this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2025
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Leopards Ate My Face
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Himself
He can hire other Magats. They will do the job even better!
My Dad did construction for 40 years. Even before the companies started hiring a lot of immigrants, it's hard to find roofers.
It's a hard to find people with the knowledge or ability to learn - that are also not afraid of heights and have the coordination to not fall off and the attention to detail to not make the conditions for other people to fall.
Plus it's a horrible job. My dad was also a general contractor, and where we live is very hot and dry in the summer. I remember, as a kid, seeing roofers on top of a house in 100+ F heat, mopping hot tar; I thought that must be the worst job there was. When I got older and started working in aerospace, when my boss would say he needed someone to do some unfun task, I'd always volunteer because I'd be thinking, "this is so much better than mopping tar on a hot roof."
I'd take a tar mop in the summer over the winter any day
I used to work outside in -10F regularly. Far preferable to 100F.
Its easier to get warm than cool.
Try -20F, and soaked in sweat. Winter flat roofing sucks
Diesel tended to gel much past -10. But tree climbing doesn't offer much wind protection, either.
Our rule was to never sweat if it could be helped. Layers.
A good rule, it just can't really be helped on a flat roof. Whether you're swinging a mop (which we tried to avoid in winter; keeping the tar kettle hot can be a challenge) or torching rolled roofing, the hot-cold-hot-cold is unavoidable, nevermind the physical exertion. I'm glad I got out of that shit.
Tree climbing, eh? Arborist?
Used to be, anyways. Didnt make the jump to starting my own company and got sick of making others wealthy.
Setting B-net on ski race courses is like this. 10 minutes in and you’re sweating bullets, strip down to undershirt layer.
We’ve also had to fully shovel 1.5km of course when 8-10 inches of snow fell the night before. On top of the exertion, you’re literally wasting a powder day. The snow cats can’t groom it because the course will be too soft, and when it’s that cold we can’t salt the course either, so it’s shoveling and slipping (using your skis like snow plows) the course.
I have to bring a second or third dry layer because after the setup we have to stand around in the subzero temp for the next 5-7 hours no matter the weather (winds can be insane as long as it’s not enough to shut down the lifts, but it’s better than rain or sleet).
Then we gotta take it all down.
And I do this for $80 a day and free passes for my kids and I. Still better than roofing by immeasurable amounts.
But no Amuricans want to do back breaking labor for only $5 an hour, and without healthcare or three weeks vacation. Where am I supposed to find new labor to exploit so cheaply?
It’s not even want it’s can’t afford to.
Yeah, those American workers get kind of pissed when they get handed a 1099 at the end of the year and owe Taxes, Social Security/Medicare, and fees. A US citizen gets injured & starts to seek benefits because of it the state or feds probably likely to review if they are not just classifying employees as contractors.
AI
DOH thanks!