Do I have options?

[LaserBlueZ71]

Just wondering if anyone has ever faced a similar issue.

 

I work in a small mechanic shop. We fix power tools such as drills, cordless tools, corded tools, and some outdoor power equipment such as lawn mowers and pressure washers. We have never been trained on hydraulics, and do not even have a source for parts.

 

Basically, my employer told us we are all now being forced to work on hydraulic floor jacks. When we mentioned we have no training or knowledge on these, we were basically told to figure it out, or kiss your job goodbye. We do not even have access to parts for hydraulic floor jacks. They are money hungry and want us to try and fix these things with no knowledge, and no o-ring kits, just whatever o-rings we have laying around.

 

I did the research and no one even repairs hydraulic jacks anymore. They are so cheap that you can buy a new one for $150 before paying our shop $75 an hour to repair your beaten up one.

 

Can an employer actually force you to perform a task you have not been trained to do?

[MikeNH]

You *might* have some ground to stand on with OSHA if it were hazardous but this probably isn't. Just a stupid employer.

[LaserBlueZ71]

Show your employer you are not jacking around. Quit! Last I checked Lincoln was the only brand that offered a serviceable cylinder.

 

Show your employer you are not jacking around. Quit! Last I checked Lincoln was the only brand that offered a serviceable cylinder.

That's easy to say, but hard to do.

 

I have bills, unfortunately, too many bills right now. The Province I live in has no high paying jobs available. Every job around here pays $12 an hour, I am making $18 right now, so what does one do?

[Mike-1000]

Almost all of them CAN be repaired but far fewer are worth repairing. If you happen to have a Walker, Hein, Lincoln or a few other brands, spending the money can be worth it. For what a good US made jack costs, spending a couple hours labor plus parts to repair one can be well worth the cost. I wouldn't expect a big run on jack repairs though. The only models worth repairing are quite pricey to begin with. Not too many of us have a $900 Walker floor jack in the garage and the $150 Chinese jack from (insert chain auto parts store here) is not worth repairing.

Many parts and kits are available online and some places will even accept cylinders for repair.

Do a YouTube search and you will find some videos on jack repair that pretty much go through the process. Considering what you already do, I don't think it would be too much of a challenge for you.

 

Mike

[LaserBlueZ71]

Almost all of them CAN be repaired but far fewer are worth repairing. If you happen to have a Walker, Hein, Lincoln or a few other brands, spending the money can be worth it. For what a good US made jack costs, spending a couple hours labor plus parts to repair one can be well worth the cost. I wouldn't expect a big run on jack repairs though. The only models worth repairing are quite pricey to begin with. Not too many of us have a $900 Walker floor jack in the garage and the $150 Chinese jack from (insert chain auto parts store here) is not worth repairing.

Many parts and kits are available online and some places will even accept cylinders for repair.

Do a YouTube search and you will find some videos on jack repair that pretty much go through the process. Considering what you already do, I don't think it would be too much of a challenge for you.

 

Mike

You make some good points.

 

In all reality, very few people own a jack. In this day and age, more and more people of the next generation don't want to fix their own vehicle, heck, they can't even check their own oil. More and more people simply take their vehicle in to have work done, and large shops don't mess around with repairing jacks, they buy all new.

 

It just frustrates me that our company knows we have no means of buying parts for any of the cheap Chinese junk they are selling, or what the customer brings in. If we can't get parts for it, how are we suppose to fix it?

 

For the few we get through our door in a year, I can already say they will not be worth repairing. Our shop rate is $75 per hour, and it's timed. Would you as a customer want to pay $75 an hour for someone who has no idea what he is doing? No, you will end up with a $500 bill for a $100 floor jack. I tell customers flat out, I am 100% honest up front. I explain we have had no training, and have no proper seal kits for it. All we can do is beat it apart, put in random o-rings, and beat it back together, and charge you a fortune because head office says, that's ok!! Some might say that isn't smart to say, but I refuse to lie to customers so the company can make financial gain at the expense of a hard working average joe.

[RyanbabZ71]

 

 

In all reality, very few people own a jack.

 

My wife probably wishes I was one of those people. I have 2 in the garage (2 ton low profile for the car and a 4 ton for the truck) and 1 in my truck (3 ton)

[plowking]

I'd be afraid of any liability. What happens if a jack is fixed wrong or it fails and the customer gets hurt ot worse. I knew someone who stopped making woodstoves because of liabilty insurance. plowking

[mike94silverado]

uuuuuhhhhh.... Union? Seriously people like to Bash Unions but that's pretty much the only way to combat that. It's their sandbox you just play in it. I cannot be fired over refusing to do a task I feel is unsafe due to lack of training because it's in my contract. But I can say that I worked in a non union shop before and the Non union shop was just as attentive to having us LEARN a task and do it right without threatening to fire us as the Union shop I work at now. It just sounds like you have a dick for a boss.

 

I'm Under the Jurisdiction of MSHA and there is training language stating that we have to be task trained. Does anyone know if OSHA is the same way?

[KARNUT]

Unless you willing to move on, see if you can go online learn what you can. If its not worth doing they will find out. You will be looked at as a team player, move up the latter. If you complain too much they will figure out a way move you on. Last thing an owner or boss wants is someone bringing down the crew. I own my own business, I know.

[reldridg]

I'm Under the Jurisdiction of MSHA and there is training language stating that we have to be task trained. Does anyone know if OSHA is the same way?

 

OSHA does not cover task training the same as MSHA, the big departure in the two is that OSHA does not really care if someone is task trained as long as they are not an unacceptable risk to themselves, where MSHA seems to have a much broader realm of risk and it carries to surrounding coworkers as well.

 

As to the original poster I would learn what you can about repairing the jacks. One nice about learning to repair that cylinder is that it is a translatable skill to repairing other hydraulic cylinders that are used on machinery so it could be quite useful. So if your employer wants to pay you to "jack" around and fix something then go for it, do your best, your employer is the one accepting the risk of the repair not you (unless you are partial owner).

[LaserBlueZ71]

Unless you willing to move on, see if you can go online learn what you can. If its not worth doing they will find out. You will be looked at as a team player, move up the latter. If you complain too much they will figure out a way move you on. Last thing an owner or boss wants is someone bringing down the crew. I own my own business, I know.

 

I don't think me or anyone else refusing to do work in this situation would "bring down the crew"

 

Why should a company have the power to say, do this no matter what, we are not going to train you, and we are not going to give you any resources for supplies or materials, basically, pull it out of thin air. There is a reason why employee's hate managers and company owners, it's because they think the impossible is possible. It's all about forgetting the rules or morals and cheating the broke consumer out of money.

 

I think what the world needs in today's conditions is fear. The Government needs to fear the citizens it governs. Managers and company owners need to fear the people who work for them. Fear is what stops people from doing things they would otherwise do. Fear of consequence is the only thing that keeps society somewhat in order. The problem is fear never applies to those on top, when they need to experience it the most.

 

All of us in the shop have stated we will not do the work without training, and for now, the shop manager is the one responsible for carrying out these repairs. He wants to wear the big boy pants, so let him.

 

In this case, a union would be really useful. However, we are a non-union shop. In a non-union environment, one does have to be careful how far you push it.

[KARNUT]

I left a union area and move to Texas so I could do the things I wanted to do to get ahead. I learn things buy doing the impossible. It wasn't just me it was my whole family.We are leaders we love doing things people say cant be done. The two most important things in life are fine a good partner, do what you love. You do that you will never want or work a day in your life. It is a little harder to do it do day than it used to be but can be done. Im not downing unions by any stretch, everything had its time and place. My youngest employee has been with us for 5 years, longest 30. The only reason we lasted over 30 years is doing things other people said was impossible. Sounds like to me the manager or owner is trying to survive. May be a good time to open a shop next store and show him how it done. In my early days I did just that.