are climbers underpaid in the states?

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Maybe you guys have an immigration problem...

Jeez, I'm the last one to be labeled racist- but if we had people coming to Canada to do tree work for 12.00 per hour, I'd be calling my MP.

I paid my groundman, to start, 20.00 per hour which is a fair wage in these parts. He knew his knots okay, was able to set up a Port-a-Wrap, and didn't stand around waiting to be told what to do.

I have a little chipper (Bandit 65xp), a pickup and chip box, and a groundman, and I net about 600.00 per day (after fuel, wages..etc). I don't know the exacts (wife does) but we but 25% back into the business to replace the equipment and gear. I climb exclusively, but I'm not the greatest climber ever. I'm just okay. I work with one groundie, and we do small jobs. Sell firewood in the winter, and swing tongs on the oil rigs. Been doing forestry, tree work, and environmental work for about 5 years.

Our comp is 4.0% and our insurance is 89.00 per month. Rent is 300 (for 1/2 acre, fenced and secured) and I sell my chips. I work about 120 days of trees- the rest is in the oil patch. The company pays about 12% taxes (we pay ourselves in dividends- it's works very well).

I think the problem in the states is that you let people come in to the country that will work for 3rd World Wages - and work hard. We don't have that here-- maybe because the cold frighten's them away? Most tree people are white- which sounds awful, I suppose, but it seems like the immigrants in this country are working in convenience stores or going to medical school.

They're certainly not hanging around in trees.

So, yeah. though I think the US is a really, really great country (once tried to move to New Hampshire)... move to Canada. Or sort out the immigrant problem (not the immigrants- but their abuse by employers and/or their willingness to work for nothing).
 
im thinking its location in most cases, right now in jersey I imagine the ability to make good money is there prolly parts of NY too, but many states have an abundance of non qualified "shouldnt be in biz" tree companies. some on here bust my balls & call me a cable slinger & hey some days I do sling cable but theres way more to it than that, I miss the tree biz!! I still do it part time & really dont care if I get the job sometimes cause im already making a damn good buck.

But when I do get the job im making what I feel we/I should be making, if you have your own tree company & you`re not pulling in 6 figures a year theres something wrong!!!! the writing was on the wall for me & I made a move, I really didnt want to but hey Im not gonna lower my standards for some 2 bit hack, that bought some white washed bucket truck, conforms & adheres to no laws, flies under the radar, has to paint his equipment (lipstick on a pig) & thinks if he makes $600 a week he did good.

those guys & im sure theres many on here can ruin their bodies, work their nuts off, enjoy no benefits, work all summer 10-12hrs a day, never see their wife or children & pray every winter that they escrowed enough money to see them through! YEAH good luck with that, Ill continue to "sling wire" LOL


LXT...........
 
im sure theres many on here can ruin their bodies, work their nuts off, enjoy no benefits, work all summer 10-12hrs a day, never see their wife or children & pray every winter that they escrowed enough money to see them through!
LXT...........


Hey! That's me you're talkin' about! But Spring is in the air, and the nuts have recuperated enough that they will hopefully last through another season of brutality.
 
Someday soon, I will start being referred to as: "Decrepit of the Trees".
Just like the Royal Caribbean cruise line. :msp_rolleyes:
 
Someday soon, I will start being referred to as: "Decrepit of the Trees".
Just like the Royal Caribbean cruise line. :msp_rolleyes:

Lol...Come August ill be limpin along, leanin to one side, running on one engine, stinking, and spewing crap too. Or someone I know will be...

Oh, and for a less than fair wage and with a smile on my face.
 
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When it comes down to it, for me its about being happy. I'm a climber and work for a good company and make decent money. Work right through these crappy New England winters. When summer hits its climbing for myself on weekends making great money and all week at my normal rate. But I'm happy in the trees! Maybe I should make more than 60k? Probably but that's on paper off paper/weekend climbs adds up too. I've had many crappy jobs making more. But I like climbing,running saws, doing tough removals that take stradigy. Its a risky business for all of us alike. Climbing or on the ground. If tree work went union we'd all make the same. Bottom line for me is waking up to put my boots on not dreding going to work. Like they say, its not all about money....
 
A good climber makes about $400~$500 a day.

Shaun

Hi Shaun.
Is the $400-500 a day as a contract climber? I've dealt with a few contract climbers in Melbourne and they were on nowhere near that amount of money. I suppose it depends on your competition. In my area a good climber could make a fortune as nobody does it here. In Melbourne where every man and their dog climbs I'm sure the market is flooded. Apparently Perth is bad too according to a few arborists I've dealt with there.
The best wage I heard from a qualified Melbourne arborist was $65,000 a year and to me that didn't seem like anywhere near enough. There are a hell of a lot running around calling themselves arborists too without any qualifications and this was the biggest complaint with the guys I've dealt with in Melbourne - too many weekend warriors and another complaint was that their main tree insurance company was giving insurance to absolutely anybody. If you had a chainsaw you were in!
Anyway mate take care and I gather you're still swinging around by your nuts in trees :D I'll stick to ground falling.
Matt
 
Stihl n Wood, you hit the nail on the head. I love what I do. Had a lot of crappy jobs that I hated going to. When I go to work now, I'm happy. Never know what the day will be like. Always a challenge. Always interesting. Would I like more $? Sure! Would I want a different job? No thanks. A side job or two can make up for the lousy hourly rate I make during the week. If I was all about the $ I could probably find another company to work for and squeak out a little better wage, but I like the guys I work with everyday and I like my greedy boss. And there's a lot to be said for that! So cheers,:cheers: here's to 4:00 pm and Fridays!
 
I hear ya! If I was stuck behind a desk looking out the window it wouldn't be long before I jumped! They can all have that crap. I was meant to be outside breathing in the fine air. That's what I love about tree work too. Everyday is different and brings a new challange. Imagine doing the same thing over and over again? No way....does the winters suck??? Some days its freezing and not the best but dress right and not so bad here. But spring is right here and we'll be making hay while the sun shines and filling our pockets right up! And there's nothing better than ice cold beer after a long hard day throwing chips....
 
Wahhhhhhhhhh....... Here we go with that old rhetoric again from McKee

Says the fat bucket worker from se canada. If you had any idea whats coming your way you'd be concerned. Not sure whats going on out there but the guys down south have started to get a bit of a feel for painting,landscape,drywall,construction etc. Its more reality then rhetoric.
 
4 or 5 years ago I was dating a girl pretty seriously and she went off to do an MBA in NH. I thought long and hard about following her there, but I never got my head around getting a visa. I've been looking through the ads for climbers lately in the states again for no real reason, and I can't believe how low the pay rates are. Is this for real? Are qualified climbers with their own gear and a CDL really getting $15-$20/hr? Even less in some cases?

It just blows my mind. Unless the cost of living is waaaaaaay cheaper than it is in aus or something. I can only think that a dollar buys a lot more in the states than it does here if that's a half way decent wage. I know you guys get your gas cheaper, and I know take out food is a lot cheaper too, so maybe you get your rent, groceries etc cheaper than we do dollar for dollar and it makes up for it? Here in aus, an unqualified groundie makes $15/hr, and a semi qualified groundie makes $20. A good climber makes about $400~$500 a day. What gives?

Shaun

Everyone seems to be talking about conditions here. It is true this is a huge country. Some places $20 and hour goes a long way, other places it doesn't. Cost of living seems to dictate prevailing wages. This is true in Auz as well. My understanding is you all have much higher taxes, expenses, trucks, equipment and regulations. Import tariffs are real high making your cost of goods real high. And then you don't have the 10 million illegal immigrants dragging down wages.
Now in California, last time I checked, $85 per hour per man was the norm for a fully licensed and insured tree crew. I don't know what climbers are getting paid but I think good groundmen are still between $15 and $20 which is where they were 10 years ago when I got out. I lend this entirely to immigrants who now dominate tree work. There are so many of them that there is no need to pay more since they all seem to be real happy with that kind of money and if one isn't there are 1000 more who would love to have the work.
 
Predominantly non-illegals around the michigan ohio border, as far as arboricultural services go. There still out in the fields though. Maybe they have not discovered tree work yet. Please anyone around my area correct me if Im wrong. Around my area there are tree services around that have been around a while. But what gets me is some of the "reputable" tree services that have been around my area a while dont think its bad to hat rack and top trees for some reason. Botched trees all over. Someone from out west or east come on out here and show them how its done. Oh.... And hire me as 20/hr groundie at first and then let me prove myself as a 35/hr climber. Heck... Id even get jobs! By the way I do have a colored friend. thanks for the good read.
 
The thought of a trickle up economy has me baffled , please carry on , this thread has now taken a turn to hystericalville !
 
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The thought of trickle down economics has me baffled. I worked for many rich people, they are some of the cheapest bastards around.
 
The thought of trickle down economics has me baffled. I worked for many rich people, they are some of the cheapest bastards around.

They are the people that have driven down this economy ! Not some poor bastard quite literally who wants a honest days work for an honest days pay ! The market pays what the worker can bear .
 
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