Jim Tessier is 55. After 35 years of work on the road, he's trim and muscular. 'It's what I've done all my life, ever since high school," he says with pride. Jim now works out of the Minnesota Department of Transportation shop in Oakdale as a loader-operator, supplying 22 state, county and city trucks with the materials needed to repair and maintain the roads.
Sitting in his modest kitchen near Hugo, Jim thinks about the family he has raised and his long relationship with state transportation. He is one of the thousands of men and women who provide public services in Minnesota, who face challenges on the job and from recent state budget proposals.
'My dad, uncle, brother and brother-in-law all worked for MnDOT," he says. Back in the 1950s and 1960s it was good work. 'We use to be responsible for everything. You'd be assigned to a road and that was your year around assignment," Tessier adds.
He still takes pride in his job. 'Service to the public is a big factor for me. I've worked in floods and bad wind storms helping people. It's nice when you can provide a service people can see.' Often the first at an accident, MnDOT employees routinely get highways cleared and traffic moving after a crash. A recent fiery fuel tanker crash near St. Paul was contained, and the road quickly reopened, thanks to MnDOT workers.
Today there is little comparison to Tessier's old job. 'We don't have the people now," he says. State highway maintenance work is also changing and is more complex. 'The orange plow trucks are like a jet aircraft,' Tessier offers. 'And the image of a state worker leaning on a shovel can be thrown away.'New generation
Dave Scott and Kathy Schaefer are a new generation of MnDOT workers. Their home is in a blue-collar suburb of neat, one-story homes south of St. Paul. Scott commutes to his job at the Hastings truck station about 20 miles away. He used to work at a steel plant. Asked why he changed employers, Scott says he wanted something better.
'I love this job, but we don't know what the state has in mind for us.' MnDOT is converting existing jobs and is upgrading skill requirements. 'We're flexible now and becoming more flexible,' Scott says with a grin. Computers, knowledge of calculus, complex rules and complicated lane closure regulations are all part of the job. But winter snow and ice control are the heart of the job. Scott will guide his orange truck cleaning roads 200 miles in a single shift.
'We plow blind a lot of the time,' Kathy Schaefer says. In December over 30 inches of snow from winter storms kept MnDOT workers hopping. Schaefer, a California native, is serious about her work. 'It can be a mental job,' Schaefer claims 'very stressful and dangerous. You have to know how to read traffic patterns; to anticipate what other drivers will do.' Long hours are also part of the job. 'We're kept on the road as long as it takes to get the work done', she says. Some December shifts ran over 13 hours. Still, Schaefer likes the work. 'We get a lot of stranded motorists. We're helping people. It's part of the job.'
Mounting problems
But the three state workers see mounting problems. Starting wages are around $11 an hour and it takes five years for a worker to climb close to a living wage. 'We can't compete with the trucking industry or local government for workers,' says Scott. 'Wages and benefits are low, low.' Job security is also an issue. 'I like my job, but I don't feel that secure in it anymore,' adds Schaefer. 'I wonder if our work will be contracted to the private sector.'
A sign of cutbacks is the number of orange trucks that don't operate during storms. Jim Tessier sites six fewer workers in his shop. 'That means there's less coverage on the roads, guard rails are slower getting fixed, and the public is at risk." Scott and Schaefer say their shops always are short. As many as five trucks can be out of service. Short staffing and short budgets are to blame. 'People want to move about freely on the highways, but they don't seem to want to pay for it,' Schaefer says.
State highway work is hard, stressful and getting more complicated. The service is needed for safe roads and for public convenience. But the trends are alarming. Over the past 10 years, lane miles in MnDOT's responsibility have increased by 20 percent statewide. Yet, most areas of Minnesota have fewer highway workers today to do the work.
Governor Ventura's new budget won't get more plows on the road or help MnDOT compete for workers, according to AFSCME, the union that represents many state employees. The Governor wants Minnesota to be an 'employer of choice,' but to do that will require more money, AFSCME Council 6 Director Pete Benner stated at a recent news conference.
The people doing Minnesota's work say it can be a worthwhile investment. 'I don't want to see it so tough on the younger guys,' Jim Tessier says.
Jim Tessier is 55. After 35 years of work on the road, he’s trim and muscular. ‘It’s what I’ve done all my life, ever since high school,” he says with pride. Jim now works out of the Minnesota Department of Transportation shop in Oakdale as a loader-operator, supplying 22 state, county and city trucks with the materials needed to repair and maintain the roads.
Sitting in his modest kitchen near Hugo, Jim thinks about the family he has raised and his long relationship with state transportation. He is one of the thousands of men and women who provide public services in Minnesota, who face challenges on the job and from recent state budget proposals.
‘My dad, uncle, brother and brother-in-law all worked for MnDOT,” he says. Back in the 1950s and 1960s it was good work. ‘We use to be responsible for everything. You’d be assigned to a road and that was your year around assignment,” Tessier adds.
He still takes pride in his job. ‘Service to the public is a big factor for me. I’ve worked in floods and bad wind storms helping people. It’s nice when you can provide a service people can see.’ Often the first at an accident, MnDOT employees routinely get highways cleared and traffic moving after a crash. A recent fiery fuel tanker crash near St. Paul was contained, and the road quickly reopened, thanks to MnDOT workers.
Today there is little comparison to Tessier’s old job. ‘We don’t have the people now,” he says. State highway maintenance work is also changing and is more complex. ‘The orange plow trucks are like a jet aircraft,’ Tessier offers. ‘And the image of a state worker leaning on a shovel can be thrown away.’
New generation
Dave Scott and Kathy Schaefer are a new generation of MnDOT workers. Their home is in a blue-collar suburb of neat, one-story homes south of St. Paul. Scott commutes to his job at the Hastings truck station about 20 miles away. He used to work at a steel plant. Asked why he changed employers, Scott says he wanted something better.
‘I love this job, but we don’t know what the state has in mind for us.’ MnDOT is converting existing jobs and is upgrading skill requirements. ‘We’re flexible now and becoming more flexible,’ Scott says with a grin. Computers, knowledge of calculus, complex rules and complicated lane closure regulations are all part of the job. But winter snow and ice control are the heart of the job. Scott will guide his orange truck cleaning roads 200 miles in a single shift.
‘We plow blind a lot of the time,’ Kathy Schaefer says. In December over 30 inches of snow from winter storms kept MnDOT workers hopping. Schaefer, a California native, is serious about her work. ‘It can be a mental job,’ Schaefer claims ‘very stressful and dangerous. You have to know how to read traffic patterns; to anticipate what other drivers will do.’ Long hours are also part of the job. ‘We’re kept on the road as long as it takes to get the work done’, she says. Some December shifts ran over 13 hours. Still, Schaefer likes the work. ‘We get a lot of stranded motorists. We’re helping people. It’s part of the job.’
Mounting problems
But the three state workers see mounting problems. Starting wages are around $11 an hour and it takes five years for a worker to climb close to a living wage. ‘We can’t compete with the trucking industry or local government for workers,’ says Scott. ‘Wages and benefits are low, low.’ Job security is also an issue. ‘I like my job, but I don’t feel that secure in it anymore,’ adds Schaefer. ‘I wonder if our work will be contracted to the private sector.’
A sign of cutbacks is the number of orange trucks that don’t operate during storms. Jim Tessier sites six fewer workers in his shop. ‘That means there’s less coverage on the roads, guard rails are slower getting fixed, and the public is at risk.” Scott and Schaefer say their shops always are short. As many as five trucks can be out of service. Short staffing and short budgets are to blame. ‘People want to move about freely on the highways, but they don’t seem to want to pay for it,’ Schaefer says.
State highway work is hard, stressful and getting more complicated. The service is needed for safe roads and for public convenience. But the trends are alarming. Over the past 10 years, lane miles in MnDOT’s responsibility have increased by 20 percent statewide. Yet, most areas of Minnesota have fewer highway workers today to do the work.
Governor Ventura’s new budget won’t get more plows on the road or help MnDOT compete for workers, according to AFSCME, the union that represents many state employees. The Governor wants Minnesota to be an ’employer of choice,’ but to do that will require more money, AFSCME Council 6 Director Pete Benner stated at a recent news conference.
The people doing Minnesota’s work say it can be a worthwhile investment. ‘I don’t want to see it so tough on the younger guys,’ Jim Tessier says.