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Companies Try to Retain Older Workers
LA Times ^ | 9-3-07 | Jonoathon Peterson

Posted on 09/03/2007 11:07:38 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic

Every time John Remore steps up to his workstation to form a piece of sheet metal, he brings an intangible asset to the job: 42 years of experience, dating to lessons from his father.

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


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: business; genx; job; jobs; seniors; skill; workplace
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1 posted on 09/03/2007 11:07:40 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic

John Remore, 60, right, has been operating a drop hammer for Ace Clearwater Enterprises for four decades and is considered "invaluable" by the company's president.

2 posted on 09/03/2007 11:08:51 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic

The best workers I have in my business are over 70.The younger kids are undependable and don’t want to learn the skills I need.


3 posted on 09/03/2007 11:10:19 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic

my ex-employer got rid of me after 18 years of service. They out sourced my job{ I was warehouseman, chief driver, and installer} to save money.
Companies today demand loyality but are unwilling to give it to the people that made them big.


4 posted on 09/03/2007 11:13:34 AM PDT by Yorlik803 ( When are we going to draw a line a say"this far and no farther")
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To: afraidfortherepublic

The eduKKKrats teach children that such work is menial and worthless. Everybody must be in law or marketing. I remember when I was a kid and did poorly on a test or didn’t get my homework done the teachers would say, “You have to do better, unless you want to work in a factory like your parents”. So now we have a generation who spent years and years and thousands and thousands of dollars on college, but can’t do any work that adds value to anything.


5 posted on 09/03/2007 11:14:41 AM PDT by lesser_satan (Fred Thompson '08)
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To: afraidfortherepublic
The best workers I have in my business are over 70.The younger kids are undependable and don’t want to learn the skills I need.

If you don't mind my asking, what skills do you need?

I have been considering encouraging my 12-year-old son to take up an interest in modelmaking, tool-and-die work, and machining. I figure that if he can get some skills and a modicum of experience in those areas, not to mention the habits of responsibility and a strong work ethic, by the time he's 30 he'll be worth his weight in gold to somebody...

And I don't say that idly, either. He's smart enough to pursue whatever he chooses, including the toughest of universities.

6 posted on 09/03/2007 11:15:31 AM PDT by Oberon (What does it take to make government shrink?)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Commonly they try to ship workers off to the rest home as soon as possible. It’s pure budget, nothing to do with work skills.


7 posted on 09/03/2007 11:15:36 AM PDT by RightWhale (It's Brecht's donkey, not mine)
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To: lesser_satan; MotleyGirl70; Cagey; Mr. Brightside; Rb ver. 2.0

ELAINE: Speaking of Jerry, his father is driving me so crazy down at Peterman’s.

GEORGE: You know what I do at the Yankees, when one of these old guys is breathing down my neck?

ELAINE: What?

GEORGE: You schedule a late meeting.

ELAINE: Huh? What does that do?

GEORGE: These old guys, they’re up at 4 a.m., by two thirty they’re wiped.


8 posted on 09/03/2007 11:16:56 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Hunter 2008)
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To: Oberon

Let your child learn welding, pipefitting, and other utility skills and he can have his own business and be a multi-millionaire by age 30.


9 posted on 09/03/2007 11:18:12 AM PDT by RightWhale (It's Brecht's donkey, not mine)
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To: Yorlik803; AuntB; cripplecreek

“Companies today demand loyality but are unwilling to give it to the people that made them big.”

That really sums up the problem of business in America. So many people complain about illegal aliens, but then support outsourcing as free enterprise. Outsourcing foreign labor and hiring illegal aliens are opposite sides of the same coin.


10 posted on 09/03/2007 11:19:14 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued (Illegal aliens commit crimes that Americans won't commit)
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To: RightWhale
Let your child learn welding, pipefitting, and other utility skills and he can have his own business and be a multi-millionaire by age 30.

The same could be said of machine work, though I see your point. I'll have to see that he gets some experience as a businessman, too. Now's the perfect age for it.

11 posted on 09/03/2007 11:19:59 AM PDT by Oberon (What does it take to make government shrink?)
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To: RightWhale

Hilarious but I doubt the article’s accuracy. I know that in the IT industry I often interview with GoogleWannabes now. God, it’s annoying. Their conceit is beyond words, they place great emphasis on solving a Rubik’s cube in 30 seconds but few of them can deliver eight hours of work per day.


12 posted on 09/03/2007 11:19:59 AM PDT by shimbo
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To: afraidfortherepublic; qam1
Yet there may be early glimmers of change. The oldest baby boomers are entering their 60s, raising the prospect of a vast wave of retirements. The post-World War II baby boom, moreover, was followed by a smaller "baby bust" generation.

As a result, some employers are worried that they will lose too many people -- and are pioneering policies to make the workplace more friendly to older employees.

No point hiring anyone younger....

13 posted on 09/03/2007 11:21:01 AM PDT by Cogadh na Sith (Gen X: I'll be the 'Junior Guy' until I'm 70.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Many of them are the best. But my experience is that they are the least willing to embrace new technology. This is true even if they have a computer at home. It’s almost like they see no reason to learn.


14 posted on 09/03/2007 11:21:20 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
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To: Oberon

You can get an MBA at nightschool. That and a handful of welding and gas utility certifications should be the E ticket.


15 posted on 09/03/2007 11:22:48 AM PDT by RightWhale (It's Brecht's donkey, not mine)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

bump


16 posted on 09/03/2007 11:23:44 AM PDT by Plains Drifter (If guns kill people, wouldn't there be a lot of dead people at gun shows?)
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To: Oberon

Fine soldering, machine operation, machining, etc. Just basic machine shop and electronics assembly and touch up. The new hires don’t last long, and it has been that way since we’ve owned the business (15 years). They don’t want to learn and they aren’t dependable. We just soldier on with fewer and fewer people.


17 posted on 09/03/2007 11:25:08 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic; Maelstrom
The best workers I have in my business are over 70.The younger kids are undependable and don’t want to learn the skills I need.

Of course they don't, there is no road to promotion or advancement with the top layer full.

Then when the oldsters die, your business dies. Good plan. It's a self limiting problem--the boomers won't live forever, or hopefully not much longer.

18 posted on 09/03/2007 11:25:19 AM PDT by Cogadh na Sith (Gen X: I'll be the 'Junior Guy' until I'm 70.)
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To: Oberon; leda

Start a small home business, and make your kids help.

It is phenomonal!

My son rented a ditch witch the day before he ran off to college, made $420 in one day.

Had customers lined up all over town.


19 posted on 09/03/2007 11:26:06 AM PDT by patton (Congress would lose money running a brothel.)
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To: AppyPappy
But my experience is that they are the least willing to embrace new technology.

I have to disagree with you there. I teach computer courses at 2 local colleges in both the Continuing Ed and Corporate divisions and older people make up the bulk of my classes. They know that to be valuable in the workplace they need to hone their computer skills.

20 posted on 09/03/2007 11:26:32 AM PDT by 2nd amendment mama ( www.2asisters.org | Self defense is a basic human right!)
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