I got a list of contractor requirements today from one of my customers.

They added a new one.

3. An English speaking foreman must be designated per each job at all times.

I thought it was quite humorous.

?No sabes Espanol??

heck at the rates some guys around here want to charge, they can only afford non-english speaking workers. sad but true.

Charge less, and you too can have a company like this... http://www.comly.com/

Goto auction calender, then look up October 26 Sale

[This message has been edited by LK (edited 10-10-2006).]

In florida it is hard to find anglos on a job site. They are usually going to be plumbers and screen cage monkeys. Masons, concrete, tiebeam, roofers and landscape will be Mexican/Guatemalan/Honduran. Tile guys tend to be Brazilians. Electricians are usually Cuban. At least the Cubans will have La Mica. If the wrong looking van comes down the street the rest of them will be heading for the trees.

LMAO..

Megaditto's!

How is this English-speaking foreman going to communicate with his crew?

In my area in Florida electricians are 98% white males.

"If the wrong looking van comes down the street the rest of them will be heading for the trees."

Be sure to shout in you best latino accent "LaMigra", thatll getting moving even faster.

HL, they really mean bi-lingual.

My wife says this is really more of a guideline.
It goes;
"Do you speak english" ... "Yes"
"Did you order all the fans" ... "Yes"
"Are the guys going to be here tomorrow"
... "Yes"
"Did you fly here on the space shuttle" ...
"Yes"

Except for the fact you mostly get Croatians, Serbians and Poles here it's exactly the same.
My parents rented a basement office (in the house over at the Non US systems forum) and now the new owners (a big company that owns several hundred houses) have work done... usually two guys on the job speak German, the other's don't. And if those foremen aren't around... forget it.
Like the movers... a smallish company, the owner helping too. The owner spoke decent German, but none of his workers even understood a word. He talked to them in some slavic language (to my ear they're too similar to tell apart, I guess it was Serbian or Croatian, just because it's most common here).

I live in Ottawa a city that borders Quebec in Canada and is also the nations capital. To work in the government you MUST speak french but english is optional! If you call a government office they answer in french. Jobsites, all tradesmen are french. Electricians, plumbers everyone. Even where I work we have the "french connection". These guys are always kept together, work well together but if they need a hand I don't go. Nothing like sitting in a room for lunch where everyone is talking(probably about me) and you don't understand a word! Also someone living in Quebec can work here no problem but if you live in Ontario you can't work in Quebec? This has been a long fight that has no end in site. If you open a buisness in Quebec your sign MUST be in french. If you open a business in Ontario your sign MUST be biligual.

They also don't like english speaking Americans either. A long w/e vacation trip to Canada was quickly found to be a mistake. We were treated like illegals trying to take their fisrt born. I knew there was a reason I didn't like Canada!

Which part of Canada did you go?

I had that one last year... you just gotta LOVE being in a room with 8 people talking croatian!
Well, as I learned some words I quickly found out I was glad I didn't understand more... their gestures were easy to get too.
There were pretty much two topics... women and BMWs. The second year apprentice didn't even have his license yet, but already bought his first used BMW... and no, it's by no means a cheap car here...

One thing I have learned with the latinos is if you attempt to talk to them in spanish their english suddenly gets better.
I guess murdering their language makes them more at ease murdering your language.
Most construction conversations revolve around a 20 or 30 word vocabulary anyway.
I do think the various trade/professional organizations should have some language classes, specifically aimed at builders. It should count as a CEU class. That may not set right with everyone but it is reality.

Quote:They also don't like english speaking Americans either. A long w/e vacation trip to Canada was quickly found to be a mistake. We were treated like illegals trying to take their fisrt born. I knew there was a reason I didn't like Canada!

Are you sure It's only the Canadians? If you were travelling anywhere else in the world do you think you'd be treated the same?
Put a Canada flag on your backpack, your treated like gold.

Guys,

I thought this thread was about how Language Barriers can affect the job site. Let's please continue along those lines.

Bill

Our local college extension here at the industrial park has classes for conversational and workplace Spanish. I personally would like to know what the people I am working with are saying.

Examples.

"Look out!"

"I hope he doesn't touch that wire hanging out of the wall."

"I think I left all the breakers on."

"There is a large snake in the closet."

"I think the gas pipe is leaking."

"The roof will not hold his weight."

[This message has been edited by rad74ss (edited 10-12-2006).]

Here's a short section from a recent contract:
I guess the next obvious question is, do we enforce this during performance of the contract? I have no idea.

Radar
(The 3 G's of good government: Greed, Graft, & Gratuity)

Radar
I know lots of contractors that would have trouble fulfilling that literacy requirement with their English only speaking foremen.

As broadly as it's written, the painter's foreman could have to be able to read and write complicated written electrical, AC, etc. material and understand it.

No Way