How Many NYC Workers Does it Take...

[Ben]

...to change a lightbulb? I don't know, but it's expensive. The NYC Housing Authority has been "going green" by swapping light bulbs in city run housing to LED. Nothing wrong with that on the face of it - I've done the same. However their cost? $1973 per apartment UNIT. That's right - not the building, but a unit in the building. Union electricians do the work because $80/hr workers are the only people qualified to change a light bulb. They apparently work slowly, or do one unit a day and charge travel time or something.

If anyone wants an example of what a Green New Deal would look like run by the government, here you go. I just saw Cory Booker on the TV defending the light bulb fiasco with, "creating jobs".

https://www.wsj.com/articles/1-973-leds-and-the-green-new-deal-11550274408

[AZRedhawk44]

Light bulbs aren't a consumable that the tenant is responsible for?

[BobR]

Light bulbs aren't a consumable that the tenant is responsible for?

I see you do not understand the nuances of public housing in a socialistic environment......

:)

bob

[MechAg94]

Are they just swapping bulbs out or are they changing out all the light fixtures?  If the latter, I could give them a little slack, but if it were just kitchen and bathroom fixtures, that isn't an all day job.

[Ben]

Are they just swapping bulbs out or are they changing out all the light fixtures?  If the latter, I could give them a little slack, but if it were just kitchen and bathroom fixtures, that isn't an all day job.

Even if they swapped out fixtures, how many can there be in project housing apartments? Maybe bathroom, kitchen/dining, hall, and you can pick up basic fixtures at Lowes for $20/ea all day long. I didn't replace a single fixture when I switched to LED. Maybe that's necessary in really old buildings? I don't know the average age of NYC project housing.

[Marnoot]

Well, you need someone from the Fixture Turners Local #46 to come pop the light fixture off the mounting screws. Then someone from Unscrewers United #12 to take the screws out. A couple IBEW #3 workers to unwire the old fixture and wire in the new fixture. Then someone from the Screwers Local #54 to pop the screws back in (don't even think about having the guy from Unscrewers United do it, why do you hate labor pal?!?). Then finish it up with the Fixture Turners guy. Of course that takes all day!

[Ben]

Well, you need someone from the Fixture Turners Local #46 to come pop the light fixture off the mounting screws. Then someone from Unscrewers United #12 to take the screws out. A couple IBEW #3 workers to unwire the old fixture and wire in the new fixture. Then someone from the Screwers Local #54 to pop the screws back in (don't even think about having the guy from Unscrewers United do it, why do you hate labor pal?!?). Then finish it up with the Fixture Turners guy. Of course that takes all day!

 

[230RN]

A friend of mine used to visit India and according to him, that's essentially the way they do it there.  One guy to hold the ladder, one to carry the bulb supply and one to actually replace the bulb.

[Ben]

Side note: While they're paying for all the new light bulbs, a HUD official got stuck in a broken elevator while touring NYC public housing. From the stories I've read on the light bulbs, apparently the public housing is all falling apart and rat infested. They probably should have bigger concerns than going green.

Though I guess the whole green movement is about us eventually living in the dark in caves...

https://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2019/02/19/huds-lynne-patton-got-stuck-in-an-elevator-while-touring-nyc-public-housing-to-see-how-federal-money-is-being-spent/

[BobR]

Well, you need someone from the Fixture Turners Local #46 to come pop the light fixture off the mounting screws. Then someone from Unscrewers United #12 to take the screws out. A couple IBEW #3 workers to unwire the old fixture and wire in the new fixture. Then someone from the Screwers Local #54 to pop the screws back in (don't even think about having the guy from Unscrewers United do it, why do you hate labor pal?!?). Then finish it up with the Fixture Turners guy. Of course that takes all day!

I am not sure if you are talking civilian Public Works or the Air Force. Too many similarities.    


bob

[K Frame]

"a HUD official got stuck in a broken elevator while touring NYC public housing."

Obviously capitalist Trump's fault.

Capitalism destroys the blessings of socialism and socialist leaders like Kamerade Di Blasio...

[HankB]

. . .
Though I guess the whole green movement is about us eventually living in the dark in caves...

And they'll be regulating what you eat as well - here's a news story about new offerings at HEB, the dominant grocer in Central Texas.

https://www.kvue.com/article/life/food/skip-the-chips-grab-thecrickets-edible-crickets-are-coming-to-h-e-b/269-628a74aa-b70c-4dd7-90df-7b38ce595ca6

And so it begins . . .

[MillCreek]

A year or two ago, I was giving a lecture at a medical convention in Los Vegas at one of the big hotels.  I arrived about 45 minutes early, hooked up my laptop to the projector, turned everything on and made sure all the electronics were working and I could show my slides. I have been doing this for decades; as a good risk manager, I like to start on time and make sure any problems are resolved before showtime.

Some guy came in 15 minutes before the start of the lecture, saw that I was good to go, and started reaming me out: he was from the union, and only they were allowed to touch or set up any audio-visual equipment. I had no idea. He threatened to unplug and take away the projector unless I apologized.  I did so and he went away in a huff.

[Angel Eyes]

... and don't forget the 27B/6:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B61_5sRoBI

[AZRedhawk44]

A year or two ago, I was giving a lecture at a medical convention in Los Vegas at one of the big hotels.  I arrived about 45 minutes early, hooked up my laptop to the projector, turned everything on and made sure all the electronics were working and I could show my slides. I have been doing this for decades; as a good risk manager, I like to start on time and make sure any problems are resolved before showtime.

Some guy came in 15 minutes before the start of the lecture, saw that I was good to go, and started reaming me out: he was from the union, and only they were allowed to touch or set up any audio-visual equipment. I had no idea. He threatened to unplug and take away the projector unless I apologized.  I did so and he went away in a huff.

How did you resist telling him to go eat a bag of male genitalia?

Any facilities shithead that takes away a projector and deliberately causes cancellation or technical difficulties of a presenter at a hotel conference is going to lose his job.  At least in a sane world.

[Ben]

How did you resist telling him to go eat a bag of male genitalia?

Any facilities shithead that takes away a projector and deliberately causes cancellation or technical difficulties of a presenter at a hotel conference is going to lose his job.  At least in a sane world.

That would be logical. While I might let the hotel or event center people hook up the projector side if they were supplying it, or hand them a CD with my PPT if they supplied a laptop, NOBODY touched my .gov laptop but me or other authorized personnel. I would think even in the private sector, some companies have rules about IT security in those situations.

And if the hotel IT people can't show up in plenty of time to do their end, all bets are off. I don't know how it is these days, but when I was giving presentations, at least 50% of the time I was fighting the display on various LCD projectors that didn't want to play nice with whatever laptop I had (usually a sterile one for presentations versus my primary). If I hadn't started hooking stuff up early to make sure it worked, I would have been screwed on start time.

[MechAg94]

Well, you need someone from the Fixture Turners Local #46 to come pop the light fixture off the mounting screws. Then someone from Unscrewers United #12 to take the screws out. A couple IBEW #3 workers to unwire the old fixture and wire in the new fixture. Then someone from the Screwers Local #54 to pop the screws back in (don't even think about having the guy from Unscrewers United do it, why do you hate labor pal?!?). Then finish it up with the Fixture Turners guy. Of course that takes all day!

You forgot about the safety man who assures all the appropriate breakers are locked out before work can begin. 
There is the lockout guy who actually puts on the lock and fills out the paperwork for the lock out. 
Of course, you need a separate guy with a meter to test the circuit to insure no voltage before any work is done. 
And I think you left out the guy who actually screws in and out light bulbs. 
There is probably an inspector who checks the work afterward. 
There probably a planner who visits ahead of time to count the lights and verifies the job scope. 
After all that, there is likely a bus driver ferrying the small army of people to the job site. 

[Firethorn]

A friend of mine used to visit India and according to him, that's essentially the way they do it there.  One guy to hold the ladder, one to carry the bulb supply and one to actually replace the bulb.

That isn't actually a bad way to do it, I think.  You need two people anyways, one to carry the ladder and one to carry the bulbs.  Having a third guy to get the doors makes things easier, and the guy not carrying stuff might as well go up the ladder.  Having somebody hold the ladder is safety, and the remaining guy can hand the light bulb up to the guy on the ladder, and take the used bulb back.  Less chance of dropping it or falling off the ladder.

[Calumus]

Before he retired, my father used to do annual trade shows at the Javetts Center in NYC. After they got everything unpacked and set up, they'd have to hand over $150 to a union electrician so he could plug in their power strip. They could plug things into the strip before it was connected; but if they needed to plug anything in after the strip was hot, it was another $150...