Saw this ad that duke will have 70 lineman competing for best lineman in the world!

[bobbo]

The best lineman I have ever met would never go to a rodeo. It doesn't make sense for a construction guy to do fake line work for free on a Saturday. If you win a rodeo, good for you, you won a contest. But the title of best lineman in the world. The best lineman I know wouldn't do fake work for free. You win a rodeo, you won a rodeo. 100% of the guys I work with would never think of doing this for free or leisure. Just not in the genetics where I come from.

And a power company sending 70 guys. Why don't you have one company rodeo and send 4. 1 out of every 2 competitors is going to be from Duke.

[reppy007]

I wont get into what Duke does or doesnt do ....but I guess its better than sending 70 dummys to the rodeo when they could send their CEO.....1 Dummy would be enough....you think? :D

[SBatts]

I don't think you have ever been, or you would know, there are a few construction hands involved. There are also Constructions trained hands, that turned to a good utility company to get off the road.
I you haven' attended the two day safety meetings and training seminars, then you can't say crap about being the best trained Lineman. You are not competing with just American Linemen, But with linemen from around the world. We don’t hold the patent on talent when it comes to line work.
Met old friends, and made new friends, and embarrassed myself using long forgotten Tex-Mex trying to talk to Latin Lineman.
The reason more construction hands are not there is the team competition. You should see the decked out utility team vans, trailers, and even buses. These teams work together, then practice together, and some might even be paid to practice. I don’t see PAR, or L.E. Myers pumping out doe like that.
I wish I was able to go this year, but 5 days in a motel just didn’t appeal to me. Guess I am finally getting old.
I read the new competing rules, and none of my line tools would have been allowed, I taped a couple pole top rescues, and speed climbing 4 years ago, and almost died laughing. At 69, I am sure I could take a couple of them, but another rule in climbing is no hotdog decent off a pole, with one hook being in the pole all the time, no skidding with gaffs.

[SBatts]

Well I posted this , but it disappeared

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vGKZUeZf4

[BigClive]

I think it's genius, because by encouraging their guys to compete to prove just how much better they are than everyone else they can then demand they work at that speed all the time since they've already proven they can do it.

[reppy007]

I think it's genius, because by encouraging their guys to compete to prove just how much better they are than everyone else they can then demand they work at that speed all the time since they've already proven they can do it.

Thats one way to look at it Clive...I wonder if a guy gets hurt during a rodeo,what would be the difference if he was on the clock or off the clock.....does it hurt him worse if he is off the clock/benefit wise?

[bobbo]

He is doing it on his own time like if he got injured mowing his lawn or motorcycle accident. If a utility gets injured, it would be a work time incident.

duke put that out I'm T and D magazine. When you have a team from other power companies, maybe 6 will go, big size companies, 20 mil customers.

yes they did say 70 were vying for "best lineman in the world". And the best lineman I have seen in this trade don't have time to do fake line work. Or consider it. Or have it as a thought in their head.

I am am sure it's a great thing. And it's fun. would Duke have to rent a whole hotel to fit everyone?

its good for everyone but whose paying to go to Kansas City for a week. And the whole entourage for 70 guys. That's ridiculous.
throw guys in the competition and stack the odds!

[Trouble1]

I know a guy that destroyed his leg during rodeo practice. Company paid him workers comp. He had no business even climbing, let alone trying to do it quickly. One of the worst I have ever seen.

Rodeo means nothing as far as how good of a lineman you are. On the other hand, pretty much all the guys there are really enthusiastic about line work.

[Old Line Dog]

JMO...rodeos are a lot of "Comradery" and "Fun" for people in the Great Trade of Linework. I personally, wouldn't want to compete in one, even in my younger years in the trade. I just never looked at the trade of Linework...in the form of "competition"....in a Play..."Rodeo" format. All my linework...was serious siht. I'm Old though...I'm glad the "new" linemen, enjoy "comradery, and fun...at a linemans "Rodeo". Really. Just not my type of thing. I never "played" Linework for fun or competition. Bein Good, and the BEST...was comin home alive every day to my family.

[reppy007]

I have nothing against rodeos,each to his own.Some lineman enjoy being on committies,Im not one of them.Some might like the idea of having a parade for doing a good job or after a storm,Im not one of them.I thinks its great for police and firefighters,a few pom-poms here and there.Lots of lineman are like lots of service members including me,I never wanted anything back,medals were nice once upon a time,but now that time is well over with.I have it on paper,dont have em anymore.There is no best lineman,they is good ones,so-so ones,bad ones,and really good ones.....sure some are better than others,but the best.....I dont know if I would go that far .

[bluestreak]

It's sort of like going to a car show the shinyest,fastest gets the trophy which is OK, but I personally appreciate the eighty year old model A that has a couple of hundred thousand miles on the clock and I can only imagine the roads and things that old car has seen. I assume it might be about ego, which is a prerequisite for a lineman especially with the things that are part of this trade. A sad byproduct of the rodeo business showed up at my old service center last week, a little unrest between the Union and the Co. because the Co. outsourcing all the after hours trouble work to assplundh line co. this past May. Well in response to the Co. contract violating sh-t attitude not too many people went to the rodeo but the Co did send a few management types some who have never seen a pole set let alone climbed one. Any way the new manager had everyone at a morning meeting and started to tell the guys about his trip to the rodeo a few got up to leave and he had a hissey fit shut the door and wouldn't let them leave the room until he was done telling his story. I've worked for some good bosses and some bad bosses but never seen the kind of clowns that are calling themselves supervisors nowadays.

[bobbo]

It's sort of going to a car show the shinyest,fastest gets the trophy which is OK, but I personally appreciate the eighty year old model A that has a couple of hundred thousand miles on the clock and I can only imagine the roads and things that old car has seen. I assume it might be about ego, which is a prerequisite for a lineman especially with the things that are part of this trade. A sad byproduct of the rodeo business showed up at my old service center last week, a little unrest between the Union and the Co. because the Co. outsourcing all the after hours trouble work to assplundh line co. this past May. Well in response to the Co. contract violating sh-t attitude not too many people went to the rodeo but the Co did send a few management types some who have never seen a pole set let alone climbed one. Any way the new manager had everyone at a morning meeting and started to tell the guys about his trip to the rodeo a few got up to leave and he had a hissey fit shut the door and wouldn't let them leave the room until he was done telling his story. I've worked for some good bosses and some bad bosses but never seen the kind of clowns that are calling themselves supervisors nowadays.

Give the events. Let them practice a year. Issue class 4s. And tap all the wire to 19.9, 34.5. Then show them a baker board. Or give them a stack of sticks. That would be a badass competition. And they would have to do all that with an egg in their mouth, the whole time.

and get back to what your saying abOut management. Where I work we are so tied together with these phones everybody knows who the idiots are. The hall has perfect information because when someone gets mistreated, they will know it at the end of the day. Only travelers go to the worst yards with the worst contractors.

and get back to another issue. I am a construction lineman, not a utility hand. At one time we had contracts where're company took a whole circuit from you, and we would rebuild it and give it back. We held all the liability. Bought the material. Built it and gave it back after the punch list was done. I could never touch one pole except for storm.

things got screwed up with deregulation. Power companies bought construction companies. Big construction companies bought power companies. Construction companies even own equipment builders. It's a mess. As soon as that happened, jurisdiction rules went out the window.

When I say that the real smart guys are gone. There is really a rigged game anymore. The companies can throw 25 year olds as GFs because there is nothing to plan. Material is provided by the power company. There are not 300 pole jobs anymore. So permit headaches are gone. Now for big jobs they hire engineering outfits to manage large jobs, so all your management is trumped by them.

trust me I didn't sign up for this a long time ago. I am a construction lineman. Why? I didn't want to feel the yoke of a power company. Some years later, we all wear the yokes.

Never did I want to tread on your jurisdiction. But I have to, to take care of my family.

The game is rigged. That poor guy as a contract lineman is trying to feed his family. And the worst thing to do is hate him. The anger should not be at each other but the game and the circumstances. Their is no jurisdiction any more. The good rules we had are gone. Know one has to be smart anymore.

The current business model. Have a big umbrella holding company. Buy a bunch of power companies. Slap a beautiful logo on the side of the trucks. Buy naming rights to a ball field, and have the customers have a feel good feeling "about your brand". While you suck all the money out of them with 80 year old equipment and poles. That's America!

[Trouble1]

That last paragraph is the best description of investor owned companies that I have ever seen. Should be in the small print under the cool company logo.

[bobbo]

That last paragraph is the best description of investor owned companies that I have ever seen. Should be in the small print under the cool company logo.

use to rebuild a lot of cities in the mid 90s. Still do in a lot of states. This pole top maintenance and one pole out of the straight line is stupid, can't drive anchors. Poles our so out of line. Just retarded. All we are us polishing turds. And can a turd be polished.

i don't get demoralized anymore. Listen to stupid. My head do up and down, yeah your right. Self absorbed stupid people don't listen, they talk and they love to talk. It makes them feel good. And they are always right. When they are in charge it sucks. Your like how is this bag of **** going to survive. Guess what they do. They brainwash. Will always have the sucks, the nut huggers. That's life.
In this trade, a lot of people have no humility and love themselves a lot. What you do is get away? And the opportunity presents itself, RUN!
How to survive with the arrogance. Drink beer and stay drunk!