ST. FRANCIS, Maine — The owner of a northern Maine Christmas tree farm is defending his decision to use bonded foreign workers at his facility despite questions the move has raised from residents and one longtime advocate of laws protecting Maine employees’ jobs.
Kelco Industries owner Doug Kell Sr. freely admits to hiring four Jamaican workers at his farm in St. Francis and said he was forced to do so after local employees proved consistently unreliable.
Based in Milbridge, the company makes and sells Christmas trees and wreath-making supplies. Wholesale Christmas trees are grown at the St. Francis site, which has been in operation since 1980.
On Monday, Kell, speaking from the company headquarters in Milbridge, said the Jamaican workers are fully eligible for employment with federal work visas and had been working at NewLand Nursery and Landscaping in Ellsworth before heading north.
The tree farm is adjacent to property owned by a family member of Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, a longtime labor rights advocate who has fought against the use of foreign workers in the Maine forestry industry.
“This really kind of floored me,” Jackson said Monday morning. “I just couldn’t imagine them being that stupid to bring in foreign workers [at Kelco] but, by God, they were.”
The senator said after receiving calls from several constituents reporting they had been laid off from Kelco and replaced by foreign workers he had contacted officials with the Maine Department of Labor because, regardless of the Jamaican workers’ legal status to work in this country, Kelco Industries must first apply to the Department of Labor for a permit to employ bonded foreign workers.
“They may be all legal for NewLand [Nursery and Landscaping],” Jackson said, “but you can’t pass them back and forth.”
Jackson said he subsequently got word from the state labor officials the matter had been referred to their federal counterparts.
“On Friday morning I heard from the [Maine] Labor Department and they said, ‘Yes, there is a problem at Kelco,’” Jackson said. “They told me they had filed a complaint on my behalf with the United States Department of Labor.”
Allegations connected with the foreign workers’ visa program are handled at the federal level, according to Julie Rabinowitz, Maine Department of Labor director of communications.
“They will make a determination if there is enough information to open an investigation,” Rabinowitz said.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor had requested media inquiries be in writing and had not responded to those questions by press time.
Kell said representatives with the U.S. Department of Labor were scheduled to meet with him Monday but that meeting had been postponed at the department’s request.
But when they do decide to meet with him, Kell said, he’s more than ready.
“I have all the paperwork for them to look at,” he said. “This is the first time I’d ever really sat down and compared employee performance year to year and I’ll show them that.”
What Kell said he discovered after looking at those comparisons is a history of employees at the St. Francis facility doing subpar work, when they bothered to show up at all.
“Last year, I had 20 workers up there and they did not begin to put in the hours that 10 workers are doing now,” he said. “What we have are young people that really do not want to work.”
The problem, he said, is not new and goes back decades.
“In 1984 or ’85, I set up a wreath-making shop in St. Francis to create some jobs for the locals,” Kell said. “The ones that came to work thought it was a sewing bee and came to just socialize so I had to shut it down because it was losing money.”
Not long after that, Kell said he moved some of the projects from Milbridge to St. Francis to provide year-round employment for residents, with similar results.
“They did not want to work during the winter,” he said. “They wanted to be laid off so they could collect unemployment.”
Kell is quick to say he has a solid core of 11 good, productive workers from the St. Francis area, but it’s not enough.
“Last year at this time, we had 20 workers,” he said. “My problem is some of them showed up, would leave after two hours [and] might come back or not.”
Even the better workers proved unreliable Kell said, thanks to a state system he claims rewards those who choose not to work.
“There’s a problem up there,” he said. “The [Maine Department of Human Services] gets to them and tells them, ‘Don’t make too much money and we can get you food stamps and reduced rent and health care.’”
Saying he was fed up, Kell decided to contract four legally bonded workers from Jamaica.
Because of some miscommunication with his St. Francis facility manager, Kell said six locals were hired before the Jamaicans showed up.
“I told [the manager] he was not authorized to hire them,” Kell Sr. said. “I told him to let them go [and] I can show their work performance was not good.”
It’s a situation with which area residents must come to terms, he said.
“These [Jamaican] workers are legal, no question about it,” Kell Sr. said. “If I want to stay in business, I need to stay profitable.”
The owner is absolutly right here. If local people will not put in a full days work then you have to get people who will work. As for the comment about DHS that is right on the mark. The more people DHS can put on the welfare roster the better to justify their existance and their jobs. It is disgusting that people would rather sit back and take welfare when a job is offerred. Oh, thaat job is beneath them so they do not take them.
I for one am tired of those who think work is for the stupid when DHS will show them how to milk the system for everything.
Pay a freaking living wage and you will hire good people! Nothing depresses the human spirit more than working your life away for wages which won’t even provide you with the basic necessities of life. This employer, and all his ilk, are wrong to hire people based only upon profit. Yes, he deserves to make a profit but his workers deserve to make a living wage too. My bet is that Mr. Kell is also against universal healthcare because he wouldn’t want to pay for something that doesn’t directly benefit him. Other than donated services foreign workers don’t get healthcare in the US do they? Nice set up for Mr. Kell, bad for the country. The trouble with the right wing economic vision is that when you deny workers a living wage, eventually, nobody can buy your products no matter how cheaply they are produced. You don’t need a PhD in economics to know this GOP economic model doesn’t work. Look what the Bush years did to America. And now those hypocritical right-wing republicans blame democrats. Ridiculous!
Can you tell everyone what a “living wage” is in dollar amounts? As far as health insurance, you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about, because Mr Kell pays 95% of his employees health insurance!
Paying for health insurance constitutes a living wage?
Let’s say he pays $10 an hour. At 40 hours a week, after taxes for a single person, that’s about $300 a week. $300×4 = 1200. Let’s give rent/mortgage $600 a month (that’s low, midcoast area is about $700 a month) That leaves $600 for the rest of the month. Now, try to spread that left over $600 between utilities, groceries and gas for the vehicle so you can get to work. What is left? That’s right. Nothing. In fact, you’re in the negative. Now, add in the possibility that this fictional worker has a child. Add childcare. Where my daughter goes, it’s costs us $117 a week – oh, and that’s for only three days a week. – How about if this fictional worker is trying to go to school as well so they can make life better for their child and themselves?
Is $10 an hour a living wage these days? It’s not, and minimum wage is what, $7.50 an hour?
It is simple in that if he pays them for 40 hours a week and that puts them just over the Social Services guidelines they lose more than they gain by working. So he is paying at or just over poverty levels which for an individual is $11,170.00. Your $10 an hour example is $20,800.00 gross.
That poverty level is a joke and everyone who ever paid for the necessities of life knows it. The equation must have been put together by someone who believed in GOP economics. I am incredulous that the government gets away with such an outdated calculation, if it was EVER accurate. Ridiculous in the extreme!
….
That why I left Maine….. I was at 10 and it wasn’t enough and I couldn’t get food stamps nor health care but still had to get food box. I had rent, lights, cell, truck and house and truck ins. $170 was pulled from my paycheck every two weeks, so the some of the folks can buy junkfood off foodstamps… or redbull… so I left the state well I left the country to seek better life and I did, I make 30 an hour now… btw that is converted to usa funds… and you know what there alot of foreign workers up here and its the same story here….. not enough good workers even min wage out here is almost 20 an hour….
Well put Millicent!
Here’s a clue-in 1960, minimum wage was $1.00 per hour. In order to have the same economic power today, as that $1 did in 1960 minimum wage would have to be over $23.00 per hour. How many Maine businesses pay anything close to that?
You obviously have no knowledge of facts or purposely distort them – the minimum wage in 1970 (my first job) was 65 cents an hour, in 1973 it was 90 cents an hour ; so your ficticious $1.00 an hour in 1960 is a “bullcrap” number – as is your lame atempt at economics.
A little basic research shows that the federally-established minimum wage in 1970 was $1.45 per hour, so either your memory or your paychecks were deficient. The federal minimum wage went to $1.00 per hour in 1956. http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/chart.htm
The buying power of the minimum wage today is at its lowest since 1955. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=405
Google is your friend.
Lol yes sir, gotta love them internets. Nice bit of quick research.
Thanks for looking this up Earthling3.
Sorry, I don’t believe that. I especially do not believe that when it comes to foreign labor that works for him. I do believe it is remotely possible that he offers health insurance to his employees. But as far as him contributing to the premium….
As for a living wage in northern Maine, I’d estimate that at $20 in 2012 money. Now you’re going to lecture us all on how no business can survive paying what I consider to be a living wage. Of course I’d disagree with you once again and point out what I said in my original post. To quote myself: “The trouble with the right wing economic vision is that when you deny workers a living wage, eventually, nobody can buy your products no matter how cheaply they are produced.” So erika, by inference you might deduct that if everyone made a living wage they could afford the basic necessities of life and thus business would continue. True, McDonald’s might close because investors weren’t getting what they believe to be a gratuitous ROI but I don’t care if McDonald’s closes. Also true, there would be inflation for those non-essential products we buy. I don’t care about that either. I just believe that if a person puts in an honest days work then they should be able to earn at least enough to provide the basic necessities of life, including healthcare.
I want to live were you do, the pay up at Kelco is less then $9.00 an hour and I dont care what you say that is not enough money to live!!!
I think “Erika” shares the managers problem because apparently she has been working for the company for 17 years, yet she is so far off from what is happening up here it is laughable!!!
How does he pay health insurance if its only seasonal work? 95% of the workers in St. Francis can’t even get unemployement.
Spare me your left wing dribble. Not all work can pay $15.00 to $20.00 dollars an hour. When wages take away the profit then there is no work at all. But I guess that doesn’t compute with the left.
I disagree, you pay people a living wage, there are more people spending, more people spending means more goods being bought and sold. Yes there would be a lean month or two for business owners/employers as the money cycles through, but the anti-living wage argument of “It will cost too much” is not a legit one.
Let’s take your statement and apply it to the U.S. auto industry. The wages and benefits paid allmost destroyed it.
The auto industry workers make above a living wage on average, again your argument is invalid. In that case the Union and the Employers came to an agreement on wages. Has nothing to do with a living wage. Think about something closer to home like Twin Rivers Paper (formerly Fraser Paper) in Madawaska. They told their union employees who were making more than a living wage to take pay cuts of they would lay people off. Labor agreed and took the pay cuts. Two months later Twin Rivers announced millions in bonus pay to executives. The reason business doesn’t pay a living wage is not because it cuts into profits, it is because they wont have enough profit to make 20 times more than any employee they pay.
My arguement is not invalid. The wages and benefits paid in the auto industry were a major part of its collapse. When $2000.00 per car went to retirement funding and $1000.00 per car went to health benefits of retirees there was not much profit left to GM before its restructuring. Again let’s return to the base theme of this article which is that the local people would not show up for work. I guess when you have no work ethic that is ok with you.
no it is invalid because they were getting more than a living wage, you are making a larger leap in pay than is necessary in your comparison. If a living wage is $15-20 and hour, and you are saying no look at the auto industry who are getting $30-35 when you include benefits, then it is not a valid comparison.
If one takes your assumption that a living wage is $15 to $20 per hour then one has to assume that the product produced will bring a price sufficent to pay those wages plus the cost of production and a small profit. Such is not the case for most businesses in Maine. You cannot pay wages that make you uncompetitive.
A living wage law would be Federal, thus all would have to deal with it. Simply apply tariffs to imported goods, thus eliminating the foreign advantage of 10 cent per hour labor. If people make more they spend more. So you may make $5 less on an item, but now you are selling twice as many. Volume makes up for the less profit per item.
P.S. almost got whiplash from your quick change in arguments btw.
It is not a quick change in arguements. The wages paid to produce an item are an element of its cost. If those wages make an item too high it will not sell. People are allways calling for higher wages but certain people are not worth them.
If I make “Widgets” and currently my profit is $10 per “Widget.” So now living wage is passed, so because of my increased labor cost I only make $5 per “Widget.” Not only am I still making a profit per “Widget” the people I employ can now afford my “Widget” where they could not buy one on the wages I paid them before. Not to mention because a Living Wage would be a Federal law, the person next door to me who makes “Gadgets” now has to pay a living wage, and their employees who yesterday could not afford my “Widget” can now afford to buy… See how that works? Yes there may have to be some exempted employers like farmers. Real farmers who grow fruits, grains, and veggies, things we need for basic life. We need food, we don’t need Christmas trees. And like I said above, there may be a lean month or two as the money cycles through, but in the end what you lose per item in profit, you will regain in volume. So if an employeer pays more in wages, yet still comes out the same at the end of the year in profits, how is that bad?
YES!
If the owner of this business has to pay higher wages for people that don’t work he won’t make it. Wreath businesses are competitive. They cannot be too expensive or no one will buy them. After all, people must buy Christmas gifts. Wreaths are nice but not necessary.
The auto industry was irresponsible. They continued to manufacture SUV’s and trucks in too large of a volume while gas prices steadily increased. Those vehicles were their money makers. They were making 15-20% profit on those, while only about 3% on a car. People stopped purchasing the larger vehicles and their profits were significantly reduced. Sales dropped from 17 million to 10 million vehicles.
Then there was the financial crisis, which made it more difficult for customers to get a loan to purchase a vehicle. Profits dropped, shares dropped, and shareholders were concerned about bankruptcy. All while this was going on, the CEO’s were still being payed ridiculous amounts of money.
As for this article, I have to wonder why local people were not showing up for work. Yes there are those that don’t have much for a work ethic, but what kind of work environment does this business provide? Does he have wages that are livable? How does he treat his employees? Is it safe? I wouldn’t mind hearing from some of the people that did work for him and as to why they worked the way they did or why they left, or why they’re still there and perhaps enjoy working for him. As it stands, this article only gives the POV of the business owner.
When Henry Ford paid $5 a day workers lined up around the building to get that.He was vilified by the business people that he was crazy.He said he wanted his workers to afford what they were making.A century later Ford is still strong.
Unions and bloated wages and benefit packages are keeping GM from paying back the billions they still owe the taxpayers.
it has nothing to do with the fact that GM paid their CEO 7.7 million dollars in 2011, and then had the nerve to complain, after being bailed out by the tax payers, that the government wouldn’t allow them to pay their CEO even more. They also had record breaking profits. Ford’s CEO made 30 Million last year. Chrysler has payed back most of their loan, and also posted best earnings in 12 years.
So let’s try this-Kell pays his workers more and reduces the prices on his products. As a result of the lower prices he doubles, triples, even quadruples the volume of product he sells, thereby increasing his profit. The problem is that MOST US companies want to make maximum profit on each and every item they sell and want to ingore volume profits. Stupid is as stupid does.
can you guarantee that he double, triple, quadruple his sales?
You’re missing a few factors: If Kell pays his workers more, and reduces his price, he potentially loses money on each item. Increasing the volume of sales would only increase the loss, all other things being equal. In the wreath business, the margins are rather slim to begin with. Most of the cost of a wreath is in labor, not in the materials. So, how does increasing the volume help?
One technical point I’d like to point out, it’s “his company”. So he run’s his company as he wishes to do. He employ’s people at a wage they agreed to. So if you can’t live on the wage you agreed to work for then either quit and get a better paying job or get 2 jobs ” like I did as a young person”. You and Jackson have no right to tell him how to run “his” company. Now if it’s proven he has done something illegal so be it and he will pay the price. To make a “STUPID” comment like Jackson did is outrageous. Now if our Governor would have made that remarks there would have been a field day on him, but I guess when you have D in front of your name, just saying.
Unfortunately you are not on target there jimbob. He is hiring foreign workers as an alternative to paying American workers a living wage. Yet while he does this he profits from the infrastructure etc that American workers provided for him. This shouldn’t happen.
Sounds like a genius like you should be making wreaths and raking in the big money. You could hire as many workers as you want at $50/hr. What’s stopping you?
“drivel”
they didn’t want the living age because, according to DHHS, they would make too much money and not be eligible for food stamps and other programs offered by DHHS. It also sounds like they really didn’t want the jobs, regardless of the pay. It was more of a time to socialize than work.
He ‘s not the only one.Other companies that do the same work pay minimum wage for exhausting work and no set schedule.This sounds like another TP crybaby who wants everything for nothing and is getting away with it.
So you don’t think much of your fellow Mainers do ya? Have you actually reported people who are abusing the system? Have you offered them jobs. Instead of bashing….what are you doing about it?
Maybe Sen. Troy Jackson should make the people realize that they have to actually work a full 40 hour week if they want to keep their jobs! I can tell you first hand that there are very few workers that Kelco has hired for the St.Francis farm that actually work 40 hours a week. This is nothing new, it has gone on for all of the 17 years I have worked for Kelco! It has come down to Kelco’s hiring contract labor to get the work done more effectively. When Sen. Jackson figures out how to get people to go to work and actually work in St.Francis, he should come to Washington County and get people to hold a 40 hour a week job during wreathing season. It is frustrating when you pay $120 for a physical and the employee either doesn’t show up to work or quits after a day or less of work. Contract labor is the only way some people can stay in business!
You are assuming Kell is telling the truth. He has a huge self interest to lie since his company may be in deep federal trouble.
I’m not assuming anything! I’ve worked at Kelco Industries for 17 years doing the payroll and human resources. I know what has been going on over the years. Not sure what federal trouble you are refering too, that he hired New Land Nursery to sheer the Christmas trees? Since when has hiring contract labor been illegal? The reporter stated that Mr.Kell hired four Jamaicans which is untrue. New Land Nursery was hired and they are the ones who sent four Jamaicans. The four Jamaicans are not on Kelco’s payroll. Kelco’s pays New Land for contract labor, the same as they do with Labor Ready during wreath season because we can’t get enough local people willing to work a 40 hour week.
You may be 100% correct about Kelco, however you are not at all correct about who to blame for unmotivated, unreliable, young workers. It’s not Jackson and it’s not Obama as others here have suggested… it’s the lazy people and the parents, teachers and community and culture they grew up in. Even now when people point the finger of blame at the employer, the politician or whoever they are encouraging young people and the people who raised them (all of the above mentioned) to continue to believe they are not responsible for their own actions. A work ethic has to be instilled at home very early in life and no child should hear anyone blamed for his/her behaviors.
I don’t believe I blamed anyone for the workers not wanting to work. Jackson is the one who started this mess without getting his facts straight.
Your entire original post relates to how you believe Senator Jackson should make people work and/or figure out how to make people work and that he should work at St. Francis… Without question those statement clearly place the responsibility on Senator Jackson.
You said… “Maybe Sen. Troy Jackson should make the people realize that they have to actually work a full 40 hour week if they want to keep their jobs! ”
And… “When Sen. Jackson figures out how to get people to go to work and actually work in St.Francis, he should come to Washington County and get people to hold a 40 hour a week job during wreathing season…”
And… once again you claim that it is Jackson who started this mess. Really? It wasn’t lazy workers? I don’t even know Jackson but I can tell you that it’s not his responsibility to make employees do their job… it is the worker’s responsibility, his supervisor and his employer. If they can’t motivate the workers how can they expect anyone else to…
This is not my first trip around the block and I’m entirely family with HR Management. A good work environment will draw good workers and it is the responsibility of the employer to provide that. If that’s not the problem it’s the responsibility of the employer to find out what the problem is and attempt to correct it. Just how you come to the conclusion that Senator Jackson is responsible for any of this I couldn’t say…
You are correct – it’s not “Obama” or “Jackson” specifically – it’s the culture and climate we’ve been propogating as a society for the last 30-40 years. The New Deal was an attempt to make structural changes and create a safety net for the poorest of the poor. It was intended to be a short-term helping hand to get the nation working again. The New Deal has evolved, since WWII, into a way for the masses to have their safety net and play in it too. 42% of Aroostook County residents receive MaineCare. 42%. That is a ridiculously high number that cannot possibly be sustained for the long term. Unfortunately, it has bred in a new paradigm for some folks that they can never get out, so they shouldn’t try. I have tenants who would prefer to live in public housing, and are on the waiting list. They are also consistently late on their rent – and they have no real excuse other than the new baby they just had (so they can get benefits – yes, they told me that!!), and the pot they deny smoking in a non-smoking apartment. The boyfriend has a minimum wage job – enough to pay the rent and buy groceries, if he would choose to. Of course, he could also get a second job, and he wouldn’t be jeopardizing his “family’s” ability to have a roof over their heads. The young lady could do more than babysit her niece and nephew for $60/week; of course, then she would need childcare for the new baby. And who is supposed to provide that? My latest encounter: “Please give me an eviction notice so the state can help pay the rent I owe you.”
When people blame Obama or Jackson for the problem, what they’re really blaming is the general idea or concept being promoted by such people, who continue to propogate the idea that society owes people something. My tenants only reinforce my belief that we have raised a generation or two who ask not what they can do for their country, but what their country can do for them, regardless of how lazy or stupid they are or act. No matter what decision they make, they want a guaranteed “get out of jail free” card, and they want you and me to pay for it. Who pays for public housing? The PUBLIC – meaning you and me. So, to expand on my tenant’s case, if I lose them as a tenant, they go into public housing, not only do I lose the needed income to pay the bills, but I also get to pay for the roof over their heads at no benefit to me. Not only do I get to work and feed and clothe and shelter my family; now I get to pay a little bit to feed and clothe and shelter someone else’s. And when politicians talk of helping the helpless, I cringe – not because we shouldn’t help the truly helpless; but because of how the “helpless” are defined. Some folks could use a night or two in the cold at a young age to create the incentive to get off their butts, study harder, work harder, be creative, etc. – so that someday they won’t act like we all owe them the basics of life. Maybe a little light reading of Thoreau’s “Self Reliance” would do our nation some good.
Well those 4 Jamaicans may or may not be on Mr Kell’s payroll but I was at the local restraunt that he was at and stated to the owner that whatever the four of them ate he was picking up the tab. Not to mention that they are being housed in his house on the farm. Now I worked Kelco for many years and never once had my tab or housing paid for.
Ummm……….I think she has more “inside knowledge” by far than you do.
I probably do too.
You must be a Jackson fan.
You assuming he’s in deep Federal trouble.
Most of the people in Aroostook County have their 40 hours in by Wednesday, so I think you are just plain wrong. Also, the people in that community have to pay the taxes for that company that I am sure are under the Tree Growth program. Another Poliquin.
By Wednesday? I would like to see where you get that statistic. Maybe you do know one or two people who do this. That does not cover a whole demographic.
Um Getaclue8000 is right, The County is full of trucks, which need drivers. Whether they are reefers hauling potatoes or log trucks, both have their 40 in by Wednesday. We are talking about literally thousands of people. They usually put in a 70 work week, and don’t get paid overtime by the way. If they did you wouldn’t be able to afford your groceries.
They don’t get paid overtime? Is the state aware of this?
Commercial Truck Drivers are exempted from the over-time labor laws at the Federal Level. If they were paid overtime, you would literally need to be one of the 1% to buy groceries. Think about it, the people in charge of food delivery, (estimates are that there are just over 2.5 million over the road drivers) so if you think of your grocery bill now, think about what it would be like if 2.5 million people were getting paid 30 hours a week overtime.
You do know that there are laws on how many hours a truck driver can actually drive in a certain period of time? Most of these drivers are owner/ operator and paid by the weight they haul not the hour’s they work. Good talking points right from Senator Jackson email I received. Arsootook county POP. 71,827 POP. receiving some form of welfare 28,924 that’s 40.3 % of the POP. These are Mainecare/Snap/Tanf Doesn’t include housing/ fuel assistance or town pantries. Unemployed rate is 10.82 %. These numbers can be broken right down in each town In Senator Jackson District if you like, but I think you get my point.
Oh know you want to argue that Americans are working too much.
Americans have longer work weeks and less vacation time than many, many countries.
Yes I do know the laws governing trucking, and a 70 work week is the law. 14 hours per day (11 hours driving and 3 hours allowed for on duty not driving), then a 10 hour break. The 70 hour rule is reset when the driver has 34 consecutive hours off. So starting on a Monday, a truck driver has 42 hours in by Wednesday when he stops, well at least on paper. Most are not owner operators by the way, at least not in the County. 5-8 years ago there were a ton of them, but fuel prices put many out of business so they are driving for other people.
Try looking at ALL the men that work in the woods. I know by Wednesday my husband actually has 42 hours. Oh and it’s not one or two people. I don’t have enough fingers or toes to count on. By Friday he has 65 hours. Is he a hard working man? Hell yes. Does he get up at midnight? Yes. Does he provide for his family. Damn right. Do we spend alot of time with him? Not enough. So the next person that says people from up North are lazy. There may be some but don’t lump them all in the same category. Enough said.
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All good little soldiers spouting out the same talking points that I received in a email from Senator Jackson. I can forward the email I received, but I have tell you the last two sentence’s in my email probable weren’t intended for his little soldiers.
Oh I think that people in Aroostook County know how to work. I think this guy just got caught maximizing his profits by using cheap foreign workers and now he is complaining. On top of that, the residents have to pay his property taxes since he is in the Tree Growth program. Talk about welfare.
I can guarantee you, as a County native who has lived here for 40 years, that most County people do indeed know how to work. But ever since potato picking started to go by the wayside, the work ethic among young people has continuously gone downhill. This guy has a PRIVATE business which actually EMPLOYS people, which is worth 100 times more than the mealy mouthed hack politicians like Troy Jackson.
Maybe YOU can employ all the wonderful, hardworking young people. Go ahead: start a business and do it. Put your money where your mouth is.
Let me tell you right now that I have worked many 40+ hours a week and my husband rarely works less than 65 hours a week. The problem is not with St. Francis or the work ethic it is with THAT place and the managment. If Kell wants production there he needs new managment!!!!!
Miss Erika, I surely hope you are from St. Francis, for as much information that you have about us that live up here. I will tell you that the people in St. Francis do know how to work and when they are given the chance they prove it. But when you have a coward and liar like Mr. Kell giving the work to foreign labor its pretty hard to compete with that.
He is right what about the blueberry harvest i just got done supervising a group of migrants they get the job done in short order unlike the locals that could retire there in one field
I’ve heard that from another blueberry farmer, too, one I know well and trust. He hires a Jamaican crew for the harvest because he can depend on them.
what is the pay for BB harvesting?
It goes to show you that you never know what the guy living next door to you is up to…this is a comment for Troy Jackson. With regard to people not wanting to work for a living, the problem is universal. I hire a small company to maintain my lawn in Maryland. The owner was telling me recently that they can’t keep locals to work for them either; the owner said they would rather sit on their butts and collect unemployment or welfare after a short work stint. And, of course our current man in the White House encourges this; that’s only one reason why the deficit is beyond control! On the other hand, parents spend 100’s of thousands of dollars to educate their kids and they end up doing menial work to stay afloat. We definitely need some new leadership in this country. We are going down the drain fast!
No we need parents who teach their children the value of work.
Yes indeed! When I was growing up I had a job when I was 12 years old delivering newspapers. At 15 I had a job in a grocery store working after school and Saturdays. I needed the money to pay for my expenses. Today kids sit on their butts and watch TV or play with the internet. They have zero work ethic. Of course, there are exceptions. Look at the number of obese kids; it’s awful. Then, when they go to college and get married, they get divorced and move back in with their parents.
I don’t believe the current President has anything to do with these people not wanting to work. This has been going on for over 15 years that I know about!
Welfare spending has reached new records under the Obama administration. About 1/3 of US citizens qualify for some type of government aid. How is that going to help build work ethic?
And corporations, who received our generous bailout (read: corporate welfare) in 2008, are sitting on record levels of cash. Despite the administration’s repeated appeals for them to hire, they still sit on the cash and ship their jobs over seas.
Trickle down (the economic theory Ryan bases his budget upon) is dead. Trickle down assumed corporations would spend the money on jobs and the new employees would consume goods, driving more production. We all know where that system is broken – the jobs are being exported over seas.The fact that (as you say without providing references) that 1/3 of Americans are on welfare…how are you measuring that? Are you including people who retired who are receiving their own retirement funds (SS?). Social Security is not welfare.When we provided corporate welfare to the banks in ’08 we assumed they would participate in the economy, generating tax revenue. They haven’t done that.Have you watched the stock market this year? Wall Street is doing *very well*. So, Obama did his part and got the economy cranking again, but corporate America reaped the benefits and took their (proverbial) ball and went home. These are the people Romney would like to reward with *more* corporate welfare.
sorry single minded girl, that is the demorats that are giving out corporate welfare. it should have never been done, those companies that were going broke should have been left to go broke cause like nature a new one would have picked up the pieces and started over like they are doing in millinocket. the reason alot of these companies were going broke cause their costs were too high due to high wages. when business slowed down, the companies were left holding the bag of high cost. just like nature when a deer is weak and dies another will pick up were that one left off and continue the race. the demorats will not allow that to happen and will bail every one out such as solandra the solar company that did nothing but run away with our tax money and don’t forget that the owners of that company were best buds with the big o in the white house. scam after scam after scam. just crazy!
TARP, the troubled asset relief program, was passed in 2008, before Obama took office.
Are you sure you know your current events enough to comment on this subject?
if it was then it was wrong, I don’t care which party was in office, it should have never been done.
really? because you opened your previous comment blaming the Dems. Now that you realize both parties are to blame, what will you do?
the dems are known to tax and spend and there are a few republicans like that to like Collins and snow. we should be proud of them.
“known to”??
How do you blame the Dems for spending when you now know that the GOP backed TARP?
Please provide some facts to support your claim. Perhaps you can discuss how George Bush tripled the deficit that Clinton had eliminated? Oh? That’s doesn’t fit in with your ‘blame the Dems’ thinking?
Time to adjust your thinking.
STG-Facts are a foreign concept to TopofMaine. Every post he makes further confirms that he only knows one thing: how to repeat the party line. Thinking not required.
He’s an economic genius of the last degree! Don’t blame topofmaine too much though. It’s called the Limbaugh Effect, aka GOP Indoctrination, and has been known to infect even those who purport to having strong ethical and moral standards.
It seems that people in Maine want more wages for less work than here in the southwest. We work for less and make do. If we don’t work hard Mexicans will get our jobs. Welfare is nonexistent unless you are in a ‘welfare to work” program. It works. Welfare recipients are very few. Also, it is for a limited time–about 18 months for women with very young children. But there IS opportunity to get ahead. Education–especially for the trades, is very valuable. So in my opinon–find a way out of your unhappiness. Everyone can do it if they work for a better life.
You’re kidding right? “That is the democrats giving out corporate welfare”??? Is it so difficult to stick to facts and not blithely toss around patently false talking points? Ummm… under which administration, led by a majority what congress were regulations relaxed, tax breaks and corporate subsidies expanded the most? This has been going on for decades, and it’s the height of hubris to simply blame it on a single party. Get a grip
Kevin
maybe you should get a grip. I don’t see the republicans voting for free housing, free cell phones, free food and clothing and so on to these punks that are walking around with thousands of dollars in tattoos on their body and have no money to pay rent as they light up another Marlboro. maybe you should come down off your big word horse and come down to our little level!
Social Security is not “retirement funds” as you characterize it. The people currently receiving SS benefits never paid in enough to get the amount they will receive in benefits. The system is broken, as more and more recipients will continue to draw funds and fewer people are employed to pay in to keep the funds available. Basically, our government is paying a portion of Social Security out of operating funds to make up for the shortfall, in addition to the interest and repayment our government is making each year. Social Security is less about retirement today than it is about disability and survivor benefits, and other items. The majority of SS benefits are in the form of Old Age and Survivor benefits – but that is only a portion of the total.
they need to raise the cap on it. Right now I think the cap on income for SS is somewhere around $110,000 of income. So, for those of us that make that and under our full income is taxed. For those that make over, only part of their income is taxed. Raise the cap to $250k and that will probably solve the problem with SS.
The system is broken; not because people didn’t put enough in! The system is broken because Congress decided to mingle SS with the general budget!
You are incorrect. The system is most definitely broken because the actuarial basis for it has been disregarded. Don’t take my word for it – look at the SSA website and their periodic reports to Congress. The Trustees of the system themselves indicate that not enough money is being paid in taxes (FICA) to support the system at current payout rates. Thus, the payout rates have to change, because more money is going out than is coming in. My own father looked at his contributions for his lifetime (a report we all get) vs. what the monthly payment would be and his comment was that he would earn it all back within about 4 years. He was retired for 12 years, so he got his money’s worth!
The babyboomers did not contribute to a retirement plan when they paid their taxes in. They paid into a system that was designed to benefit the poorest in retirement. That is why SS is taxed above certain levels of income. It is NOT a retirement nest egg. It was never intended to be.
Congress pays back a portion of the “borrowed” trust funds every year, along with interest. But, the system spends more now than it takes in – and it has no method of earning additional “growth” in the fund. It does not invest privately. So, if it pays out more than it brings in, it will eventually run out of money. Simple math.
Absolutely correct and done during the Johnson administration and no administration since has had the courage to reverse that travesty!
Obama does NOTHING on his own… in case you forgot we have Congress and the House for laws, budgets, etc.. to pass through. Congress and the House is comprised of numerous Republicans and Democrats who lately can’t seem to get anything done. If you are talking about the stimulus… that was signed less than one month after the President took office. He didn’t write that or pass that on his own. In fact, he was real busy campaigning when the stimulus package was prepared for his signature.
The reason why welfare spending has reached new records right now is that we just are pulling ourselves out of a huge recession. In case you missed it, millions of people lost jobs before Obama took office. The biggest thing I fault him for is not doing more to prevent the extension of a decade long free ride by the extremely wealthy to receive tax relief breaks that were intended to provide some relief to the average citizen who struggled paying taxes. Obama KNEW that extending these tax breaks to the extremely wealthy was NOT going to create jobs. I mean really, it was there a decade and didn’t do a darn thing to save the jobs so how on earth was doing the same thing going to come up with a different scenario. In my opinion Obama needed to do more to stop that nonsense from happening but instead he crumbled to the super rich and powerful and allowed these people to incite fear in the general public convincing them that without extending the decade long tax breaks to the top 2% of the wealthiest Americans that jobs would not be created and the country would be doomed. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
If it wasn’t so serious of an issue it would almost be laughable how many people bought into the concept that by doing the same thing they would produce a different result. Yes, it really was that simple. So maybe next time this issue comes up people will be able to remember that no jobs were created. Anyway you toss the dice the people were duped. But, who knows… stranger things have happened and I guess it’s entirely possible that the next time Congress wants to extend these tax breaks that the people will repeat the same thing and STILL expect a different result.
YES! Well said DJBrown.
Your source for this citation is … ???
Welfare rolls always rise when the economy is poor and unemployment is high.
you are right, it is the democrat mentality that is causing it. tax and spend. i as a small business man cannot compete with my tax dollars paying for housing, food, cell phones, etc etc. we have let them do it to ourselves it is unbelievable! and they wonder why the country is being taken over by immagrants. why do you think the hatians fight the sharks on a little boat for 10 with 50 on them to get to america, because of the opportunity north america has!
1. I own a small business and am doing quite well. So well, as a matter of fact, I am starting another business.
2. The country is not being taken over by immigrants. Obama has deported more illegal aliens than any previous President.
3. Tout bon bagay to any Haitian that made it. I’ve never met a harder working, more family oriented group of people.
I agree on the Haitians and I also own several small businesses in fact comprising of 13 commercial buildings employing 28 people. but let me tell you it was I who went to the bank and begged for money and it is I who works 7 days per week at my businesses not OBAMA that built my businesses over 26 years not someone else as OBAMA claims. what the H__L does he know about business anyway. he has never owned one, run one but he sure knows how to spend our money out on the golf courses when pressing matters in Washington go by the way side and his wife and kids are out gallivanting the world? who pays for that, we do. nice huh real nice. why can’t he go to work like we do?
why are you blaming Obama? Do you have any information on how much Reagan or Bush went golfing? Probably not.
Was Obama supposed to help you with your business loan? Why bring it up?
The POTUS is working (ridiculous comment). Why don’t you get involved in public service?
It’s nice to see another person taking the Obama quote out of context. Since you willingly admitted you “went to the bank and begged for money” that right there says you had help. Nice try.
better go back and listen to the sound bite again. he makes it sound like everyone else did the work and I had nothing to do with it but take up space.
Your comment belies the fact that you *know* the President’s comment about business was taken out of context.
As far as big business goes, Wall Street and Big Oil, the President was absolutely right. They get nothing but tax relief and do nothing to restore the nation.
They employ a large amount of people with good wages and benefits. I guess that’s not helping to restore the nation with your SingleTrack thinking Girl. You said you own a business and I bet you pay living wage, whatever that is.
I pay $15/hr to start; $20/hr for experienced workers.
No, he just said that there were others who built infrastructure and did other things that allowed you to succeed.”No man is an island’, we’re all connected and no one can succeed if he has to create the entire social structure around him by himself. Everyone interpreted what he said according to his political philosophy. It was very clear what he was saying , but those who wish to twist it , will.
Actually, he grew up with influence from those around him who overtly contradict your characterization. I don’t think our President made a speaking gaffe – he said what he said at that time and to that audience to get an effect, and to be able to say he didn’t mean it that way to the broader populace. He knew exactly what he was saying. More importantly, the people in the audience that day knew exactly what he was saying.
I have no doubt that he believes that everything should be collectively owned. He doesn’t believe the rich should be rich and the poor should be poor. He wants to level the playing field, so that everyone can have what he/she wants. And to do it, he would take from the few and give to the many – because that will get him elected and keep his ideals in place. Economics, in a free market, doesn’t work that way.
The infrastructure argument is a yet another example of Obama’s divisiveness: If we give him the benefit of the doubt on his comment – that he meant that everyone who is successful had help – from government-funded roads, bridges, policies, etc. – even then, Obama’s argument fails: the government IS the people – at least who pay for it. And those who pay for it are those who have the money to pay for it, through taxes or lobbying, etc. So, yes, Mr. President, those who are successful are so because they achieved within the system in place. The same system that is open to everyone in this country to succeed. Giving government credit for individual success is a Marxist position. And Marxism has failed miserably everywhere it has been tried.
Get a grip. The Obama’s have more money than most people. Why? Because they went to school, worked hard, made it happen.
If they didn’t believe in that, why did they do it?
They didn’t do that. The roads, the bridges – if they’re successful, they didn’t do that. They had help. There are a lot of smart people out there. There are a lot of hard working people out there. They didn’t do that!
According to Obama himself, he didn’t become successful without a lot of help. His going to school and studying hard for good grades – he doesn’t deserve any success for that. Someone else should get credit for that. Worked hard? That I will debate with you until my last breath (or keystroke!!). He never held a job. Not even fast food or a lemonade stand. He was a community organizer – meaning he protested stuff and roused rabble in the ‘hood. Literally, that is all he has ever done. Obama knows what he speaks of – others have certainly helped him all of his life. And I guarantee they are collecting on the the debt. Mrs. Obama, on the other hand, worked hard and studied hard, and she has done a great job as First Lady, even surpassing my expectations. I cannot find fault in her healthy diet promotion or her public persona, and the way she has kept her children out of the spotlight. She has done her “job” as well as anyone can expect, and I give her credit where it is due. A shame her husband is such a backward-thinking ideologue.
Barry Sotero was raised in an environment of counter-culture. Fight the man! The attitude is deeply ingrained in his psyche. Those who feel oppressed will always strike out at those they feel oppressed them – the rich. Look at how the man was raised, with the radical nutjobs around him, and he couldn’t help but be influenced by it. To suggest he is not a Marxist is simply to ignore the facts.
People who go to school make more money, that’s how the system works.
Community organizers are paid employees, usually of a nonprofit corporation.
Obama was raised in counter culture? He went to *Harvard*, for heaven’s sake.
You know very little about his upbringing. And yes, Harvard has become classified as “counter culture.” People who go to school have better opportunities to make more money. The education doesn’t guarantee success. The average college grad makes more than the average high school grad. Individual cases vary greatly.
There isn’t a soul on the planet (besides you) who thinks people who get in to Harvard are ‘counter culture’.
Counter culture is strictly MIT.
;)
Amen!
Extremely well said! Obama IS a Marxist/socialist and his objective is to destroy the american capitalist system and many of the posts on this thread show that he is succeeding!
I see you listen Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. Yes, his objective is to destroy the American capitalist system… Because he cares about the people as a whole, he is a terrible, horrible, human being. What a shame anyone would take into consideration people who aren’t rich, right-wing, fundamentalists. I assume you will be voting for Romney/Ryan? I hope you aren’t poor, a woman, a child, a senior citizen, ill, or anything but a Christian. And whatever you do, don’t ever lend a helping hand to anyone in need. You might look human.
I can tell you are a true believer! The people of Jim Jones colony in guinia we also true believers – until they drank the coolaid!
It is truly amazing that you could deduce so much from my previous post, all of which you arrive at incorrectly. You know nothing about me, but you reflect your bias to assume what you think is the correct impression of me personnally. You are truly to be pitied!
Finally, I am not poor (although I definitely have been), I am a senior citizen therefore I am not a child, I do not profess to be a “christian” because I feel those who do so profess are not or are, at best, con artists.
Finally, Obama is the worst president to hold the office in my (78 year) lifetime – yes I will be voting for Romney/Ryan or anyone other than the Marxist/socialist ticket of Obama/Biden!
do you collect social security?
Sorry to pop your bubble, Yes I do receive social security because I paid in the maximum amount every year since I finished my engineering degrees (and still do!) But I am still employed in my own electronics manufacturing company (that is located in another state.)
I probably pay more taxes than you make in a year!
Watch out for that coolaid – you know: the brand that Obama is mixing for everyone to drink after November 6.
There’s your problem, right there. The “sound bite” is taken out of context. Listen to the whole thing and you will see that Obama said that you didn’t build the infrastructure that allows you to conduct your business. That is what he is referring to when he said the word “that”.
Somebody better go back and listen to it and I don’t think that somebody is me. However, those who want to distort things to make themselves look/feel better will always do so regardless of the actual facts. So I won’t expect you to change your mind any time soon. That being said, maybe you could build your own roads to your business and return the money you begged the bank for. And if you have goods shipped to your store I assume that you will start picking those up and delivering them yourself. The list goes on and on. But you keep thinking what you want.
well Obama never claimed to do so, but it is my taxes that help you be able to dive on the roads. My taxes that allow you to have access to the internet, My taxes that make sure you do not get huge electric bills.
what does that have to do with him being lazy and blowing our money???
The president is lazy? Where do you get that?
Yes, the President is Lazy.
Of course he’s lazy. He’s black isn’t he? {end sarc}
The President went to law school, and has worked his entire life. How do you get that he is lazy?
……..
and you couldn’t have built that business with out a loan from a bank that other people invest in.
Bush spent plenty of time on the golf course while this country was going down the drain. It’s been a long process that started with Reagan. Both parties are at fault for the downward spiral. It got even worse with NAFTA, which Bush Sr. started, had republican support, and was signed by a democrat – a democrat who was probably the best republican president we ever had.
Don’t forget…….”You didn’t build that”
Call me crazy but I don’t recall President Obama ever saying he built anyones business. Further I don’t recall him ever saying that anyone built your business. His words as usual are parsed and taken out of context so the folks that are what I call low information votes here these things and all the other bologna they spew and get them spun up to such a point that they go off like you. I’ve never owned a business and guess what, I agree, you didn’t build it all by yourself. You utilized banks for loans, roads, education, community support, I could continue ad infinitum. I congratulate you for your success, and I wish you much more, but for you to say you did it by yourself is a lie to yourself. Regarding the golf comment, did you have this sort of issue with other Presidents that spent their time on vacation while running up the debt? To go there I will actually call out the vacation President George W Bush who eradicated a budget surplus (the money of which should have gone to debt reduction) by enacting the Medicare D drug benefit and waged two wars all the while cutting taxes. ABSOLUTELY F”ING IDIOTIC!!!!!
How many people do you employ and what hourly wage do you pay them?
two people, both part time. one is $15/hr the other $20/hr.
you looking for work?
Fortunately for me, I am fully employed. Thanks for the offer though :-) If my situation changes I will be in touch. Do you also have a benefit package? Health insurance, paid holidays, vacation, etc?
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you can pay a living wage and Americans are still too lazy to get up off their butts and work. THAT”S why businesses hire immigrants because they are willing to come and work their butts off to make money….
In Maine? A living wage? Where?
15 years? more like 40. I was a child and saw that happen in the potato industry, canadians would come do the job, because some people here just wanted to goof off, then they would complain , and have these hard working canadian people deported, the grower was left with having to hire 2 goof offs to replace one canadian, not that americans dont work hard, but there are always a few bad apples to spoil it for the rest…
Fifteen years??? only fifteen years?? Congress tried to stop this crap under Clinton, so the thing had been a problem before that.
When did it start? The Great Society? The New Deal? This nation has been slouching our way to this for decades and maybe an entire century.
This truth does not mean that our present President has no fault in the acceleration of the problem. Nor did Bush 2, Clinton, or Bush 1 do anything to stop the problem.
You’re absolutely right. It has been going on for years and it won’t get any better.
Erika,
Before you judge our town why don’t you come spend a season up here?!!! I too have knowledge about Kelco Industries for as long as you have, I worked “seasonal” up here for 13 years with no chance in ‘”full-time” employment. I started my employment with the previous manager and let me just tell you that things were alot different then. If you were not reliable you were let go and someone that was took your place, and it didnt take months for this decision to be made. The manager now keeps hiring the same one’s year after year knowing that they will not be there like they are supposed too. St.Francis is a small town and we all no everything about everyone so why does he keep making the same mistake over and over?, I’ll tell you why…It is because some of the things that happen up there I am sure Mr. Kell would not agree with and the townspeople know this and choose to not work up there because its a joke.. Before this new manager came along Kelco was a job that the women in town couldn’t wait to start, we went to work everyday, all day, so that we could earn some extra money for Christmas. Let me just tell you we all busted our behinds in the wreath shop and produced many,many wreaths for this company and there were no complaints from Milbridge!! I was the supervisor in that shop for the last 2 years it was open and I spoke with Doug Kell every single morning and not once did he say that there was not enough productivity. Right out of the blue we were told that the shop was closing because it was cheaper to buy the wreaths in Canada, and the season was over. I was never asked by Doug Kell or management my opinion on what I thought would help the company improve! So since you know so much about this wonderful company explain to me how was it cheaper to buy the wreaths in Canada when in fact the entire process starting with the brush, ring, wire, and machine’s were all products that Kelco Industries made? There are always 3 sides to every story, Milbridge side, Management in St.Francis’ side, and the TRUTH!!!!
Wow… This article specifically said “young people” today don’t want to work. That has NOTHING to do with the President and it has everything to do with a toxic attitude. Your first instinct was NOT to place the blame on the lazy young people but instead to blame it on someone who had nothing to do with it – the President. People who make comments like this are the ones who encourage young people not to take responsibility for their own actions, words or for themselves. People who make this type of comment gives lazy, irresponsible people someone to blame other than themselves or the people who raised them. The leadership and guidance that these young people need isn’t political at all. In fact more than likely none of them could even tell you who the VP is. Parents, teachers and members of every community need to stop giving young people an excuse for not working, an excuse for not learning, an excuse for not being motivated, an excuse for not taking responsibility for their own actions. People don’t need to look as far as the White House for someone to blame for that… they need only look in the mirror. Sorry Pal, the President isn’t to blame for this.
Oh, I’m just picking on Obama today. Next year I’ll pick on Romney.
Low paying non living wage jobs and a lack of jobs are what is to blame.
Obama is to blame for a lot of things; so were his predecessors. I wonder if stats are available for the number of people in Northern Maine that are being supported by the State; I’m willing to bet it’s a siginificant number.
…..
George Bush created the problem with his war games, Obama tried to fix it, and his plan simply did not work. Some people will argue it started with Clinton. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the next guy in office will have a better plan to repair the economy and put people back to work making decent salaries. I hope we don’t have to wait 4 more years for a plan that does the job.
Does the small company that mows your yard pay a living wage?
I don’t know, but one thing I do know is they provide their workers with healthcare benefits.
Ron, that’s the most biased and blatantly partisan bunch of bullsh*t I’ve read in days. “Our man in the white house encourages that”??? You have anything even remotely related to fact to back that up? It’s a rhetorical question. You’re obviously a troll – you just want to use this as an excuse to spew your talking points – only reason deficit is beyond control??? Get a grip – what in the name of all things rational does your rant about unemployment have to do with the deficit? And what pray tell would new leadership have to do with improving the cost of college and the lack of jobs?
He said this business owner is STUPID. Hey everyone drop this fellow an email. This is what’s wrong with our Country.
SenTroy.Jackson@Legislature.maine.gov
Anyone worthy of being a Senator would have called Mr.Kell personally and asked him what was going on before calling the press, Dept of Labor and who knows who else without getting his facts straight! Mr.Kell is far from stupid!
I’m with ya erika
I believe the tree farmer. Many farmers have trouble getting good, reliable workers. The farmer’s lucky if someone shows up two days in a row and is actually willing to work hard. Many want a paycheck every day they work. It’s crazy.
We have too many people not working. Those who do work can not possibly pay enough taxes to support the huge percentage who prefer not to work. I think we need to find some jobs for able-bodied people on public assistance. Require that they volunteer a certain number of hours at the local animal shelter, hospital, food kitchen, whatever. Just make them do SOMETHING for the money they get. Too many are getting money, health insurance, eye and dental care for nothing and have no motivation to do anything different.
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I doubt the vast majority of Maine knows where St. Francis or St John or Allagash is.
Been there, what’s your point?
Gee, I’m from the Mid-West and I know where they are! Been there, too, and can’t wait for the next chance to go back.
It’s the same everywhere..Walmart in Rockland has been hiring for the new Supercenter for a while and they can’t even get enough to run the store they are in…Either they fail the drug test , only want to work 20 hour or less a week and call out all the time to keep their welfare or they just work for a few months and then get themselves fired for not showing up and collect unemployment and welfare…Nobody gets denied for unemployment anymore… Not even for smoking pot on the jobsite in front of the boss..He got his unemployment..
Mid coast conservative….and you know all this for a fact how? Note that Walmart doesn’t pay living wages, well documented. Most Walmart workers need govt assistance to pay rent. Would YOU work at Walmart or Kells? Bet not. Dead end jobs are what they are, and you get what comes to dead end jobs.
So your saying they don’t need to work as hard or show up on time because it’s a a lowering paying job. I suppose you have all the statics on Walmart employee’s receiving Federal assistance , be interesting to see how you received such personal information. The Federal Government set’s minimum wage and most States minimum wage is higher than that. If I needed money to live on I would work at Walmart and Burger King and 3rd job if need be. I raised my kid’s to work hard to get what they wanted out of life, not just take what you could get. You know if Walmart was as bad as you say, they would be out business so would Pizza Hut, Burger King, and all the other entry level job producers in this Country.
Minimum wage assumes that people are working 40 hours. If a company keeps its employees under 40 hours they don’t have to pay benefits because the employee is considered part time.
It’s a loop hole and Walmart and others are abusing their workers by denying them full time employment.
BS..Walmart offers ALL fulltime AND part time employees full benefits including…
Raises every year based on performance
Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance with eye and dental , life and long term care as well as disability insurance..Even AFLAC..I pay 22 bucks every 2 weeks…Full time it covers family as well..Costs a bit more though..about 50 bucks every 2 weeks..
Paid vacation after 2 years..2 weeks after 7 years , ect..
personal time
sick time
10% off store purchases
Sams Club Membership
Quarterly profit sharing bonuses
Anymore liberal lies you want debunked ???
facts, not lies:
From the NY Times, October 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/business/wal-mart-cuts-some-health-care-benefits.html?pagewanted=all “…citing rising costs, Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, told its employees this week that all future part-time employees who work less than 24 hours a week on average will no longer qualify for any of the company’s health insurance plans.In addition, any new employees who average 24 hours to 33 hours a week will no longer be able to include a spouse as part of their health care plan, although children can still be covered…”
Would I?? H*ll yes……..and I did. I cut broccoli, picked taters, worked on a harvester, cleaned toilets, made barrels, washed floors, and lots more.
It’s called WORK. Nice that you can pee all over it. Must be well off.
Not at all well off. I work hard and save. Have never been on assistance either. But I do know how much it costs to live. $9.00 is hour is ok if you are living at home with folks, but it is barely break even even for scrimpers. One cannot stretch it to cover transportation costs or save for emergencies. The closer one gets to poverty the easier it is to fall in to that trap. I don’t excuse people who just don’t want to work. But don’t let your ideology cloud the reality of low wage workers. It’s very exhausting to never see daylight. Walmart takes advantage of its workers all the time…Why do they have so many employment based lawsuits pending for not accounting for worked hours?
…..
“No one is going to work for peanuts anymore.” So your answer is to not work. My answer is to be very careful whom I hire, and fire them when they fail to perform. And pay them what the job can afford to pay – based on my decision as the one doing the hiring. If “they” don’t want the job, I’ll find someone, somewhere who does.
Contrast the peanuts comment above with the truth about the third world today. I personally saw people working neck deep in fish paddies for 14-16 hours a day – earning $1/day – and smiling as they went home. Their kids get a chance to learn in a school, and when they get out, they can work in a factory for $2-3/day, making clothes for the Americans to wear. And they are ecstatic to do so, since they have an air conditioner, instead of working in the sun and heat of the paddy. It is all in the perspective.
“No one is going to work for peanuts anymore” actually means “I think I should be able to show up late, leave early, make enough to buy my cigarettes, pot, and beer and go to the NASCAR race every summer. Oh yeah, my woman needs a new dress for the barn dance, and my kids want a new iPad, cause the 8 GB just isn’t big enough.” Jealousy and a rewards system built to include everyone have together weakened our nations work force. There is no sense of responsibility, and very little hope of a change in the near future.
LePage actually had a good idea when he was running for Governor. Scale back assistance a little at the time, based on effort to work. In other words, don’t take away all the benefits at once, just scale them back ion relation to some income received from a job. Why have we let this idea et sidetracked?
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The “problem” of someone not wanting a particular job is theirs, not mine. Paying someone more money than a job is worth is not the solution. It will simply make the job (and the company) go away. Money is not a motivator – it is a hygiene factor. Simply put, more money does not necessarily mean better performance or more output. “Enough” money for a certain job is the solution. And I have a feeling that “enough” is defined very differently when public assistance dries up. That was the point of the third world comparison. I’m not suggesting we should emulate the economics. I am suggesting that we have a very different view of wants and needs.
Money is the root of all evil.
not sure where you are from but 9 bucks an hour is a decent wage to start at, not to mention after a year stock options, health benis and more. There raise system is also at the fact you can go up as much as 7 percent of salary a year. I dont care if they need help with food stamps or such but if they are working a 40 hour a week they would need less help and after a few years may even be able to get into management. The point being working and getting some help would be better for all then sitting on but and getting paid to be their. P.S. Why dont you ask some people worked at walmart more then a few years know many their making in excess of 12 an hour. Mangers can clear 60k a year they work for it but their is money to be made working at any job and putting in some time.
You have to be in management to get benefits. The typical worker isn’t getting bennies and options.
I do work there..It is one of my two and sometimes 3 jobs I work to support those layabouts…Your post is complete BS…At Walmart if you’re not motivated you don’t get promoted or get the good raises..No union to carry the dead weight up the ladder as it should be..If you are motivated there is no limit to what you can do..Just like any company where you start at the bottom or in the mail room..If you are still working part time for 8 bucks an hour after a year or 2 that’s on you..In under 3 years I’m full time and have passed the managers exam and making 11 bucks an hour with full benefits including BlueCross/BlueShield..Will be getting around 400 bucks for my quarterly bonus the first of September..Will be moving into management when the new store opens..So take your ant-walmart talking points elsewhere..Spoon feed them to some other smuck…I know better…And so does anybody else with half a brain..
Drank the kool aid eh? You are working 2 to 3 jobs. You think 400$ is a good bonus. And you know what I congratulate you for the effort. But know that a person with your ambition could do better. And it’s common knowledge – through media – that Walmart has active lawsuits pending for not attributing overtime or straight hours to keep from paying benefits.Keep working hard midcoastconservative.
It’s only common knowledge to moon bats…LOL..Do better here in Maine ?? Not everyone can work for the State…The moon bats won’t allow much else…
Okay… I don’t know where you are getting this imaginary scenario that no one gets denied unemployment and that all they have to do is work for a few months. Here’s how it really works… first and foremost you MUST work at least 6 months. Second, you MUST be terminated through no fault of your own – laid off. Third, if you quit you are not eligible for unemployment except for very specific reasons… i.e., quit to follow a spouse to a distant place of employment that would make it impossible for you to continue working at the location and also live together with your spouse. (that’s in Maine, not everywhere) Fourth, if you are fired you will not be eligible for unemployment however, you do have the right to appeal the decision and have a hearing. If it turns out that you were fired unjustly you would be eligible as long as you meet all other requirements. If you were fired for any reason that is your own fault, i.e., poor attendance, not doing the job you were hired for, etc… you are not eligible to collect unemployment. Your story about the guy who got fired for smoking pot who received unemployment sounds like one of those outrageous through-the-grapevine workplace rumors. It doesn’t quite work that way and before you tell me this is Maine, let me remind you that unemployment if a FEDERAL insurance paid for by your employer on your behalf.
I won’t disagree however that many young people – certainly not all – but many young people have grown up without learning to take responsibility for themselves. The problem does not start when they reach 18 years old and begin working – the problem grows over the 18 years as a child learning from parents, teachers and members of the community that if they fail everyone will blame someone else. If you read a lot of these posts you will see that in most cases people blame politicians like Jackson and Obama, in some cases people blame the employer and the truth is blame lies with those who failed to instill a sense of responsibility in our youth and that is all of us.
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They found someone willing to work….
Locals want a paycheck without working……
There is no worker like the American worker and this is especially true of Maine folks. It’s cowardly to get on here and hide behind screen names to bash friends and neighbors because they, unlike those who sit around commenting on BDN stories all day, are actually trying to make a living. I’m appalled that anyone would demean Maine’s proud history for even a moment.
I’m retired by the way and disabled. Worked hard for 35 years as a linemen and if I want to sit around here and bash my nephews, and nieces for not working sitting on their duff’s and getting welfare just because they know how reproduce I can do that. Why do you think Maine is called the welfare State?
Sorry to hear you don’t believe in the American people. Aroostook County folks will change your mind if you ever meet some.
I live in the County and if you need my name your dad has in the email I sent to person that’s suppose to support all people in his district. I see where you got demeanor after reading the response I got from your father, you sound just like him. Typical liberal response when they can’t deal with the facts “ATTACK”.
I live in the County. Typical liberal can’t debate the truth so go for the personal attacks. Aroostook pop. 71,827 ” total pop. on welfare 28,944 ” break down snap 15,955 Medicaid 24,449 tanf 2,361
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You need to go where the jobs are available. You can”t sit in a small town of 700 people and say I can’t find a job. By the way those are real numbers I posted and it’s alarming that many people need assistance in this State. This State is bleeding jobs and our leaders haven’t a clue about what to do. Sen Jackson is part of the problem when you call a business owner stupid and act like a 7 year old convicting him in newspaper article.
Best post ever, man
Thanks man
Why did you move here from Florida? You sent here to educate us in the County? You can go back. You weren’t a “Lineman for this County”.
Have you reported your nieces and nephews to the state? If they are able to work and not doing so because they are lazy then you should be reporting them. You are part of the welfare problem if you avert your eyes and do nothing but post on meaningless forums. I meet so many people who know of welfare fraud and don’t do anything about it. Are you one of those people jimbob?
On more than one occasion no man power to investigate and 6 children involved. This younger Generation doesn’t care anymore. They learn to live within the welfare system, they know how much money they can earn, work under the table, buy food with their EBT and resell it for cash. They did this to their own grandmother and she thought they were being nice by going shopping for her.
Pay living wages and people will work.
Chase, talk about hiding…… you are a top staffer for the Maine Democratic Party Senate gang, and Troy is your father. Good guy; lousy politician. I’m appalled that you are appalled.
County guy here, hard worker all my life, grunt jobs of all types, now work with young people all over the County to help them get ahead, know that some of them work hard and that increasing numbers of them fall into the WELFARE TRAP (you know: the one that your party loves).
What’s been done in the name of “fairness”!
I get a kick out of your screen name “illegalsout”, but you defend illegal workers.
It is Troy who obviously didn’t get the memo from his party: he’s supposed to love each and every illegal alien (and put them above Americans, in fact).
Whereas I want all illegal aliens deported. If these workers are found to be here illegally, I want them deported.Am I getting too complicated for you??Sorry.
I think Jackson has made his mark on supporting American workers from the start, despite any party he is in. I think it is the Republicans that always support Foreign labor.
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Well, talking about hiding, Mr. Jackson at least used his real name, unlike you illegalsout.
Love St. Francis folks. But the owner is 100% correct about DHHS and the way the system rewards young people’s unhealthy behaviors and shiftlessness. I know: I work within the system.
I am glad he made a point to reference the good local workers he does have. I hope more young people can follow in the older folks’ tracks………..but it ain’t looking good.
These owners are such great Americans?
I do not blame this business owner a bit. Why should his business suffer simply because local employess will not show up. People complain about jobs going overseas too however, if employees will not steadily show up to work and put in an honest effort, more jobs will go to foreign workers in one form or another.
“Fair Wage” The Jamacans can afford to eat and sleep here in Maine then they send their wages home. These wages buy homes and property in Jamaca as well as feeding an extended family. Maine people can not find a FAIR WAGE in Maine and can be fired without reason. Maine workers travel out of State or out of the country. There they find wages that they can send home to support extended families and to buy property and housing. So the beat goes on. Labor continues to loose the battle of the rich and poor. Managment that can not motivate workers or choose not to continue to blame the workers. The war on the poor continues to displace workers all over the world. The wages and lifestyle of displaced workers continue to slide while the owners continue to own a bigger piece of the pie. Any worker that does not see this pattern is part of the problem.
sorry dj, who is providing the money to the young people that are paid to stay home and watch the big screen tv’s talk on their fancy cell phones and ride their atv’s and snowsleds? it is obama, that is how he will stay in office by giving them all these free things so he can get their votes. come on, wake up!
better guess again single minded girl, check with those that hire at wally world in presque isle and they will tell you that they will give 40 hrs to anyone that can fog a mirrior
I can assure you, Mr Kell and the rest of the posters, that no one at DHHS is telling them to NOT work so they can get more benefits. Perhaps it’s you not paying a living wage to work in the dead of winter and the heat of summer that keeps people from wanting to work for you. Take your two bit operation back to Ellsworth.
Poor Mr. Kell, he can’t get decent local help for public assistance wages. So now he has been FORCED to fold up his flag and start singing God bless Jamaica.Poor Mr. Kell.
thats what happens, some of the people here don’t want to work for the wages but when other people are hired for the same wages , these same people that refused the jobs moan and groan about foreign workers
, so they will be hired but at a higher rate of pay and the farmer is in most cases forced to do that…we do have for the most part very very very hard workers in Maine but there are a few that want everything for nothing…
If he paid living wages he would have good help.
Blah blah …..Make your own wreaths and make less money…Then go fishing.
People making the living wage argument are correct. Like it or not the next generation of workers want to be fairly compensated for the work they do. $9-$10 an hour used to be a good starting wage. But that was when gas was well below $2 per gallon. The cost of everything has gone up since then, so a living wage needs to be increased as well.
If you want good American labor you need to pay for it. And if you can’t afford it, you should not be running a business in this country by hiring foreign workers because you can pay them less. It just continues to undermine the sentiment that workers in this country deserve a living wage so they can provide a decent life for themselves and their families.
Be ASSURED that no one at DHHS is telling a client this–to state any such thing is ridiculous. In no way is anyone worried about job security–rest assured of that, too. Understaffed and huge caseloads–no one at DHHS is worried about loss of caseloads. To pass the blame of your subpar working standards and employment on to DHHS staff is ignorant. You are right about people not willing to work hard. You are wrong about the wonderful wages you pay these folks-there’s not motivation to stand in subzero temperature or the heat of summer trimming trees for the wages that Kelco pays. As for the company paying their insurance…who has their insurance? A full time employee? I doubt a part timer such as the folks employed in Northern Maine are privy to that.
Their trimming tree’s not landing on the moon. It’s his business not your’s.
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This may sound unrelated, but stick with me for a minute.
A number of years ago I went to a mid coast seafood retailer to purchase some lobsters. As I waited for my purchase I saw around a corner a number of women who appeared to be Hispanic working dilligently away picking crabs. There was not one smile in the entire room of probably ten women. There were signs all over the walls. NO TALKING. YOU MAY ONLY GO TO THE BATHROOM ON YOUR BREAK. YOU WILL ONLY HAVE TWO TEN MINUTE BREAKS PER SHIFT. And on and on and on.
Well in a little while the manager came out with our purchase, quite a large one I might add, and I told him to keep them. I told him I did not support people who abused their workers and I left.
Our big family get together got pizzas and we enjoyed them immensely. We even knew the kids at the local pizza place who made them. We knew that they worked very hard and saved every penny for college. We also knew that they were allowed to talk, joke and go to the bathroom when necessary.
I am not saying the seafood business had the same kind of work enviornment that is found at the facility in this article, but I am almost willing to bet that it is. Some people value their dignity more than the $$.
So tell us the name of the place in your fairytale so we can see for ourselves…Que the crickets…
I learned a long time ago that when you pay a dying wage, you get dead heads. I pay a living wage and get good quality Maine workers, every time. No one can live on $7.50 an hour in 2012 America without a lot of government cheese. I would be ashamed if my employees needed welfare after working for me all week. Apparently Mr. Kell doesn’t have as much pride as other business owners do.
Yea he should start right out paying them 60 grand a year..That’s what everyone expects today..Nobody wants to start at the bottom anymore..It’s the “Entitlement Generation”..I’m entitled to a job making 60 grand , a house , car and all the fancy gadgets right out of the gate..I don’t need to WORK my way up the ladder of success…If I can’t have that then the State can take care of me..I’m ENTITLED to it..BS I SAY!!!!!!!
Why shouldn’t able-bodied people do something in return for the benefits they receive? Money for nothing should not be the norm.
I never usually write posts or comments; however I feel I must on behalf of Mr. Kell. Mr. Kell is an honest hard working business man. Like any business man he wants to see a profit.
I have known Mr. Kell most of my life and have seen what he has done for this community. He wants to employ local people. He supports our churches fund raisers, he supports our local snowmobile club, and he supports our children. Mr. Kell even had an air ride-in for our children. He never charged a thing and brought our school children for rides. Something most of them will never get to do. The PTA raised money with this event helping our little school. He gives our snowmobile club access every year by even making a trail on his land knowing well he loses trees every year by some snowmobiles. He supports our church with door prizes or monetary gifts. This man is a true gentle man. St. Francis does not have much to offer for employment, but we had Kelco. Doug wants to help this area. It is not his fault if people do not want to work a full week or even a full day. He is a business man wanting to help the economy, the people and lastly himself. He wants to help us, please let us help him in return for what he has done for us.
Wait a minute. This pig hires immigrants, people who want the jobs complain to their elected representative, and his defense is that people don’t want to work? THEN he says it’s because DHHS representatives tell workers to quit their jobs so they can continue to get welfare? Which DHHS workers said this? Which welfare programs allow able-bodied people to get money after voluntarily quitting their jobs? This guy got caught shafting hard working people, and then defended himself by lashing out at those less fortunate than himself. This class-warfare blame-the-poor for the greedy behavior of the rich is disgusting.
What’s the big deal? Guy needed reliable workers and he’s got them. Anyone in the neighborhood could work there if they wanted to. The problem isn’t lack of people: it is lack of work ethic.
WOW!
How this ingrate of a capitalist has besmurched the work ethic of the locals up yonder.
He didn’t build that company.
Obama said he didn’t build that company, and he was very fortunate to have the luck that built that company.
I trust the gentleman will rely on Jamaican firefighters should a brush fire break out in his nursery in very dry weather.
The owner is so far from right. He did nothing but lie through his entire article. First of all the wreath shop was opened for many years until Mr. Kell decided that he could purchase the wreaths cheaper from Canada. It was not because the woman in this area would rather apply for food stamps. It was simply to save himself money. I would challenge Mr. Kell any day to prove the p0or work performance of the stitchers that worked in the wreath shop. I along with many other woman worked in cold, wet conditions every day for several years until we were shut down because he supported foreign labor. Now I watch the younger generation pushed away because of the same selfish reasons.
LOL
It’s wrong, completely wrong of Doug Kell to do what he has done. And it’s disgusts me to read his blantely disrespecting comments about his previous employees and current employees. Aroostook county should be very grateful and proud to have an honest man like Troy Jackson standing for the people and the town of saint francis, even if the people won’t stand next to their neighbors. How sad to see the American people not standing by their brothers & sisters and standing with a disgusting corporation who only has profit in mind and not the community! How much money has the town of saint francis and the local people put into the pockets of Doug Kell, and for him to blatantly disregard entirely everything the hard working people have done. All of the employees hard work, generations of families, completely disregarded and disposed of. Doug Kell’s comments just shows to me how ungrateful and inconsiderate he really is, he is profit driven and does not care about the town of saint francis or the people.
Doug kell stated “What we have are young people that really do not want to work.”
Is that why he laid off employees that were working 40 hours a week, even showing up on SATURDAY in some cases SUNDAY! Or how about the employees that were not even given an opportunity to succeed in the industry. Doug Kell is a Liar
another example: “They did not want to work during the winter,” he said. “They wanted to be laid off so they could collect unemployment.”
Kelco industries did not offer all the employees the option of full time work, it’s a “seasonal job”, meaning it’s temporary work and when Kelco didn’t need the workers, they were laid off, disposed of until next season. Therefore the employees did not collect the amount of earnings needed for unemployment, most didn’t earn enough to collect unemployment!!!
Why is Doug Kell literally blaming the employees for the lose of profit when there is some obvious miscommunication and poor business management by Doug Kell.
for example: “Last year at this time, we had 20 workers,” he said. “My problem is some of them showed up, would leave after two hours [and] might come back or not.”
Well where is the management/boss whose suppose to be giving notices to those employees whom are not complying and if after notices were given why wasn’t there firing going on. Oh yes Doug Kell only flew in on his private air plane once in awhile to see how his tax exemption was going (property tax exemption, not paying property taxes in saint francis, and other tax exempts)
Doug kell is pocketing money off of the backs of the local people and town of saint francis that keep his profit driven industry in business. You think it would be in his best interest to reinvest in the local area, and in the environment, community that make him profit, but his interest is in his pockets. He has no interest in honoring his employees but denouncing them and that’s obvious if you have ever worked for the unprofessional Doug Kell.
You will notice a small glimpse in this comment by Kell how unprofessional this business is.
Because of some miscommunication with his St. Francis facility manager, Kell said six locals were hired before the Jamaicans showed up.
“I told [the manager] he was not authorized to hire them,” Kell Sr. said. “I told him to let them go [and] I can show their work performance was not good.”
wake up people, it’s not about the workers, it’s all about the best interest of the corporation and if Doug kell is crying loss of profit it’s only because of his poor organization and lack of honesty towards his employees . How can their be pride in work when you are just another cog in the machine. when will we wake up and not allow industries to treat us like cattle.
fyi, do more research on the food stamp program, check into who benefits from those on welfare, and research the precentage of people who are currently working and accepting food stamps. Also for the experience, try living on food stamps alone, then you can speak where now your foot should be. AND next time someone wants to say “its young people who don’t want to work, blame their parents, young people take responsability” Lets just blame the parents, well how did the parents become irresponsible well let’s blame the grandparents, how did the grandparents become irresponsible well lets blame the great-grandparents. How is that going for us, when will everyone take responsability and stop consuming so wastefully and unconsciously. Remember the corporations and industries that treat people like dsiposable cattle are only hindering the growth of our nation and needs to be held accountable. & remember just because a person is a millionaire and an industry doesn’t always mean they were a hard worker/responsable/honest, it means they just took more than they should have from others and never paid back. Again it’s not that people are not putting into America, it’s just that a lot of corporations are taking so much out of America. Continue to consume and never think of the future generations, continue to rape the land and environment to only be left with fluoride and chlorinated waters, continue to be heartless towards thy neighbor and be left with hate.
I can not believe this article, Doug Kell before you said what you said you should of maybe listened to what some of your workers have told you in the past..I worked there for 13 years in your wreath shop and I never missed a day, I worked hard making your wreaths in wet, cold conditions and never did I complain to you about it!!! I talked to your manager about working full time, and his response was “this wasnt a place for women, nor do we hire full time”. ??!!! Before pointing your finger and making St. Francis citizens look like all we want is State assistance why dont you start with your so called manager, because that is where your problem really is!!!