@MobtacticsBruh
The answer is straight up to raise wage. No one wants to destroy their body for the same pay as someone doing data entry from home
@mcpuddin6106
As a framer myself I don't blame them for not joining the trades. Most places don't pay well, no insurance, no retirement plan, no stability and you're in the elements. Why do that when you get a warehouse job that pays better and benefits. I know a contractor that doesn't even pay his guys holidays, and never get 40 hrs then doesn't understand why he can't find anyone.
@colestaples2010
People are unlikely to work a trade when wages are so low. Even getting to the top doesn’t pay very well. Why build homes and never make enough to buy one!
@Panthersigma
30 year tradesman here and in that time there isn’t much I haven’t had my hands in. When I started it was fun , rewarding , well paid and respected. Over the years that has all dissipated, we have project managers who can’t drive a nail , supers who never get out of there truck , leadership is severely lacking and the people coming in , the industry seems to be the last stop on the block, we are plagued with drug addicts and alcoholics who take no pride in the work they do and the ones at the top are merely trying to see how much money they can make , in short it’s a dirty filthy industry that has only itself to blame
@Theferalyogi
The simple answer is that 40 hours a week can't come close to supporting a family anymore. It's literally STUPID to break the body for such insolent compensation. People don't want instant gratification, they simply don't want to be exploited for LIFE. crew leaders working 20+ hours of overtime a week to scrape by isn't an instant gratification or entry level issue. I hope the skilled 40 something's wake up and walk away like I did until people decide to pay reasonable wages. The ONLY option for a reasonable living is owning your own company, and survival is eating up every dime for most wage workers. It's next to impossible to save for home ownership or acquire the resources needed to start your own business. That's why there's no interest.
@alexanderelkorek
Wages need to go way up. In all sectors. Most business owners are in denial about the destruction of the US Dollar. Stuff isn't getting more expensive. The dollars we use to buy things are worth less.
@thehashslingingslasher6443
No one wants to work to not provide for their family. The contractors are making millions paying workers peanuts. Its common sense. Pay more.
@744shinryu
I started my own building company last year. When I offered my guys a pension, holiday, sickness, and the ability to leave early to go gym shocked them. I get them supplements, food etc. I don’t get it, you can make good money treating people right
@michaeljacobs9613
I'm a contractor. A one man show. And there are so many people who under cut me; However, I tend to close people with this: " The sweet feeling of a cheap price will never outweigh the bitter taste of a job done poorly ". Quality is king. But where are the guys who want to produce quality with people that don't care.
@bigfoot9049
Nobody wants to break their backs for shit pay, or be the only english speaking person on a job site.
@courtneydurham8429
My son is mildly autistic, and socially awkward, and teaching him to read was a challenge. He hated school. Unless it was a subject he was genuinely interested in, getting him to knuckle down was like pulling teeth. But he made it. He graduated high school a couple months ago. He went to a trade school linked to his high school and took 2 years in basic construction/framing. He got a job as a finish carpenter right before graduation. He's 18 and making $18 an hour. Just got his boom lift certification and he's learning a lot about old-school carpentry techniques by restoring old buildings. He's hoping for a pay raise at his 3 month eval which is next week. He works for a very small contractor, and when I say small, he's currently his boss's only employee. Not that his boss hasn't tried to higher other people but the pickings are slim. He loves his job. Comes home from work every day exhausted and looking like PigPen from Charlie Brown but he's happy.
@tipofthepocketsord1682
You touched on it, but there’s really only ONE problem. Money. Compare income of the average carpenter in 1885 versus today, then compare the cost of a new truck, or a house. It’s upsetting. When income doesn’t keep pace with expenses, people will choose easier lines of work. You can debate secondary causes, like schools losing trade programs, or even the stress of construction( which can be extreme) or greed of corporations and company owners, but that’s all pretty minor. You can blame a certain political party in the 70s and 80s for killing the middle class and exacerbating the wage gap. It’s all really sad, but you can’t blame young people for not being excited by the construction industry.
@carbb5760
As a 20 year experience carpenter specializing in custom renovations and remodelling. I think one additional issue is at least in my world customers want more and more expensive and fussy and difficult designs and products to be executed. Jobs take longer and longer, and it just takes much longer for my help to actually learn how to do the job.
@BrandonBattelle
Union electrician here. I wouldn't be in construction if the union couldn't guarantee the high wages they do.
@Mark-kc9uz
I started in the carpenters union in 1988. Journeymen were earning $22.50 an hour and piece workers were making more than that. You could buy a house in so cal for $50,000 back then. Most framing contractors won’t pay more than $35 an hour for a journeyman now. No medical benefits, no paid vacation. I still prefer to piece stairs when I can. I don’t blame people for not wanting to enter the trades
@miketolson2915
I’m a perfect example, 46 years old just moved from California to Indiana, going into a Plumbing Apprenticeship starting next week.
@randyhays4620
Im 66. I started digging ditches at 15...fast forward 50 yrs. Retired homeowner, debt free living in Florida. Fish, paddleboard and beach are daily activities for me. I owe it all to hard work and the construction industry.
@serafin1797
Unless you are seeking a skilled LICENSED trade like a plumber, electrician, or hvac depending on your state. Don’t get in the trades. I say this as a product of immigration, the trades will never see reasonable pay or benefits until the borders are closed to legal and illegal immigrants for 20 years, and the ones here illegally deported. But no matter who’s in the presidential office, this will never happen. If you want to do anything else like carpentry and framing , learn the trade and open your own business and get good at managing the illegal workers by learning Spanish and selling. Unfortunately those the only ways to make a good living in the trades.
@RoderickJohnson-mk1cx
Everyone in every profession is tired of being treated like a dime a dozen just to make the owners rich. Labor is slave work for slave pay.
@Enjoytheinbetween