More Local Delivery Workers on the Job Earning Money
I wrote about the delivery and installation of a gas range I bought online from Wayfair recently, and talked about the fact that delivery is done by a local company with local employees, meaning that my Wayfair order had a positive local economic impact.
An hour ago, the washing machine I ordered from Home Depot online, got delivered and installed, once again by a local "final mile" delivery outfit located in nearby Eagan, MN. Within a half hour, my old washer was gone and the new one installed. This time, there were three guys in the truck. Only two were needed. The lead worker said, "trainee" when I asked.
I also asked how many deliveries they were doing today. "20," the guy said. They had a big box truck. To speed up the process, I had disconnected the old washer and pulled it out to the middle of the room. I had also removed the bannister from the staircase into the basement. It would have fit anyway, but I thought I'd give them a bit more room. They noticed both things and thanked me for doing that to help them get the job done quickly.
The lead worker, who did the hookup of the new appliance, left his tool bag in the truck, and asked me if I had a pair of pliers handy. I did, and my Crescent (USA-made) water pump pliers were right there on top of the dryer, where I had used them to disconnect the old hoses. "Thanks" again. He said, "Man, I wish everyone understood our job like you and got things ready!"
So, the new washer is in and working. There's a load in there right now.
Someone commented in my earlier thread, saying that those guys are poorly paid. So, yesterday, I did some checking. I found out the name of the delivery company who contracts with these folks. I looked for job openings at that place. To my surprise, I saw that they were offering a $5000 hiring bonus and paying $20/hr. to start. So, maybe it's an OK job, really. I'm sure it's fast-paced, and it can be hard work, but that's not bad for our area.
Again, local workers at Home Depot. Local workers in the distribution centers. Local workers doing deliveries to and from the distribution centers and to people's homes and businesses. Only that last group is local to where I live, but everyone is local somewhere.
The GE gas range and Hotpoint washer I bought were manufactured in the USA, also by local workers at the places they are made.
So, someone tell me where the problem is with all this. A lot of local people are getting paid throughout the process of manufacturing, ordering, warehousing, transportation, and installation of those appliances. How is that a bad thing?
