As taxes and other issues are making life in California more difficult, I am considering moving away. Being a crane operator, and a fairly good one, I would be greatly appreciative to find out the nonunion wage rates of other states. Thanks
I'm in southern Missouri. There's a larger non union crane outfit about a hour away from me, they only pay $15/ hr, and if no work for your assigned crane today, you go home. I pay my operators $18-$22/ hour, depending on experience and skill level/ and whether they are part time or full time. I try to get my guys their 40 hours, even when we're not too busy. I'm a rental/taxi service, so not many 40 hour/week projects, just a lot of little stuff. I pay more than most local contractors, so I can get a better quality of help, and try to limit turnover. I live in a area that you can buy a nice 3br house for $150k, and taxes are pretty low. Most construction operators (backhoe, loader, etc) in my immediate area are $15-18/ hour. Full time guys with regular construction company (not rental) are usually under $20. Union guys by me are making around $25. Kansas City and St. Louis are a lot more. prevailing wage/state and federal projects pay more also. Most guys I know that are on the road (shut downs, turnarounds, wind farm projects) are bringing down 30-35+/ hour plus per diem. To see a more nation wide outlook, look on jobs indeed or another job website and you can see offerings and wages in different areas.