum Rules


- language ]


[Edited by Boss on 06-02-2004 at 05:37 AM]

R-12 , what did you do before got into markets ?

My shop is charging this market chain in Texas; $44.50 an hour for service work.

That's the excuse I got for the low wages.

ANd they blame Hussman for this.

I replied what you siad about the Great and Mighty Hussies NOT lowballing anyone .... that you know of.



I dont get it.


Where's the bucks in this field? I thought market men were amongst the highest paid on the food chain ladder.

Now I'm loggin in the hours, and just makina regular paycheck.

And now, as of today, even that is being threatened by back biting and slanders and anxiety within the ranks.

Hell ... if this is what the big league is all about ... I am switching BACK to commercial refrigeration service.

Parole hearing???? [/QUOTE]

Now that's funny..I guess I set that one up.

It's funny how the unions are different from local to local.
We get all the goods on TT , but we have to eat the time to the first and from the last , up to 50 miles from home.

I rack up the miles on the companys van.

Ventura to San Diego...crazyness.

Originally posted by NedFlanders
I'm a union tech in the west.'
We get 1/2 hour lunch deducted regardless if we take it or not.

Hussmann techs do not get vacation or matching hours paid into the kitty for ANY travel time EXCEPT on call.

Same here. no bennies on travel time. One good thing in the Hussmann aggreement is that there are iu think 3 holidays that are paid at doubletime for service repairs. That was never the case before. Only doubletime available was for construction. But that has all but gone away too, except in a few cases.(In the markets that is, HVAC and industrieal refer still get DT for overtime new construction and weekends construction.)

Like I said previous a lot has changed, and it will probably keep on changing. Nature of the beast. Think I have beat this horse dead enough. Time to move on.

Originally posted by NedFlanders


I hope to still be sporting same pinstriped uniforms in October.

Parole hearing????

I'm a union tech in the west.'
We get 1/2 hour lunch deducted regardless if we take it or not.

Hussmann does have a different deal here also. The Tradesmen and Apps, make less ,and I also here that Hussmann techs do not get vacation or matching hours paid into the kitty for ANY travel time EXCEPT on call.

They (Hussmann) have got clout with the union...or they used to.(70-80 less techs)
I believe this September is a turning point.
Safeway contracts , Union labor contracts all to be renewed at the peak of summer....should be REAL interesting.

I hope to still be sporting same pinstriped uniforms in October.

Originally posted by bowman
Well as far as the 12 to 1230 lunch thats a crock, yes we do have to take lunch but theres no set time we have to take it. That would be up to each individual branch to determine as to when/how to do that. Theres alot of times i dont take lunch, till 300 or so, if i do at all.
As far as cutting wages...i dont know where that comes from, but were not getting our wages cut, if anything it has improved for all the guys.

In most states there are laws that govern things like when you are supposed to get breaks and how many hours you work before you are supposed to take a lunch etc. If you are covered under a union agreement, same holds true. Hussmann is forcing the mechanics to abide by the minimum standards and in so doing so protecting themselves against suit.

I do not aggree with the tactic, but understand it.

The wage cut can not be blamed on IR. That started about 8 years ago when Hussmann (here in the SF area) started negotiating wage packages outside of the collective barganing group. They negotiated their own "total package" price that was to hold for all of the locals in the greater bay area(5 in total) All the locals complied except local 38 San Francisco.The effect the first year was that some local got a small take home wage increase, some had no change (my case), and some (in local 393) got a wage cut (about $3.85/hr). Their wage cut was subsidized by the local for the first year. Afetr the first year, it was gone. As wage negotiations continued from year to year Hussmann kept up their seperate negotiations and continued to either hold wages fixed or force them down. Several years ago they were successful in changing the tactic where by they negotiated directly with the UA, thereby setting up a national matrix for all union wage earners working markets. The rest of the market companies were not obligated to pay their people by the Hussmann aggreement, but they also were not forbidden to abide by it either.....so in an attempt to remain competative with Hussmann, all of the other market contractors adopted the lower wage scale for the market people. I left the market company that I was working for in 2000 and shifted directions into HVAC. Not because I hated markets or was not making good money, but I got to a point that the hours and the physical side of markets was taking it's toll on me. By making that change I got a substantial pay raise. Soley because I was not doing markets. If you have been with Hussmann for only a couple of years you have not seen these changes. I have been in the trade since 1973 and have seen lots of changes, some good some bad.

Well as far as the 12 to 1230 lunch thats a crock, yes we do have to take lunch but theres no set time we have to take it. That would be up to each individual branch to determine as to when/how to do that. Theres alot of times i dont take lunch, till 300 or so, if i do at all.
As far as cutting wages...i dont know where that comes from, but were not getting our wages cut, if anything it has improved for all the guys.

Originally posted by frozensolid
Dow your right on the money again.

There there always seems to be a guy willing to cut your throat for a couple of bucks. They exploit the fear of unemployment to get their way. Anything they take from you they can keep for themselves.

Unless the american worker suddenly grows a spine. IR is gonna win.

All those mechanics that help them, deserve what their going to get. Those of us who won't help them, are going to have to hope when the dust settles. Brains and Talent still have value.

Personally I think real Mechanics will be worth more.

Right on the money!! America has a lot of problems and most of them revolve around some big company wanting to cut wages and pocket the extra in some fat cats pocket. IR is one of those. I know several people from Hussmann here in the SF area, and they are all pretty upset with the tactics that IR is working on them. Right down to forcing them to take a lunch at 12:00 - 12:30. If they do not the half hour is automatically dedicted from their check. Makes for a poor way to run a service company when the ice cream is melting. Sorry Mr Store Manager, I have to stop for lunch right now. I was always way too concerned with the product loss to ever do that. Maybe I was stupid, but....

As for Hussmann equipment, they have always been the front runner in my opinion. I have worked for Hussmann,Tyler, and a Kysor Warren distributor. Hussmann always seems to be a little ahead of the rest when it comes to new ideas. Hill used to be the worst, but they have come a long way, although there is not much of it here in the west. Hussmann has all of the stores locked in national sales aggreements, that is why the branches and local distributors can give jobs away. They get rebates at the end of the year. Just like car dealers. It is all about selling the iron.

On a larger scale the people in the country have got to stop supporting companies that promote lower wages. They are tearing the quality of life that we have built down to the lowest common denominator. Look at Wal Mart....Great example. they come into a small community and offer low prices and everyone a job. Next thing you know all of the locals are out of business and Wal Mart owns the town. IR wants the same. They want to own all of the refrigeration.

On the plus side, IR might not succeed. I worked for Hussmann starting in 1980. They were,at the time, owned by Pet Milk (part of Carnation Industries). They were sold to IC Industries.(Illinois Central Railroad). What the hell did either of these companies know about market refrigeration? Nothing. They were buying an investment on paper.Hussmann has been bought and sold more times than I can count. IC wanted to streamline things in much the same way that IR seems to want to do now. Yes the economic world was differant then. They made sweeping changes in the way us mechanics were allowed to do our jobs, and there were rumors everywhere that we were on the verge of going non-union. Fearing the worst I got out in 1984 and went to work for another local market shop with a great reputation. Long story short, 20 years later Hussmann is still hear in the SF area, and they are still union. There is some hope, but nothing remains the same, it is ever changeing.

Sorry for rambling on so long.

.....and the world is a happy place again

the old lady just told me we got rid of our national direct connect, so it's 40 cents a minute. Take that off quick. I am on aol and dowadudda is my handle. We could IM.

.

[Edited by bowman on 05-31-2004 at 04:34 PM]

I had to pop out for a few minutes. I got nextel too. how do we do this.

I know were not supposed to put our email on here, but if you have like aol, or yahoo, let me know. i can give ya my email from on there, or for that matter, if ya have a nextel, i can give ya that number, or i can give ya a tel #....Eric