Shoals Wages Grow Slower Than National Average

You got that right. This whole area and state has become too business friendly. I believe the ones getting the short end of the stick are us the workers and taxpayers. And The Times Daily has whitewashed a lot of the problems. Hopefully the new owners will start reporting the truth.

And we needed to be told that????

When as large a sector of the business community is in retail sales--as is the case here--do not expect pay to rank very high in comparison with the national average. Store clerks aplenty, but too few skilled labor positions!

The Shoals Area has been losing high paying jobs since the 1970's. The area had about 30 years of booming business and wages which depended on the likes of Ford, Union Carbide, TVA, Reynolds, Occidental (Diamond Shamrock), and other major players. Today many of those jobs have left for various reasons. Once the decline began little was done to recruit similar industries.

Today the area is left with lower paying jobs. Even new industry does not rely on technical expertise as much as it needs simple labor. Simple labor jobs have dropped in pay.

With the political atmosphere in the Shoals Area and the lack of a technical base I don't see a dramatic change on the horizon. Jobs may come but wages will remain lower compared to other areas of the state. It will take an ideological change that encourages education and an intellectual base for the area to attract such jobs. UNA is a perfect seed for such growth, but the opportunity is wasted. Unfortunately the people get what the people want.

Why do I not live where I grew up? Because there are no technical jobs there. I can't work there as I am over qualified. Thus the problem.

Jack Cafferty - Goons & Thugs
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If all you can find to do is lift books in a warehouse or flip burgers, wages will stay low.
Alason is right, no tech businesses mean no high paying jobs.

This area will never try to recruit high paying jobs, only those that will pay a little above the minimum wage. If we can get these jobs they are a major news story on a major economic break for our area. The only economic advantage the shoals area and the whole state of Alabama for that matter has, is cheap non-union labor. But even a lot of those jobs are leaving for still cheaper labor in Mexico and other countries. Seems to be a no win situation.

I make quite a bit above minimum wage, I have a college degree, but I work in health care, and this area pays quite a bit less for that field than other areas. Health care is taking a hit in this economy the hospital I work at did not give us our yearly raises this year, and no I do not work at ECM. This area does not have the industry or technology needed, look at Huntsville they are doing well at least lets hope they continue.

Huntsville benefited from the war, and they have diversity, which the shoals have lost a lot of over the years. They are seeing issues from the recession, but it just started this year, not well over a year like it's been in other places. Having more PhD's per ca pita then the rest of the country helps as well.

Also, for the comment about the state being too business friendly, if it is, it sure as heck didn't help Northwest Alabama, for countless reasons from all levels of government. As its been said before for years when all you are concerned with is getting 12 dollar and less jobs then that's what you'll get setting up shop.

Forget folks, the powers to be do not and never have wanted high paying jobs around here. This is a retirement community. You know “Come to Florence and Die.”. The businesses we do have around here depend on slave wages to keep them profitable. High paying jobs in this area is a no no. Perhaps we can get another fishing tournament.

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Originally posted by Dreamweaver:
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Why is this not surprising to anyone?

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“The income lagging behind is problematic and not a good sign for people who move here,” said Keith Malone, assistant professor of economics at the University of North Alabama.

I'm more worried about the people that live here that is dealing with the lagging income.

It seems that most people moving here are retired. At least that is what seems to be the general consensus.

If you are moving here hopefully you will do your homework regarding the lack of jobs and low pay for this area.

didnt they do a story about this last year and the year before and the year before? i guess the new ownership is going to continue the tradition of stating the obvious status quo instead of reporting things really going on. i guess thats easier.

Did you see all the union workers out on picket lines as Bruno's announced they were taking bankrupcy and closing?? When Ford closed the Ford plant in Muscle Shoals, those jobs went directly to Mexico and Ford never missed a beat. Union workers and the local economy lost.

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Originally posted by Dreamweaver:
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Why is this not surprising to anyone?

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“The income lagging behind is problematic and not a good sign for people who move here,” said Keith Malone, assistant professor of economics at the University of North Alabama.

I'm more worried about the people that live here that is dealing with the lagging income.

It seems that most people moving here are retired. At least that is what seems to be the general consensus.

If you are moving here hopefully you will do your homework regarding the lack of jobs and low pay for this area.

If I'm retired, why should I care what the pay scale is?

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Originally posted by Appalachian American:
You got that right. This whole area and state has become too business friendly. I believe the ones getting the short end of the stick are us the workers and taxpayers. And The Times Daily has whitewashed a lot of the problems. Hopefully the new owners will start reporting the truth.

Explain how "too business friendly" is bad. Isn't it businesses that create jobs? Are you saying that if I want a high paying job, I should go where businesses don't prosper?

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Originally posted by CrustyMac:

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Originally posted by Appalachian American:
You got that right. This whole area and state has become too business friendly. I believe the ones getting the short end of the stick are us the workers and taxpayers. And The Times Daily has whitewashed a lot of the problems. Hopefully the new owners will start reporting the truth.

Explain how "too business friendly" is bad. Isn't it businesses that create jobs? Are you saying that if I want a high paying job, I should go where businesses don't prosper?

I think this was a reference to the incentive packages, tax breaks and infrastructure improvements often tendered by government to encourage business to relocate to this area; however, reading between the lines, I think they were concerned that the rich were getting richer off the backs of the poor...

Monster.com lists 265 jobs in Huntsville with varying salaries. USAJOBS.com lists 63 with salaries from $20K to $96K. Sometimes, you have to go to where the jobs are!

My last stateside job took 1 hour to drive 14 miles in north Virgina traffic.

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Originally posted by interventor1:
Monster.com lists 265 jobs in Huntsville with varying salaries. USAJOBS.com lists 63 with salaries from $20K to $96K. Sometimes, you have to go to where the jobs are!

My last stateside job took 1 hour to drive 14 miles in north Virgina traffic.

Exactly.I have been driving a round trip of 150 miles a day to work for four and a half years because I couldn't make a comfortable living in Florence.If your not willing to make an extra effort to be succsessful or at least comfortable,then don't whine about it.Don't worry;Obama gonna spread the wealth around.

quote:

Originally posted by interventor1:
Monster.com lists 265 jobs in Huntsville with varying salaries. USAJOBS.com lists 63 with salaries from $20K to $96K. Sometimes, you have to go to where the jobs are!

My last stateside job took 1 hour to drive 14 miles in north Virgina traffic.

Exactly. Last time I checked there was no wall around Florence. People are perfectly free to leave and find good jobs.

In DC, we have many unemployed without skills and many jobs for skilled workers.

"Shortage Of Skilled Workers Hurts D.C.
City in Competition For Stimulus Funds

Long before the economy soured into the worst financial and unemployment crisis in a generation, D.C. officials knew that tens of thousands of residents did not have the training to compete for mid-skill jobs in construction, maintenance and other professions that pay a livable wage."

More at:
Link

As to traveling for work, in two months look for me in Addis Adaba.

What struck me as sad about this article in the paper was how clueless city and area officials were in explaining the lower average income difference between now and 1997. It's obvious to the most casual observer. Reynolds was here 1997 with higher average salaries and more of these jobs than the current small company that owns that plant. TVA had a larger number of technical and higher paying jobs at that time also. People would be surprised how many high paying construction jobs supported these two places also. All of these higher averaging wage jobs are are gone and have been replaced with lower salaried jobs at much lower numbers. I would not include any of the garment industry jobs lost in explaining this as their average wage was probably along the lines of jobs now, just that there were alot of them but probably wouldn't impact the average wage that much.

The lack of vision and competence by elected officials has something to do with this. You remember the idito Dick Jordan who was Mayor of Florence at the time said that the Robert Trent Jones project including the hotel was our areas Mercedes Benz plant. The fact someone in an elected office like this clueless goof thinks minimum wage jobs are equal to high paying jobs with benefits at Mercedes Benz explains why the average wage is lower 10 years later.

Another clue as to our problem with government leadership here was the recent trend in our area of spending stimulus money on paving streets instead of trying to seed some type developments that would create permenant jobs. Most of the paving jobs are for people that live out of town and don't even impact this area even on a significant temporary basis. The company that Florence hired last summer for paving projects was from out of this area along with the workers. Another brilliant decision that does nothing to improve the job situation here.

The stimulus funds were, in most cases, limited to such work. There are now federal auditors reviewing how funds were spent. Do you really want Florence to get socked with a bill from Obama?

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Originally posted by interventor1:
Monster.com lists 265 jobs in Huntsville with varying salaries. USAJOBS.com lists 63 with salaries from $20K to $96K. Sometimes, you have to go to where the jobs are!

My last stateside job took 1 hour to drive 14 miles in north Virgina traffic.

EXACTLY!
My first job after college (and I stayed ten years before leaving to return to grad school) was at a large, new, multinational (Japan-based) company in Decatur. I was there for more than a decade and I could make at least TRIPLE the money that local companies were paying. A short 40 minute commute was a small price to pay for a very good paying position with full benefits.

I have speculated many times as to why companies would open plant after plant after plant a mere 40 miles away from the Shoals. Part of it is probably the fact that if large multinational companies located locally, the smaller (and locally owned) plants and businesses would be forced to increase pay scales to compete. That just is not going to happen. I have wondered many times how much influence some of our more powerful "industrialists" have on local recruiting efforts and our lack of higher paying jobs.

Honestly, if you are paying $10 or $12 an hour as the owner of "XYZ Widget Plant" why would you ever want/encourage/allow jobs that pay $25-$35 an hour? Probably not. There is a vested interest to keep things exactly as they are. It's not rocket science. Many of our best and brightest college grads and veteran employees (and Shoals residents) will continue to make the 40 minute drive to Decatur or the hour to Huntsville so they can bring home a decent living for their families.

There are several other reasons large companies don't feel welcome in the Shoals (and some reasons that are entirely exclusive of the whole perception problems we have with leadership/unions/bad management issues) like infrastructure problems. There is also the issue with having four separate municipalities versus one consolidated metro government. Until we prove we are serious about competing with other areas, it's not going to happen.

Until some things change (e.g. REAL leadership, vision, and facing recruitment challenges and doing what is best for the area, not preserving the status quo) people will continue to have to drive a while to their "good jobs" outside the Shoals.

To compare RSA to Mercedes in Tuscaloosa is not only a condescending insult, but is also just plain wrong (on so many levels).

We get EXACTLY the leadership we deserve. After all, we asked for it (you voted, right?)
If you don't like it do something about it.

And I mean this in the nicest, most sincere way. This is what you get when you base who you vote for on what church they go to, or their town status. You can vote them all out all you want but you guys keep putting the same type of people in.

Surely this information is wrong. The shoals is a solid democrat stronghold and everyone knows that the democrats are for the working man!!!! Not to mention the unions.

Unions!! what unions!! they make a very small percentage of the work force not only in the shoals, but about twelve to fouteen percent nation wide. The unions are irrevelavent politically. To run for political office in the shoals area whether democrat or republican is to show a strong affinity to church and family values. Those values get you elected whether you adhere to them or not.

The word union sure scares the hades out of some people and some people if they had the chance, would join a union in a heartbeat even if they will not admit it on this forum. The union in this area was dealt a major blow when Wise brought in ABB, and I really believe that SEDA and the State had a big hand in this. I myself had a Human Resource Manager in the shoals area tell me that I was exactly what they where looking for. but he said he wasn't going to hire me, I said why and he said that it was because I had worked at Wise and had joined the union. I looked at him and said wasn't that illegal he looked at me and said prove it. My point is the powers to be don't want collective bargaining nor fair labor. It will cut in to their bonuses and they think that the industries will not locate here. This is the reason that most of the managers hired at the railroad car company are all former Wise managers that had a major hand in the situation. All the major business owners in the area don't want us making a decent wage. And I believe that they and their Human Resource people are in cahoots with each other in this area. The union is good in certain ways and bad in others. But your chances of getting a fair shake are better in a union, if your just a hourly working man. But there is not a lot of work to choose from. So I'm off to Decatur where I can earn a decent wage.