[Chinese invasion ?]

How many of your local school districts offer entry level trade classes on campus? I was fortunate enough to go to our school district when the offered woodworking and automotive, they however had dropped welding 2 years before I was eligible to take it. Then 1 year after I graduated they dropped woodworking and automotive. Said it was much less expensive to operate with out these classes. Now if you were to walk through that school and ask any of the kiddos what a circular saw was they tell you it was a saw used to cut circles DUH! Like totally!

So this is where we need to start in my opinion, get some trades back in our schools. Then our kids will be at least able to change their own engine oil and fix the front door when the thing is sticking because the mexicans that laid the foundation used shotty practices and now the house is settling!

Working in woodshop, metal shop and machanics was awesome when I was in school. I actually got to build, furniture, dust pan, dinner bell and work on my own car. How to opporate small power tools has benefitted me my entire life. These things should be offered in school.

I am all about the built in the USA. You are correct, the job you save may be your own if you buy american. There is something so completely annoying about calling two weeks after buying something for some technical support and finding your self transferred several times, between people that don't speak english and can not help you.

The LED sign manufacturer I work for, ,manufactures all but a couple of components in the signs we sell. I stand behind that. I can walk into the plant, and watch americans working to support their families. It is not an assembly plant. They are actually manufacturing. It is something to be proud of.

[Governement: To save the world from table saws]

Mangled a finger off in a log splitter once. It took 3 surgeries and 2 years of pain to get the finger to work again. They did re-attach it. My own fault completely but cost over $8,000.00 in medical bills. If a $50.00 additional charge could have prevented that, it would have been well worth the savings in the long run.

[Vendor Errors]

What would you expect from your vendor if the following happened? We ordered two printed flex faces for a 10' X 13' Super America hi-rise sign. Installed the faces, at a cost more than you might think because we had to rent a crane at $1,360 to accomplish it. One of the face colors is wrong and the vendor admits it is due to a typo by the person entering the order. They are reprinting the faces but won't help with installation costs. Are we being unrealistic to think they have some responsibility? Thanks for your opinions.

Your not being unrealistic to THINK they have some responsibility, but you might be to excpect them to chip in.

If they do, hang on to them and build that relationship becasue that is rare from my experience.

We have similiar issues happen more than we would like, getting reimbursed for labor is tough - although absolutley is the right thing to do.

I work for a manufacturer of LED signs and we sell wholesale to sign companies only. The company I work for has reimbursed several sign companies on labor when there was a problem with the initial install of a sign. Our warranty, does not cover labor, but parts, and factory repair if the sign is sent back. However, in an effort to keep good relations with repeat customers we have reimbursed labor in some cases. I agree, It is absolutely the right thing to do.