Wages

[luvmexfood]

Thought I would post this just to give everyone a general ideal what the going rate for logging in this area.

Saw the following adds on the State of Virginia Employment Job Site today. Job is listed in Wise County, VA.

Skidder operator minimum 2 years experience $10-$12 per hour depending on experience.

Timber cutter must have 5 years experience in actual logging. Will not take tree trimming experience as a substitute. $13-$15 per hour depending on experience.

[Spartan]

 

That is almost offensive to me.

[Jamie_C]

Those are pay rates that I haven't seen in over 20 yrs .... I wouldn't even think about getting out of bed for what little they pay.

[lopet]

modern slavery

[gologit]

Those would be great wages...if it was still 1980.

[David-L]

Those are very low, especially for an occupation that is as dangerous as deep sea fishing in colder climates and sometimes tops even that.

                                                      David l

[landscraper]

It appears from online census data that if you could work a 52 week year in Wise County VA at $15.00 per hour you would gross slightly less than double the per capita income for that area.  Bleak. 

[treeslayer2003]

no way could you get good help for those prices

[beenthere]

If they can't get help at those prices, then they will have to raise their wage offer or go without. IMO.

It doesn't say that a person will stay at that wage, and won't be promoted once they hire on and "show up for work every day" and give their boss a full day of production.
But we seem to all know that most hired will not put out that effort an not likely kept around for very long.  That is sad, but think from what I hear about hiring people who are good workers, it is pretty true.

If there is no room to advance, then that would be the pathetic part.

I do agree the wages offered are not very attractive for a good job.  Maybe the health insurance is the carrot that attracts an interested person.

[BargeMonkey]

 Im going to play the devils advocate on this one. My help is all paid more than that per hour, but for alot of people out there in the workforce I would think 12.00 is to much. Not logging related, but in the maritime world the wages for guys starting out are less than that per hour, and thats for a 12hr work day with no overtime and away from home for 6-8 months a year.  :D

[Dave Shepard]

BargeMonkey, sounds like a good deal, if you're in witness protection. :D

[redprospector]

Those would be great wages...if it was still 1980.

Yep, in 1981 I worked at the newly built Peterbilt plant in Denton, Texas. Started out at $11.91 an hour. I thought I'd never see another poor day.  :D
I lasted 3 months there. Took me that long to figure out I wasn't cut out for factory work (I'm a little slow that way  ;)). There are some things that even money can't buy.  :D

[tmarch]

Let's see, an average of $12.50 an hour for a 12 hour day = $150.00 per day x 7 days a week = OMG I know the guy that does this lots.  He's retired to a ranch and sells solar pumps and hasn't EVER had that kind of payday, but he likes it so  :D :D :D :D :D

[BargeMonkey]

BargeMonkey, sounds like a good deal, if you're in witness protection. :D

:D  funny you say that because we had one we would swear was. "Mysteriously" went from working in nightclubs in brooklyn to a boat towing stuff all over the pacific... yeah uh huh.
I know guys cutting logs for a large sawmill in Delaware county are only making 14-15 an hour, alot of it is region specific.

[Small Slick]

The age old wages market. It is definitely a tough debate. "I wouldn't get out of bed for wages that low". Ok. "Modern slavery. ". Ok. No one is making you do either.

Are the wages posted good; I really have no idea I'm not a logger. I do know this however in 1999 I made more than $35/hr in California working construction. Now in wisconsin I make less than that and I own the business.  A local market can and will only bear so much. I also know that in my area it's very tough to find any kind of labor much less experiance  for $12/hour.   A market can only bear so much; depends on the market. John

[lynde37avery]

why dont they figure it by the footage pay rate ? logging is done by volume not by the hour really. i get paid by the load/footage. but $12 an hr is sad pay for dangerous skilled work. i worked for 8 years or so at about $11 or $12/hr for different places of work and it was terrible. i could almost make a car payment and pay my half of the rent on that wage.
id like to see what the electrician and HVAC pay rates for hired help are for that area.

[Jamie_C]

For comparison sakes, most jobs running forestry gear here in Nova Scotia pays between $17 and $21per hour plus you either get a pickup provided by your employer or are paid mileage.
The company I work for pays $19/hr, provides transportation and pays 6% vacation pay instead of the required 4%. This would be considered about average  wages.

[HiTech]

Today everyone wants to make $50/hr. and not do anything. We are slowly being consumed by technology. Very few skilled craftsmen are left. I started working at $1.80/hr. and thought I was rich. A 6 pack was a $1.25 and you got a "Church Key" with it. lol Inflation is what they call it. The dollar has been inflated so much it is worth very little today. Nixon took us off the Gold Standard which opened the door to inflation and Ron Reagan and Don Regan Secretary of Treasury Inflated the dollar to pay for Viet Nam. Short term Inflation looks great...but long term it is deadly. Won't be long and a wheel barrow full of $100 bills won't buy groceries for a week. Today's world is a different animal. At one time 100,000 feet of wood was a winters work. Today it is a few days. Times change and not always for the better.

[treeslayer2003]

thats a good point, i never really herd of getting paid by the hour to work in the woods. every thing is on volume...........its a new day........but i ain't gotta like it.

[beenthere]

Nixon took us off the Gold Standard which opened the door to inflation and Ron Reagan and Don Regan Secretary of Treasury Inflated the dollar to pay for Viet Nam. Short term Inflation looks great...but long term it is deadly.

Ron Reagan is credited for stopping the inflating inflation of the 70's. It was out of control and many people were caught up in being able to borrow money on potential future high inflated land prices only to be left holding an empty bag because those inflated prices didn't hold up. Inflation has been less but still steadily raising since those early 80's. Other than that, carry on. ;)

[Hilltop366]

BargeMonkey, sounds like a good deal, if you're in witness protection. :D

:D  funny you say that because we had one we would swear was. "Mysteriously" went from working in nightclubs in brooklyn to a boat towing stuff all over the pacific... yeah uh huh.

Tip, if he offers you a ride somewhere and then opens the trunk don't get in!

[cutter88]

Wow!!! It's hard to keep a good skidder guy here paying 27 bucks an hour

[luvmexfood]

Looked at the add again. No mention of insurance or other benefits. If there was insurance I would think it would be listed. Small company and most around here don't provide insurance.

Don't need insurance we have Obama care. Individual coverage for me with a $6,000 deductible and and for figuring purposes I put down a yearly salary of $10,000. Monthly premium was going to be around $338.00. Affordable care act. Hmm.

[BargeMonkey]

 Around here 27.00 an hour is unheard of, except by the guys working union scale construction. I know drivers and machine operators making alot less than that. I know if we where forced to pay that much, plus insurance, S.S, and contribute to their health insurance we would be broke real fast.

[gologit]

There's another way to look at it...a good crew doesn't cost you money, a good crew makes money for you.

I'd rather pay a little more and keep good experienced dependable guys in the woods that can get the production I need.  I'd rather pay a little more than to cheap it out and have broken/abused machinery and no-shows and be constantly training newbies.

I'm lucky in that, around here at least, there are usually more loggers than there are jobs. Paying a decent wage and benefits gets me the best of what's available.  The guys know that and they usually give me more than my money's worth.  My payback comes in the wood they send down the hill every day and a minimum of the aggravation that cheap. crews cost.