My work buddy Rick was working at another company and it was the end of the job. I worked there too. It was a hospital job in Newport News. We were finishing up. I was working as a laborer and he was doing some final carpentry work with a few other guys. We were both hired as carpenters (form carpenters) but our wage and the description of our check stub said: “carpenter helper”. The company we worked for took advantage of a down market and paid us 20% less than they did 2 years before. So be it.
I was down in the basement stripping the deck forms. He was up top handling edge forms and stripping the remaining handrails for the general contractor to install their own. Safety first!
Rick was working with a couple other guys. It was a Friday. Lay-offs were imminent. Rick looked up and the other guys that were working with him were just standing around and bullshitting. Rick said, “God, damn! Just because you guys are about to get fired doesn’t mean you gotta’ be Long-Dicking the Man!” Everyone laughed. Rick had a good point. Every job worth doing is a job worth doing well.
Rick by no means is a speed demon. He’s almost 56. He also has about 30 years of experience in form carpentry. What he lacks in speed he does not lack in knowledge and focus. He has his head in the game.
We finished that job, were laid-off. We went our separate ways.
Again we started working together for another company. This was in Chesapeake, Virginia. He was the lead for a small concrete crew. The company he worked for was from Louisiana. They basically built systems for manufacturing. He was hired because an ad in the paper requested form carpenters. Yes, people still read the paper. Yes, you can find a job there too.
I had not seen Rick for about 6 months. We were laid off in March. I received a call from a temp company one afternoon. I was already working for a another concrete contractor. The call could not have come at a better time. I had just gotten home. It was about 5:00 PM. I was tweeting, Google+ing and LinkedIn gazing.
My phone rang.
“Alex speaking.” I said.
“Hi, Alex, my name is Bryan. You are a form carpenter?” he said.
“Yes, I am.” I said proudly.
“I have a job for you. It’s in Chesapeake. It’s for a company that is making a big conveyor. Are you available to work tomorrow?”
“I… Uh… I… How did you find out about me?”
“I was on Monster.com. I saw your resume. You have a lot experience. We need a good form carpenter.” Bryan went on to explain the job.
I had just had a conversation with my current boss. He had already convinced me not to take a job two weeks before. I was offered a job with more money, hours… etc. But I was convinced that I was in the right place. The conversation was regarding an employee who had just left the company for the same job I was offered two weeks before. My boss was disappointed that his good carpenter left. I asked my boss how long the other guy worked for him. (I already knew the answer, but I wanted him to come to the conclusion. My boss told me that he worked for two years.
“Well, Norman,” I said, “did you ever give him an evaluation or raise?” I knew the answer to this too.
“No,” Norman confidently noted. “We can find anyone to work for cheaper.” The wage that I was being paid and the wage that the former employee was paid for two years was $15 an hour. This was supposed to motivate me to stay with this company? Norman’s sales pitch was weakened every moment he spoke.
“Norman, “ I said. “How much does it cost to retrain a new employee?”
Norman realized the point. He stopped talking. I told myself that if I am offered another job, I will take it.
Because I worked for a small concrete contractor we worked about 8 hours a day in various locations. Sometimes I might have to drive during the day from one job to the next. If you don’t know anything about carpentry then you might want to know this. It takes a lot of money to get the tools, safety equipment, proper work boots and clothing to stay in the game. If you started from scratch, your out of pocket cost could easily reach $1,000. It’s not cheap. Depending on weather and other factors you may have to replace your equipment as it is worn out, lost, damaged or stolen.
Back to my phone conversation with Bryan.
“Uh, Bryan, I am so glad that you called. I am employed and I should give my company notice. I need two weeks.” I tried to sound like a good employee.
“Hey, man, I understand. I don’t want to take you from anything if you are working. I just thought you might be interested.”
“I am.” I said with excitement. “This is the second job offer I have gotten in two weeks. I’d love to take it. I’d hate to leave so quickly without notice.”
“Well, we need someone tomorrow.” Bryan said.
“How much does the job pay?” I asked.
“17 dollars an hour plus overtime. My customer has about 3 months of work and it is local They are working 6 days a week.”
“Where is the job in Chesapeake?” I asked.
“It’s close to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.” He said.
“Damn!” I exclaimed. “I live in Olde Towne, that’s 5 minutes away!”
“So what do you want to do?” He asked.
“Um…” I did not want to be indecisive. I was thinking too fast. I couldn’t keep up. “I guess I will have to turn this down. I would love to take the job, but I don’t want to hurt my current employer.” As soon as I said that I thought, ‘game over.’
Bryan said, “OK, well if you change your mind call me back.”
We hung up.
I went back to tweeting, Google+ing and LinkedIn gazing. I was thinking about the conversation. I called the smartest person I know, my wife.
To save you the details she said, “Do what you think is best.” I was shocked. She knew that construction was a hustle. Jobs come and go. She knew that I could find a job anywhere. She also knew that my pay had been cut by 20% since 2008. I worked for a lot of outfits that just needed to bodies to fill spaces. Their contracts were the only thing that mattered. Squeeze out crappy work, get paid and move on. As long as the corporation offices could keep the lights on it was OK and profitable. It’s an employers market.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to work for a poor company. I want them to make money so they can pay me. I want them to be able to make the customer happy and be able to bid more work. I don’t believe in Long-Dicking the Man.
After I spoke to my wife it was about 5:45 PM. I called Bryan back. “I’ll take the job.” I said.
Bryan was thrilled. “Thanks, Alex, you really helped me out.” My customer is desperate. Now I can tell him we have someone. Can you come to our office and fill out paperwork today and take a drug test?”
“Sure,” I said.
Bryan gave me the location. By 8:00 PM I was finished. One more thing I had to do. I texted Norman:
‘Norman, I would have to be an absolute idiot if I did not take the second job offer I have had in two weeks. Thanks for the work, but I will not be in tomorrow. Please mail me my last check.’
Done.
The next day I showed up at my new job. Walking down the road with my temp agency’s client we chatted.
“So you are a form carpenter?” He asked.
“Yes, I have 24 years of experience.” I said.
“We’ll I got a guy who is real good, but he needs help. He is from around here too.”
Just as I was about to say that I probably knew him I made out a distinctive face. It was Rick.
Rick's got his head in the game.
Rick smiled, walked up and shook my hand.
“Hey, man, I tried to call you but I didn’t have your number. These people are great! I knew we were getting some sorry-ass temp workers. I’m glad they got you.” Rick was very happy.
“Yeah, well I am glad to be here… even if I am a sorry-ass temp. What are we working on?”
We started right away. No one had to train us. No one had to direct us. We had the plans and we knew where the concrete would go. It was great to be working with a professional again.
The next day Rick told me the story about Long-Dicking the Man. He said that the crew we worked with liked to do the same. I said, “Let’s call it lead-time (LDTM).” Every job has lead-time. That’s my new short-hand for Long-Dicking the Man.
So what is “Long-Dicking the Man?”
Let’s figure it out.
Without getting into the vulgar aspects of the phrase, Long-Dicking the Man, AKA lead-time (LDTM) is getting paid by someone and trying to absolutely do your best at not accomplishing anything. This is a state of being where one will remain unfocused and unmotivated to do anything that your boss (also know as the client or customer) needs to have done. A lead-timer will sit when no one is looking, play with his or her phone, read a book (totally unrelated to the task at hand), have conversations while pausing to refrain from the task-at-hand and wait for further instructions so that he or she can proceed to ignore those new instructions also.
This person will make wages lower, job costs increase, productivity suffer and quality diminish. Chances are that any poorly crafted item you have ever bought was created by this person. Unions are a great place to find lead-timers who are protected by the good workers who actually do the work. Lead-times are the reason jobs have left the United States.
Construction is the last bastion of the well-paid lead-timer. He or she can get a job in construction and make more money than he or she would doing anything else. Dragging down the quality and wages of the rest of the skilled labor a lead-timer can show up, get paid, collect unemployment until it runs out, and then go back out into the building world and suck up more lead-time.
Of course the lead-timer is not just in the construction business. He or she works at your job too. You may be a lead-timer yourself. Are you reading this when you should be doing something else? Congratulations! You are sucking the teat of America dry.
I know that some companies allow for this. In other words, those companies have found that productivity is increased by having relaxed employees. Those are also the companies that will fire you if you don’t produce anything. They give you plenty of rope to hang yourself. I like those companies. They are profitable.
Construction can not be one of those companies. You have to work with others and you have to meet a schedule. It’s not drudgery. It’s a game. The game will start and end. You can make money and when the job is complete you have the option to go screw off on your own or go to the next job.
And that’s the important thing here! Why would you do a job without any passion or love? Why would you build anything half-assed? If you don’t like the company go to another one. Or, you can do your best until the job is complete. Shake hands at the end. You will definitely be wanted or needed again soon.
Are you confused? Ask yourself this important question: “Does my work suck every where I go?” If you said, “Yes.” Then you can look in the mirror and see who is causing all of your trouble. You’re a Lead-Timer.
Formed Pier
Rick and I worked together for about 2 months. We finished the job. One day our boss told Rick that we (Rick and I) could take off a day and look for another job because we would be laid off soon. We worked a lot of hours. I made in 2 months what I would have made in 5 with my previous employer. Rick got paid 1 dollar more than me and he was sitting on a nest egg.
We were working on a job that had several other contractors. I told Rick that maybe we could work for another company that was also forming and pouring concrete. As it turns out our boss went to talk to the other company’s superintendent. He managed to get us a job there. I left the temp company because that was all of the work they had and Rick left his company. We both got a new job with the other contractor. Our boss (my temp agencies customer) paid Rick and I for the full week.
So here it is in a nutshell. Because Rick and I were in the game we were appreciated and we are now still working. We work hard. We enjoy our work and we make our bosses money. In return we are paid well.
This new job were are on we were told that they had work for two extra men for two more weeks. We were told this up front. The temp agency did not have a new gig for me so I went for it. Unemployment delayed a bit. Now were are in our third week. They company has asked us if we would travel. We said, yes.
Who knows what happens next. I could still be with the concrete contractor and my old boss Norman barely making 40 hours and low pay. I’d still be living paycheck to paycheck. I would still be behind in my student loans. I’d just be getting by and doing my best for someone who didn’t appreciate me.
Rick’s thinking about buying a sail boat, a Jaguar or going to Cancun, Mexico. Until such time that we need to we are working 60 hours a week forming and pouring concrete for our new customer, our boss, the Man.
If you made it this far maybe you could appreciate what has transpired. Do what you are doing with passion or get out of the game. There is no excuse. Someone somewhere will appreciate your service. Why follow the consensus of the Lead-Timer? Why not do something you can be proud of!
