Looking for Mainers here who do logging by chainsaw felling

[OntarioAl]

Ontario has similar Workers Compensation as Oregon much for the same reasons.
The landowner or License holder is ultimately responsible if a worker is injured while working on the said properties and does not have Workers Compensation clearance stating they are in good standing (paid up in full).
The Owner is a fool if a clearance is not supplied (you can check on line ) Many fly by night operations work around this when the timber owner doesn't know the law and is dazzled by $ stumpage figures.
Its a case of owner beware.
Not much of this anymore as mandatory training and certification has eliminated most of the shysters'
Cheers
Al  

[KStanley]

Found a guy who said I can go out with him some weekend and get some teaching and experience and I'm planning on taking a few classes. Thanks for all the advice everyone 

[barbender]

Good deal👍 

[peakbagger]

The pulp mill in Berlin had the last company logging crew in New England. The crew was very well trained and used all the safety gear. Their comp rate was low for the forestry industry. The company eventually shut down the logging crew and they were laid off. Most went to work for local contractors and they did not make out that well as the contractors worked at far faster rate to pull in dollars. Many of them got injured. Be real careful that the guy you go out with doesnt give you bad habits that will be hard to break.   

[KStanley]

The pulp mill in Berlin had the last company logging crew in New England. The crew was very well trained and used all the safety gear. Their comp rate was low for the forestry industry. The company eventually shut down the logging crew and they were laid off. Most went to work for local contractors and they did not make out that well as the contractors worked at far faster rate to pull in dollars. Many of them got injured. Be real careful that the guy you go out with doesnt give you bad habits that will be hard to break.  

Good advise with avoiding bad habits. I'll reference this forum and any classes I take to try to avoid that 

[John Mc]

I'm not sure about Maine, but in NH every hand-cutter I know works as a one man crew. It's mostly because of Worker's Comp. Most large landowners require Comp for any employee other than the contractor. The last I knew the rate was 40% of payroll for hand cutters.

At one point, it was up to 54% of payroll to get workers comp coverage for chainsaw fellers here in VT. I've heard things have come down since then, especially if the company has its employees go through whatever they are called the safety program these days.

Here in Oregon it is not  a % but is dollars per hundred of the employees pay

Well, that's basically the definition of "percent". in the statistic mentioned above, 54% of payroll would mean $54 for every $100 of employees pay.

[Ed_K]

2010 was the last time I had employee's and it cost me $66. per $100. when the rented skidder blew the turbo I went back to being a by myself logger.

[rank]

......i aim to double his daily production by being present without causing grief, damage,  grade loss, excess cost or any production slowdown overall. If you are always a good thing on a crew you are always welcome to be on that crew whenever you are available. So always be a good thing, that part is simple.

Every business man dreams of cloning himself.. Meaning "i want to double my output but not listen to some other individual's whining and needs."  Everyone dreads employees but theyd love to make 100 of themselves because theyd get along with all 100 most of the time.

Remember that in dealing with bosses.

The question to always ask the boss once hired is what can i do.. Tell me what to do, how can i help.  Accept that they may only find you smart enough to pull a winch cable up hill both ways. If thats your job, do the hell out of it. Or maybe they know youre smart enough to do what theyre doing but thats their task and they only need you to pull that cable. Its okay to be low man and to stay there a while if you are getting what you want out of the relationship.  industry buys robots because thats what industry wants. A machine that begs for commands and doesnt whine about its place in life.

You are looking to be a helper to a one man show logger. Not a big operation that depends on stable full timers.  They cant have you be a loader and then 2 days a week no one is in the loader but trucks are waiting. One man shows are out there crying  'no one wants to work' so dont lose hope, just keep looking until you find a fit.

What the one man show wants is someone who can do the part they hate doing the most, and do it without screwing up.  Or at least listen and take instruction/correction well.  I am a mechanic and CDL driver and equipment owner and decent timber feller.  There is nothing my boss can do that i cant learn pretty quick but he has been at it 25 years.  its his show and i have to remember my place is just laborer, nobody special and no moving up any ladders or having it get easier.  Thus I should be laboring at all times and never sitting around.  

We do very little speaking as we are both apart and busy the entire day at our tasks. The toughest part is when you are on your own and something isnt right, do you sit still and twiddle your thumbs or start doing something that might be right or might be wrong?  The chance to be the hero vs the chance to be the guy who runs up asking questions every time a hair is out of place.  Ya never know.  I think its best to land in between.  Take the initiative to investigate on the problem then ask a detailed question like you have a brain and are using it.  

If you are willing to show up when you say with good leather gloves, run up and down hills, and go home sore and cut up every night there is someone dying to have you.  But no one is dying to have a trainee under their skirt to worry about crushing with a tree.  So education wise you will learn from just being on the job and perceiving.  Not from hand holding instruction.  Youll get a bit of a lesson then work work work work work until they decide they want you to move upto a higher task, maybe when another new laborer arrives and can only do your present job.  You generally dont get to apply for a felling job then say teach me how to fell a tree.


The way to find this unique employer that fits you is go where logs are sold or where you see log trucks getting fuel with your number written on scraps of paper.  "Im looking for logging work and i dont do drugs" is all you gotta say. They will spread your number around. Put it on the bulletin board at the saw shop, co-op and red diesel pumps.  Logging runs on red diesel and there are few sources so that is a high vis location for the target industry.  Everyone is looking for workers.

When the phone rings explain that youre young, clean, reliable and eager to break a sweat and do what youre told.  'I dont know nothin but i will do what you tell me if you give me a chance.'  Music to the slave drivers ears.

Stand firm on your availability.  Its your life. If they cant accept it pass and keep the door open for the lock that fits your key.  When they want to discuss money say let me work for you one day before we talk pay so i know the job and you know my worth and we will both know what we are bargaining for. If im no good you havent wasted a cent. If they cant try that theyre probably not for you. Bang out that one day at the pace you will keep if they hire you.

I tell people my rate is variable.  You tell me what my skills are worth to you and ill tell you how often i will show up for that.

This will either get you a laugh and a smirk or get you cussed out (ive had both) but itll cement you in peoples minds as a contractor with the backbone to walk off the job over anything stupid on their part instead or a mindless whipping boy, ive been both of those too. You get treated with a lot more respect when you make it clear you require it to function the way they want.  I will act good if you treat me good.  Pretty simple terms.

This is the truth of everything right there.  They should hand this out on a pamphlet in high schools