I am working on a huge project with a lot of cmu on it. The block crew is espanol. Very nice people, but not all can read English. The owner of the crew is Louisiana French, very nice guy but not always there due to other jobs.
He hired a overseer that is not espanol, and really doesn’t like them. The purpose was, the crew was missing small details and his job was to follow the print to the T make sure the details get done right. He off the tools.
The overseer made the comment that he doesn’t like them, he wants to run them off and bring his crew in, his buddies, his relatives. In other words, make the cmu sub forfeit the contract and he take over.
Nobody knows but me, should I tell the GC. The overseer only been there three days. He works for the cmu sub.
Replies
I am not one to stick my nose in other peoples business but I tend to defend those who are not as equipped to defend themselves also.
I am not sure what i would do, but I think I would say something to the owner of the cmu company or to the GC
What is your role on the job?
What is your role on the job? project inspector, concrete, soil, rebar placement, cmu placement.
"The overseer made the comment that he doesn't like them, he wants to run them off and bring his crew in, his buddies, his relatives. In other words, make the cmu sub forfeit the contract and he take over."
That happens on every construction site everywhere everyday.
The crew will follow their super and get a job somewhere else. They will knock another crew out of the box.
My take is that you should bring it up privately with the GC because this kind of political back stabbing will slow the job down, diminish quality due to the actions the super will take to trump up cause to fire the Hispanics and delays during the transition as well as lack of clarity on the payments due to the departing masons. Also just because underhanded garbage like this is slimy.
You could tone your language down some, just say the super doesn't seem to be communicating with the masons and seems to have a chip on his shoulder about working with them. Ask him to stop by more often and see for himself what is going on so he is the one to make the final call. Perhaps suggest what times of day the problem is most apparant. (when tools are handed out in the am, lunch, and quitting time I'm guessing.)
We had one guy like this on our job site about 12 years ago who called all Hispanics "Hef-a-nigas" and generally treated them like dirt. I told him it wasn't acceptable twice before I fired him. Probably more of a chance than he deserved. (Wonder if this will get past the censor-bot.)
Do the right thing. You already know what it is or you wouldn't have posted the question here. Just do it quietly to protect your own tail and make the boss feel like you gave him a tip so he could make an informed decision and not that you told him how to run his company.
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"You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."
I tend to think of these things in terms of separating other people's problems from my own...and doing what's right.
As for separating the problems, I'm not talking about the obvious such as you aren't on the hook if the hispanics are treating poorly, but rather the fact that the supervisor you are reffering to hasn't kept his feelings to himself so it's his fault his intentions have been let out of the bag, so to speak. It's just not your fault he's blabbing to a guy he hasn't known all that long--another sign of poor judgement.
No, I'm not going to raise a stink to the GC, but in the spirit of doing what's right, I might say to him with a grin, "Not that I think this, or that it's going on here, but if someone like Joe Blow were in a possition to lead the hispanic guys down the wrong path so he could bring in his own guys, that might be something you'd want to watch out for. Since most guys in my shoes wouldn't bring it up perhaps it would be in your best interest to watch a guy like this. ...if that were to be happening, which it probably isn't, but you never know."
If you enjoy being more direct simply lay it as you see it and tell the GC that you don't to be in the middle of it and don't want your name to come up, whichever way things shake out.
The risk is still that one in 10 GC's lack normal common sense interpersonal skills and will tell Joe Blow that you said what you said. Of course Joe Blow just gets a bad attitude towards you and is still a jerk to the guys he is supposed to be helping. You could always write it down and send it to the GC.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
But I am afraid he might sabotage the work to make the crew look bad and then it falls in my category of quality of the building itself.Its like your lead carpenter hurting your work so brother in law can get hired.
Speaking as a G.C, I would be incredibly pisssed if you didin't tell me. I won't tolerate the bigotry let alone a set up (trying to bump out who is is there to supervise inorder to bring in his own) that will potentionally screw up my job. I would want to know so I can call the sub & tell him in no uncertain terms to get that idoit off my site or I will.
This has the potential to blow up & create a MAJOR headache. IF it does & I found out you knew & didn't tell me, guess who else wouldn't be working for me."this dog may be old but he ain't cold. And he still knows how to bury a bone."
Lattimore
http://www.rehmodeling.com
I'm with you. If others are aware of theft, drug use, this type of thing, etc. and don't tell me, they're guilty and fired too.
and then it falls in my category of quality of the building itself.
Is the quality of the building itself your problem or that of the GC?
Looking at the problem with this lens is a little simplistic, because as a stakeholder in every project you can and do have an impact beyond what you've been hired for.
As for the sabotage, if you give the GC the heads up that this might be going on either directly or indirectly, it's hard to say it's necessary to save the GC from himself if he chooses not to do anything, unless there is some other reason you are concerned about the GC's future.
If on the other hand you are mostly concerned that the original crew is treated fairly, I wouldn't beat around the bush and call it as you see it with the GC.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Is the quality of the building itself your problem or that of the GC?I was hired by the owner of the property to make sure the contractor follows the law of the architect and engineer. I am to make sure the rebar is place right in the right size foundation, in the correct manner. I am to make sure the concrete is place correctly and that it make strength. I am to make sure the soil is done correctly and compacted. I am to watch the block mason, make sure it is true and plum with the right block fill and rebar splices. and so so, with paint, structual steel,waterproofing, decking, roofing etc.I have known the GC for years and are good friend. This is the fist time I work with the block sub, and the overseer works for the block sub. His foreman so to speak.
if it was more than just idle chit-chat....
if you think he really means to sabotage the cmu sub...
then your relationship and your job description require you to make this known to the gcMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I didn't know you knew the GC so well. Heck, just tell him what you've told us.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I told, GC watching like a hawk, so far everything been going good.
you don't have to live with either a bunch of Mexicans or a bunch of Americans, regardless of ability
you have to live with yourself
it sounds like you already have an answer, but you're looking for verification . . . .
perhaps the answer lies within
I don't believe that attitude is right either. Actually, it's probably a violation of the law - equal rights. (Of course that doesn't mean anything on most sites.)
Especially since you are friends with the GC, I would tell him. I would also ask to keep my name out of it if possible.
You don't need the headaches, the sabotage - if it comes - or any extra problems with the work.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
BB--the ethics of the case are clear; you pass on the info to the GC.
That said, I understand that on some sites, that sort of thing could cause some stickiness for you. But in this case, you say the GC's a stand-up guy and yer bud; so I don't see the problem.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Tell the GC.
Let him tell the CMU contractor what is happening.
Well, you were there, and perhaps you have a better sense of the situation than you can convey here. Go with your head - not your heart.
Let's face it .. life isn't always fair, and it's not our role to run everyone else's life. This means we sometimes have to make a tough choice.
Perhaps a more sophisticated person would have said things in a different way .... one that makes him look like an angel and not a gargoyle.
Racism? If they're illegals, if their papers are suspect ... they ought not be there. Period. Everyone who called 'la migra,' raise your hands. I thought so.
Owner a nice guy? Maybe he nired this guy to do his dirty work .... and so everyone continues to think he's a nice guy.
Crew missing details? Well, I can understand the overseer wanting to bring in a proven crew. Could the details be getting missed because of .... communication problems? Illiteracy? Lack of proper training? Maybe the help really isn't qualified, and would have been history ages ago - were it not for the 'race card.'