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In Maine, Snow Is Everywhere. But Not Snowplow Drivers.
Wall Street Journal ^

Posted on 12/25/2017 11:12:44 AM PST by qwerty1234

Maine is having trouble finding enough snowplow drivers, another sign of the way low unemployment is taxing states.

The state Department of Transportation has about 50 openings among about 700 positions and expects 30 snow storms in the season that stretches from mid-November to mid-April. Exacerbating the problem: some cities like Portland hire their own drivers and pay more, and private sector demand for experienced drivers is also high.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Political Humor/Cartoons; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: fake; fakenews; snow; snowplowdrivers; snowplows; snowstorm; welfare
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To: dfwgator

more illegals, to do the work Americans won’t do?

I don’t know the pay scales, but decades ago, was acquainted with people who worked at a state highway admin. depot. They were state employees, and adjusted for inflation, were getting paid the equivalent of $30 per hour in today’s money. And they were hourly, and got time and a half overtime for driving snowplows overnight.

If they are still getting paid so well, I’m stunned that we can’t find enough Americans to do certain jobs.

Maybe there are issues, because to drive a truck, you need a truck driver’s license in most states? And maybe it’s hard to get such a license?


21 posted on 12/25/2017 12:23:55 PM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: dfwgator

The last thing I want is a Muslim driving a snow plow given their tendency these days to use vehicles as mass murder instruments.


22 posted on 12/25/2017 12:28:35 PM PST by xp38
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To: Dilbert San Diego

That’s what happens with welfare. Way too many people on welfare, it should only be for true hard-luck cases.


23 posted on 12/25/2017 12:48:11 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: qwerty1234
Didn't Maine make a law that you can only be on assistance for a certain amount of time unless you are disabled or rearing children?
24 posted on 12/25/2017 12:49:46 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Not a Romantic, not a hero worshiper and stop trying to tug my heartstrings. It tickles! (pink bow))
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To: qwerty1234
If we told the allergic-to-work welfare recipients that they need to take one of these snow plow jobs in order to receive their benefits, I would venture to say that they would consider themselves ill-used.
25 posted on 12/25/2017 12:58:11 PM PST by SamAdams76
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

No it means he may have support of blue collar workers.


26 posted on 12/25/2017 1:15:26 PM PST by Maine Mariner
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To: july4thfreedomfoundation

Merry Christmas and thanks for the correction. One of my old friends told me that as a school kid, they helped pick potato crops in autumn. Now that’s a work ethic! Wonder who harvests them now?


27 posted on 12/25/2017 1:17:42 PM PST by The Westerner (Protect the most vulnerable: get the government out of medicine, education and our forests!)
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To: qwerty1234

BS.. that’s union slavery at work.


28 posted on 12/25/2017 1:17:56 PM PST by momincombatboots (No Wall, No Way 2018.)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
(Be glad you have a job, thousands are counting on you)

Somalis, Oh, And here I sit thinking about Maine's Mexican problem

29 posted on 12/25/2017 2:36:54 PM PST by DanZ
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To: The Westerner

“Wonder who harvests them now?”

That’s a machine harvest job now with the manual work mostly in processing and sorting after machine vision takes the first pass.


30 posted on 12/25/2017 2:45:54 PM PST by T-Bird45 (It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)
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To: qwerty1234

Does Maine not have any illegals who will do jobs Americans won’t?


31 posted on 12/25/2017 2:58:50 PM PST by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
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To: qwerty1234

Growing up, parents had a nice cottage in Maine on a lake near Sebago. Nice state...and my summer friends were natives. They were poor...but had great work ethics.


32 posted on 12/25/2017 3:18:32 PM PST by Deplorable American1776 (Proud to be a DeplorableAmerican with a Deplorable Family...even the dog is, too. :-))
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
"“moderate Democrat”"

Like saying a demoncrat who is native to the 8th circle of hell instead of the 9th...

33 posted on 12/25/2017 3:20:00 PM PST by SuperLuminal (Where is another agitator for republicanism like Sam Adams when we need him?)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
"“moderate Democrat”"

Like saying a demoncrat who is native to the 8th circle of hell instead of the 9th...

34 posted on 12/25/2017 3:20:00 PM PST by SuperLuminal (Where is another agitator for republicanism like Sam Adams when we need him?)
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To: T-Bird45

Ah, makes sense. Fewer bad backs later on!


35 posted on 12/25/2017 3:35:05 PM PST by The Westerner (Protect the most vulnerable: get the government out of medicine, education and our forests!)
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To: DanZ

The only Mexican problem we have is not enough Taco Bells.

(that and “press one for English”)


36 posted on 12/25/2017 4:07:09 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (RATs, RINOs...same thing)
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To: july4thfreedomfoundation

>>>I grew up on Long Island, NY and they did NOT do a good job plowing the roads when I was a kid<<<

You just reminded me of something. We lived on Long Island from 1953 to 1960. My Dad and his Brother owned an Esso Station in Elmont.

They bought a War Surplus Jeep and put a Snow Plow on it. My Father would go around and move the Snow that the City Snowplows left piled in front of his Customers Driveways so they could get onto the Street and go to Work.


37 posted on 12/25/2017 4:15:09 PM PST by Kickass Conservative ( THEY LIVE, and we're the only ones wearing the Sunglasses.)
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To: dfwgator
And how many Somalis are sitting around doing nothing?

How many Somalis and other recent immigrants are being paid by the federal government to sit around and do nothing?


38 posted on 12/25/2017 4:33:57 PM PST by Vlad The Inhaler (United We Stand, Divided We Fall. Remember That Diversity Is The Opposite Of Unity.)
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To: dfwgator

I lived in Maine for almost six years. Lots of lilly white Mainers sitting around doing nothing. LOTS.


39 posted on 12/25/2017 5:14:05 PM PST by ExpatGator (I hate Illinois Nazis!)
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To: july4thfreedomfoundation

The plowing was outstanding today.

Probably the triple time

Maine knows how to handle snow, where the lower forty seven has not an idea.

Snow plowing is a CDL driving skill. Not just anybody can do it.


40 posted on 12/25/2017 5:16:48 PM PST by Chickensoup (Leftists today are speaking as if they plan to commence to commit genocide against conservatives.)
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