News Cut Category Archive: The jobs we do

Reminder: It's not winter...

Posted at 10:06 AM on July 24, 2009 by Than Tibbetts (1 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

Despite all the bellyaching over “unseasonably low” temperatures this summer, it’s not as though Lake Superior has frozen solid.

But, if the autumnal weather did spawn visions of augers and tip-ups dancing in your head, check out photographer David Friedman’s profile of Tom Roering, inventor of the Wilcraft, an amphibious, convertible ice house.

The company that makes the Wilcraft is based in Maplewood, Minn. Friedman’s other inventor profiles are worth reading and watching, including one with Art Fry, inventor of the Post-it note.

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The bookstore in the manure tank

Posted at 1:43 PM on May 20, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

It's amazing, really, how many great stories are tucked in the back roads of the Upper Midwest.

What would lead a couple to turn 12 buildings on the farm in Wisconsin into "the world's largest bookstore"?

So it's a good time to repeat my call for those of you who know stories like this, to let me know.

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Deadbeats

Posted at 3:27 PM on March 4, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

For the ability to elicit a pure jaw-dropping reaction to a news story, the award today goes -- again -- to the New York Times for its story on a debt collector to the dead.

Even better for those of us in the constant search for the elusive local angle, it involves a debt collection firm in Minneapolis (Golden Valley) -- DCM Services, which -- the story says -- specializes in calling the distraught relatives of the recently departed.

Dead people are the newest frontier in debt collecting, and one of the healthiest parts of the industry. Those who dun the living say that people are so scared and so broke it is difficult to get them to cough up even token payments.

Collecting from the dead, however, is expanding. Improved database technology is making it easier to discover when estates are opened in the country's 3,000 probate courts, giving collectors an opportunity to file timely claims. But if there is no formal estate and thus nothing to file against, the human touch comes into play.

For those who survive, many tools help them deal with stress: yoga classes and foosball tables, a rotating assortment of free snacks as well as full-scale lunches twice a month.

Most new employees don't make it past 90 days and for those that do, there's yoga classes and foosball tables, free snacks, and full-scale lunches twice a month. (The company says it was named one of the best collection places to work.)

The company gets no love from the people who commented on the article. Says one:

I have personally spoken with several people from DCM while helping my daughter sort through the mess that her father's suicide left. No matter how "nice" the person was on the other end of the phone, the industry is preying on the innocent. It speaks volumes of the state of this country when debt collectors masquerade as "grief counselors".

If you work or have worked for a debt collection agency, I want to talk to you.

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Where good ideas go to die

Posted at 1:02 PM on February 9, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

This video, depicting the difficulty of getting ideas around the suffocating government bureaucracy at NASA, is getting lots of traction today.

The video was produced by astronaut Andrew Thomas.

The film shows how innovation-blocking behaviors are "all too common" at the space center, according to a story on NPR's Morning Edition today.

The film was shown at a NASA retreat, seeking to find out why good ideas don't get implemented.

Question: How much different (or not) is this satire from the way ideas get considered at your workplace?

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Pilots on Sullenberger

Posted at 3:23 PM on January 20, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

Chesley Sullenberger III, the pilot of the jetliner that ditched in the Hudson River last week, put out a statement yesterday that basically told America's media to calm down and move on. He was to be at the inauguration today but, mercifully, no media seems to have spotted him yet.

Through not fault of his own, the attention to Sullenberger seems to be -- understandably -- bristling others in the "pilot community," who point out that more people than Sullenberger were involved in the successful ditching.

On his excellent blog, Blogging at FL250, the Minneapolis-based regional airline pilot known only as Sam makes the point.

Although we don't know much about what happened in the cockpit during the ditching yet, we do know that Sullenburger was a Captain's Captain in his conduct during the evacuation and afterwards.

That said, there were a lot of things going on here that go beyond Captain Sullenburger. First off, he wasn't the only crew in that airplane. Both the First Officer and the flight attendants were very experienced, and obviously very capable. The aft flight attendant, in particular, is known to have stopped panicking passengers from opening the rear doors, which would've sunk the airplane much more quickly. Luck played a pretty big role, too. If they'd hit those birds at 500 feet of altitude instead of 3000, this could've turned out very differently. If the 1/2 mile visibility in snow that prevailed earlier in the day had stuck around, I doubt the outcome would've been so positive. If you're going to have to ditch an airliner, you can't really beat a calm Hudson River just off midtown Manhattan.

I'm going to have to disagree with Dave in his assessment that only a handful of pilots could've pulled this off. I personally think that a majority of airline pilots, if put in this situation, would rise to the occasion. This outcome was no accident in the same way that the safety record of the last eight years hasn't been an accident. It is instead the product of a safety culture almost unique to the airlines, one which has the efforts of thousands of pilots like Captain Sullenburger at its core. The fact that the crew responded so well to a scenario nobody trained for isn't only a testament to the crew, it's also a testament to a system that has in recent years recognized that the most serious situations are usually those that are unforeseen and has responded by adjusting training to emphasize dealing with situations there's no checklist for. It's a system that recognizes that truly safe pilots are made, not born. It's a system that seeks out deficiencies and remedies them, that hunts down threats and reduces risks.

Another pilot blogger, known only as "Dave" on Flight Level 390 takes a different stance:

I may not have had the "right stuff" to pull this off. The passengers of this A320 are very lucky that this amazing crew kept their cool. I would hesitate to guess how many pilots flying the Line could have done this... Probably not more than a dozen.

I'm having dinner tonight with an acquaintance from Delta and his co-pilot. Both are making their first trip into the Twin Cities now that Delta has taken over Northwest. I think I'll leave the issue out of the conversation.

The next time I get on a plane, however, I'm going to go with Sam's version.

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What price passion?

Posted at 12:59 PM on January 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

On Sunday, the New York Times ran a piece from local-boy-makes-better Thomas Friedman, in which he called for an end to the federal income tax for teachers.

One of the smartest stimulus moves we could make would be to eliminate federal income taxes on all public schoolteachers so more talented people would choose these careers. I'd also double the salaries of all highly qualified math and science teachers, staple green cards to the diplomas of foreign students who graduate from any U.S. university in math or science -- instead of subsidizing their educations and then sending them home -- and offer full scholarships to needy students who want to go to a public university or community college for the next four years.

Philip Greenspun, the former MIT computer guy and educatior, takes Friedman to task today.

Were we to implement the tax break immediately, 100% of the benefits would flow to existing teachers because no new ones will be hired until September. Friedman implies that these existing teachers are untalented because they are paid so little (topping out at just over $100,000 per year after 22 years, or age 44 for the typical person who starts after college) I don't think he believes that the untalented will do a better job without the distraction of paying federal income tax, so perhaps he is holding out hope for five years from now. In September 2009, a truly talented young person, hearing about this tax break, will decide to go to a teacher's college to pursue a Bachelor's in Education. In September 2013 that person will have graduated and be ready to work. Assuming an average career length of 30 years, by 2014 fully 3 percent of our schoolteachers will be the talented ones attracted by the tax break and taxpayers will only be wasting 97 percent of their money by paying the untalented legacy schoolteachers extra.

Neither mentioned a dilemma that I didn't think about either, until I was out at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Worthington a few weeks ago. Gary Gillin, the Dean of Communication & Enrollment and Amber Luinenburg, the campus marketer, were giving me a tour of the campus, which featured some well-equipped labs for plant research. We also discussed the the nursing program.

In both cases, I remarked about the demand for both in today's economy; biofuels and nursing are growth areas.

"You have to have the passion for whatever career you're going to go into," both stressed to me. It was a light-bulb moment then, as it was when I read Friedman's column.

The dilemma? How do you attract people to an industry as important as teaching without making it about the money? And what is the point at which the passion for what you do becomes secondary to the monetary benefit you derive from doing it? Is it possible to provide a financial incentive without ending up with people who are only doing something for the money?

Somewhat related: Be sure to read Elizabeth Baier's excellent story today on highly-educated immigrants who came to the United States, only to start from scratch. On the one hand, we want talented people to go into particular careers. On the other, we present significant obstacles to the ones who want to.

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A national day of service: Are you in?

Posted at 2:31 PM on January 12, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

I've written a couple of times in the last few months about the generally-forgotten aspect of Obamamania -- his call for people to volunteer more.

It's not happening all that much, although it's still early. Still Michele Obama sent an e-mail message around today with a firm date for you to pitch in -- Monday.

Here's a site where you can find who needs your help and where you can sign up.

If you sign up to help out somewhere, let me know. I'll stop by to document your help.

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What's recession-proof?

Posted at 5:58 AM on December 9, 2008 by Bob Collins (10 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, The jobs we do

Two stories today remind us that these are not normal times, and not even normal downturns. In a normal economic "downturn," there are recession-proof jobs, jobs that are so critical, or fill a need of the times so perfectly, they can't possible be eliminated.

Health care is one such historical recession-proof job. But two large area health care organizations have announced cutbacks. Park Nicollet Health Services and North Memorial Health Care will trim 613 jobs.

"My colleagues thought health care was recession proof," Lawrence Massa, president of the Minnesota Hospital Association, told the Star Tribune. "We're seeing that's not the case."

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports today, another recession-proof gig is endangered -- prostitution.

Big Sister is not the only brothel suffering the effects of a battered global economy. While the world's oldest profession may also be one of its most recession-proof businesses, brothel owners in Europe and the United States say the global financial crisis is hurting a once lucrative industry.

Egbert Krumeich, the manager of Artemis, Berlin's largest brothel, said that in November, usually peak season for the sex trade, revenues were down by 20 percent. In Reno, Nev., the famed Mustang Ranch recently laid off 30 percent of its staff, citing a decline in high-spending clients.

An article on Yahoo Jobs earlier this year suggested education is a recession-proof job. Teaching? Have you seen the size of the state's projected budget deficit?

Forbes says there's always jobs for salespeople, although now they're called "business development specialists."

What about you? Are recession-proof? If so, I'd like to talk to you about your job for News Cut's "The Jobs We Do" category. Use this form or e-mail me.

(Posting here will be very light today. I'm driving to Worthington today to meet with officials at Minnesota West Community and Technical College. It will be on of the stops on the News Cut on Campus tour starting next month. Each Wednesday I'll be at a different college/university in Minnesota, talking to students about their journey and their outlook. Stops will include, White Bear Lake, Ely, Duluth, Worthington, Winona, and Moorhead. Everybody has an interesting story to tell and if you're in college, I'd like to tell yours. So stay tuned for more information.)

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Another day on the job

Posted at 9:09 AM on December 1, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

You think you're having a rough Monday?

Outside of Boston, a backhoe operator went to work today thinking it would be just another day on the job, right up until the part where he demolished a house by accident.

Says a local TV report:

Residents of a home on Winthrop Street in Stoneham were lucky to escape unharmed Monday when a heavy-equipment backhoe demolishing the house next door crashed through the roof of their house.

Crews were in the process of demolishing a house at 6 Winthrop that had burned on July 4th when the large backhoe hit their home, the Stoneham Fire Department said.

They said the operator of the backhoe was unharmed.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.

"It was not immediately clear what caused the accident?" Pssssst. It was the backhoe.

Here's to a better Monday for you.

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The hardest working person in the news business

Posted at 9:58 AM on November 30, 2008 by Bob Collins (16 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

Only two pieces of evidence proved that the hardest working person in journalism stopped by today: Tracks in the driveway, and a newspaper on the doorstep... or at least close to it.

Few American workers get as little recognition as the newspaper carrier, a job that -- like newspapers themselves -- may be disappearing. They do their work while we get your beauty sleep.

Even with a lousy economy, this is the worst and best time of the year for the carrier. There's nothing worse than a thick Sunday newspaper and during the Christmas season, the inserts add hundreds of pounds to the carrier's load. The Minnesota winters, of course, are a horrible time to be out on the pre-dawn streets and the unshoveled walkways.

But it's also tip-time, or didn't you notice the Christmas card mixed in with the ads? Occasionally there's a note with it from your carrier. Sometimes they ask for a tip, most of the times they don't. Send them the money.

I worked as a newspaper carrier for 10 years, up until around 2004. I usually don't sleep very well after 3 in the morning and I decided one day I might as well get up and be productive. I delivered the Pioneer Press and Wall St. Journal and here's what I learned that most people don't know:

Business is picking up for last of the diaper services

Posted at 1:51 PM on August 12, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

So the last diaper service in the Twin Cities is closing. Cheek-to-Cheek Diaper Service went out, not with a bang, but a swipe at the young parents of Minnesota. "Minnesotans are not as environmentally conscious as they pretend to be. Cloth is just as easy to use as disposable," the owner told the Star Tribune.

How many diaper services are left in the state? Two, according to Carmen Barthel, the manager of one of them -- the Small Change Diaper Service in La Crescent. "But most of our customers are from Wisconsin."

Business is picking up for her firm, though. It's doubled -- from 13 in January to 26 now. It's not enough to make a buck (Cheek-to-Cheek had about 6 times as many customers), but then it's not really designed to.

The diaper service is part of the Ability Building Center, a program that provides ability training to developmentally disabled adults. It trains 80 people between two sites.

"When we first started, we had high hopes that we were going to have lots of customers, Ms. Barthel told me today, "but it just never worked out as we had hoped."

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Rollin' back

Posted at 7:20 AM on May 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

ESPN presented a nice little segment -- heck, it ran longer than the Celtics-Cavaliers story -- about the resurgence of roller derby. It features a few shots of the Minnesota RollerGirls, and one of its players, Jill Riley of the Current.

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The bearers of bad news

Posted at 3:25 PM on April 9, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads, The jobs we do

If there is one job that most people probably don't want, it may well be Rev. Jeffrey Stewart's, the director of the Minneapolis Police Chaplain Corps. His job is to tell people their loved one is dead.

"It's not for everybody," he told me during a break in a conference in Brooklyn Center today, exploring the psychological footprints of disaster. He and chaplain Linda Koelman were the people who broke the bad news to the families of the I-35W bridge collapse, the focus of much of the conference. "One of the things that we look for in chaplains and the type of chaplain that we've been able to get in Minneapolis is people who have a genuine calling for working with people in crisis and who have a belief that because we're there, this terrible situation will be better because we spent the time to talk to them, to make the notification in person, to help put them in touch with the resources they need."

"We see ourselves as the ones that walk the families through the valley of the shadow of death," he said. And after a relative is told of the death, he said notifiers should have nothing to ever do with the family again. "Like a smell that might take you back to your mother's kitchen, we remind people of the death of their loved one and the healing process can't begin. We get hugs sometimes. We get handshakes and then people say 'thank you. I hope I never see you again.'"

Stewart says he doesn't deviate from a standard procedure. "We ask the person if they know someone named (name of deceased), and they'll say something like, 'yes, he's my son.' We never want to notify the wrong person, so we have to establish the identity of who we're talking to. And then I'll say, 'I have some very bad news. Your son is dead.' We don't say how he died and we don't use colloquialisms, and then we let them ask questions."

Stewart and Koelman were a constant presence at the family assistance center for the I-35W collapse. The center closed 10 days after the disaster, but before the last body was recovered. In cases involving mass casualties, he said, "everyone is afraid they'll be the last family there." When the center closed, Stewart and Koelman kept in touch with families of the missing two to three times a day. When the last body was recovered, he was already heading for the home of the victim. "We had a race against the media," he said. "It was a huge sigh of relief for the victim's spouse and we beat the media by 18 minutes. We were happy on the way home."

Listen to the comments of Rev. Jeffrey Stewart

On the road with the Glascocks

Posted at 1:19 PM on April 4, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do

Gasoline rose about 20 cents a gallon this week, a drain on the home economics of most people. But it could always be worse; you could be an independent long-haul trucker.

Take Danny and Carma Glascock of Jermyn, Texas, who are spending the next 34 hours sitting in the TA truckstop in Somerset, Wis. Truckers aren't allowed to work more than 70 hours in a week and the Glascocks time is up. So today they're not making a dime.

The rising cost of diesel and inflation in general has made a tough life tougher still for people like the Glascocks. Some truckers pulled off the road earlier this week to protest, but the Glascocks have loan payments to make on their trailer, which this week is hauling a giant tank down to Texas, now that they've dropped off a load of acoustical tile in Owatonna.

There was a time when diesel was much cheaper than gasoline; those days are over. Today, diesel was going for $3.99 where the Glascocks filled up. That gets them about 6 miles, and it's one of the reasons why they're picking their loads more carefully these days. It's an art, figuring out how to get the highest-paying loads from Point A to Point B, and having a load someone wants shipped at Point B so you don't sit for days on end, or you don't end up with a load that's costing you more money to move than the shipper is paying.

"It used to be alright to run a cheap load once in awhile," Danny told me today. "But now you can get into an area that you can't get out of." He pulls out a calculator to explain. "Let's say I get a load that pays $1.80 a mile for a 1,000 mile trip. At $4 a gallon, and six miles to the gallon, it'll cost me $668 (167 gallons). " The shipment will pay $1,800. Because he leases himself to a national trucking firm, the Glascocks will get 73 percent of that, or $1,340. "You can't do 1,000 miles in less than two days," he says. He figures with the cost of breakdowns, other equipment, and loan payments, he needs to make about $350 a day to survive. His hypothetical trip -- a pretty typical one these days -- will pay him $336 a day, $14 less than what he needs.

A blown-out tire costs $500. Any mechanical work costs about $85 an hour. He pays $676 a month for the loan he took out for the trailer and once that's paid off, he figures, it'll be time to buy a new truck. He has three tarps to cover the loads that wear out regularly and costs them $1,000 to replace.

The Glascocks figure they grossed about $65,000 last year, though they disagree about how much profit they made. "I think we made about $10,000," Carma says. "I think $20,000," says Danny.

They'll figure it out when they get back home to do their taxes. They get home once every three-and-a-half months.

The Glascocks started their trucking career 13 years ago when the factory that employed both closed. "The oil fields in Texas are booming again and I can always go back there and work," Danny Glascock says, " but the thing with the oil business is you'll be looking for work eventually because it's a boom-bust business. This gives me steady work."

It's not all bad, both admit. They like to see the country together. Carma says she enjoyed last Christmas, even though a load didn't come through and they had to sit and wait for one, missing Christmas with the family. "It's a good thing we were in Las Vegas," she says.

As we talked, another truck pulled in within feet of theirs. If it stays, it might be tough for both to sleep tonight, thanks to the idling tractor. That's not always the case, though. The Glascocks say the load they picked up a few weeks ago was one of the best ever: honeybees. "Nobody parked anywhere near us," Danny Glascock says. "It was the best nights' sleep I've ever had."

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