Ohio factory has jobs available, but 40% of applicants fail drug tests.

[I Push Buttons]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/29/us/ohi...ntv/index.html

An Ohio factory owner said Saturday that though she has blue-collar jobs available at her company, she struggles to fill positions because so many candidates fail drug tests.

Regina Mitchell, a co-owner of Warren Fabricating & Machining in Hubbard, Ohio, told The New York Times this week that four out of 10 applicants otherwise qualified to be welders, machinists and crane operators will fail a routine drug test.

In an interview Saturday with CNN's Michael Smerconish, Mitchell said that her requirements for prospective workers were simple.

"I need employees who are engaged in their work while here, of sound mind and doing the best possible job that they can, keeping their fellow co-workers safe at all times," she said.

"We have a 150-ton crane in our machine shop. And we're moving 300,000 pounds of steel around in that building on a regular basis. So I cannot take the chance to have anyone impaired running that crane, or working 40 feet in the air."

President Donald Trump addressed his blue-collar base in Ohio this week, returning to his campaign theme of getting local communities back to work and returning jobs to America from overseas.

But Mitchell said she has jobs. She just doesn't have sober applicants.

For 48 of the 50 years her company has been around, drug abuse had never been an issue, she told Smerconish.

"It hasn't been until the last two years that we needed to have a policy, a corporate policy in place, that protects us from employees coming into work impaired," she said.

Opioid use is on the rise across the country, but especially in Ohio. In 2014, the state had the second-largest number of opioid-related deaths in the United States and the fifth-highest rate of overdose.

"This opioid epidemic that we're experiencing ... it seems like it's worse than in other places all over the country," Mitchell said.
Ohio's new law on medical marijuana, which went into effect in 2016 and allows those with a qualifying condition and a recommendation from a physician to buy the drug legally, was another hurdle for employers to overcome, she said.

"The difficult part about marijuana is, we don't have an affordable test that tells me if they smoked it over the weekend or smoked it in the morning before they came to work. And I just can't take the chance of having an impaired worker running a crane carrying a 300,000-pound steel encasement," she said.

For now, she said, there are almost 12,000 open skilled labor jobs in Mahoning County.

"There are good-paying jobs and the opportunity for people in our area. We just can't find people to show up who can pass a drug test," she said.

So do you legalization advocates think this company and others like it (or any industry, even where the use of dangerous machinery/driving isn't required) should be forced to shell out more of their own money to accommodate drug users? To give more precise (and more expensive) regular drug tests to determine if their employees are showing up to work high or if they are just recreational users during their off hours? Do you think they should just tolerate their employees showing up to worked impaired? Or do you think all people who use and abuse drugs should be precluded from working since the employers can't determine whether they use their drugs while working without spending more and more money?

All of those options are pretty shit, but they have to pick one since more and more idiots are using drugs.

[Ulfric Trumpcloak]

Which means 60% don't. I fail to see an issue. Besides, who do you think applies for a job at a factory?

[I Push Buttons]

Which means 60% don't. I fail to see an issue.

You don't see an issue with large portions of the working age able bodied population sitting around getting high instead of working? By their own choice mind you, the jobs are there, they are simply disqualifying themselves with their drug use.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/29/us/ohi...ntv/index.html



So do you legalization advocates think this company and others like it (or any industry, even where the use of dangerous machinery/driving isn't required) should be forced to shell out more of their own money to accommodate drug users? To give more precise (and more expensive) regular drug tests to determine if their employees are showing up to work high or if they are just recreational users during their off hours? Do you think they should just tolerate their employees showing up to worked impaired? Or do you think all people who use and abuse drugs should be precluded from working since the employers can't determine whether they use their drugs while working without spending more and more money?

All of those options are pretty shit, but they have to pick one since more and more idiots are using drugs.

Supporting legalizing drugs does not mean supporting people going into work stoned anymore than having alcohol legal means supporting people going into work drunk.

[WskyDK]

Yeah, I don't give a shit.
Over half the applicants are passing the tests.

- - - Updated - - -

You don't see an issue with large portions of the working age able bodied population sitting around getting high instead of working? By their own choice mind you, the jobs are there, they are simply disqualifying themselves with their drug use.

Nope. If the marijuana is legal, then they're contributing by getting high and paying the taxes in it.

[Muzjhath]

From your bold parts it sounds like the marijuana is medicinal. Opioid are very different.
For that job I also hope they do checks for alcohol (which I'd assume).

I'd say get tests for marijuana that are better so you can differentiate between drug residue compared to "mentally active drugs". As driving huge cranes when impaired by any substance is a no-go.

[I Push Buttons]

Supporting legalizing drugs does not mean supporting people going into work stoned anymore than having alcohol legal means supporting people going into work drunk.

Only, like the article points out, they can't tell when people are doing the drugs without more expensive tests. Alcohol dissipates quickly and its obvious when someone is drunk... But without the expensive tests, they can't tell if someone smoked weed today or several days ago...

[TheDestinatus]

You don't see an issue with large portions of the working age able bodied population sitting around getting high instead of working? By their own choice mind you, the jobs are there, they are simply disqualifying themselves with their drug use.

Better get used to it, the upward trend of drug use will only continue with automation/AI replacing people in the next 10 years.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

You don't see an issue with large portions of the working age able bodied population sitting around getting high instead of working? By their own choice mind you, the jobs are there, they are simply disqualifying themselves with their drug use.

By the owner's own admission...she can't tell if the applicants that failed the drug test had gotten high over the weekend or just before the test. She has decided that she can't take the risk on hiring anyone that might decide to get high at work. That's her right to do...but she's the one limiting her options.

[I Push Buttons]

Better get used to it, the upward trend of drug use will only continue with automation/AI replacing people in the next 10 years.

No doubt, but what is discussed in the article is a different issue. The jobs aren't gone yet and people are precluding themselves, willingly, from working.

[Deleted]

not only is it a high risk work environment, the employer has a duty to ensure that the employee, and the rest of the workforce are safe.

Want to smoke weed or take drugs ? fine I have no problems with that at all, your life, your choices. However if I was an employer in a similar environment there is zero chances of me giving a job that you could endanger the safety of others.

[Deleted]

Yeah... Why don't we do blood tests for people to see if they've got any alcohol in their blood when they come to work? I'm pretty sure quite a few people, even quite a few from these forums, would get shitcanned on the spot one of these days.

Being slightly hung over is much, much worse than having smoked pot several days earlier.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

I'm also kind of curious about how many people are failing the drug tests due to Marijuana and how many are failing due to opioids. Are they failing because they are on a prescription or are they failing because of recreational use and/or addiction?

I mean, if someone fails a marijuana test but they can produce a prescription for it...that's a little different than some burnout hotboxing his toyota tercel before coming in to work.

[I Push Buttons]

Yeah... Why don't we do blood tests for people to see if they've got any alcohol in their blood when they come to work? I'm pretty sure quite a few people, even quite a few from these forums, would get shitcanned on the spot one of these days.

Being slightly hung over is much, much worse than having smoked pot several days earlier.

They aren't even saying smoking that pot several days earlier is a problem. They are saying that without expensive tests, they can't tell if the person smoked several days ago or that very morning before work...

[Biomega]

Please keep in mind that the issue with working while on drugs is not legality, it's SAFETY. It doesn't matter if the weed is legal, medicinal, or whatever - you still shouldn't operate machinery while under the influence. That's just as true for many prescription medications taken for entirely legitimate reasons as well. And the opiates are, of course, way outside of either concern and totally unacceptable.

Personally, I find this a regrettable situation. From personal experience in a company I know that you really do need every applicant you can get to hopefully find someone you actually want - doubly so for blue-collar jobs. You don't want to just hire the next best pair of hands, you want people who fit into the work environment, will stick around for the longer term, etc. Losing 40% of applicants may sound like not a big deal to some people, but I assure you it is a HUGE deal when it comes to filling positions.

Seems like this is just another symptom of the raging opiate epidemic. Something would have to be done, of course, but I don't expect that to happen anytime soon. Not under this administration for sure, but it'd be a slow, grueling process under any leadership, really.

In general, though, I think drug tests for applicants are a very good thing - provided they're done right. From the sounds in this particular case, there's a bit of trouble there. No one should face professional problems for (legally) smoking marijuana in their free time, for example; not on the job or anywhere near it, of course, but you do you while you're off the clock. Problems arise when you can't tell when is when, as in this example. More work needs to be done in that respect.
As for illegal drugs, well, that's complicated. On the one hand you do want to make it clear to people that willingly breaking the law has consequences, on the other hand it's been demonstrated that help and attention work much better in getting people off drugs than criminalization and punishment. A very fine line to walk with people who've learned to manipulate and deceive in order to get their fix. I'm all for second chances, but at some point... yeah, difficult issue. And, of course, the whole working while under the influence thing is a no-brainer no-go either case.

[TheDestinatus]

Yeah... Why don't we do blood tests for people to see if they've got any alcohol in their blood when they come to work? I'm pretty sure quite a few people, even quite a few from these forums, would get shitcanned on the spot one of these days.

Being slightly hung over is much, much worse than having smoked pot several days earlier.

Certain businesses do exactly that, you have to pass a breath test every day before logging in. Don't stress about it but, if we aren't testing EVERYONE for alcohol, we shouldn't bother checking anyone for anything. Even if drug use is prohibited in 95% of the westernised world and alcohol consumption isn't, its better to just throw caution to the wind #liberalopinion #NotCheckingOneNotCheckingAny

[minteK917]

Those are factory jobs... They dont get to be too picky with who they employ, if they wanna be picky they can suck it up if they got problem filling their posts.

[cparle87]

Better get used to it, the upward trend of drug use will only continue with automation/AI replacing people in the next 10 years.

Reminds me of Judge Dredd. Unemployment is up over 95% because machines do everything, so the people have virtually 100% free time, leading to absolutely absurd levels of crime, substance abuse, and debauchery.

[Miyagie]

Yeah... Why don't we do blood tests for people to see if they've got any alcohol in their blood when they come to work? I'm pretty sure quite a few people, even quite a few from these forums, would get shitcanned on the spot one of these days.

Being slightly hung over is much, much worse than having smoked pot several days earlier.

The problem there is no method to show your THC level spot on like we got for alcohol, THC can stay for weeks in your bloodcycle and most people judge you the same no matter if you eat a brownie a month ago or you just finished a blunt in your breaktime 10 min. ago.

But if we start to test on mondays for rest alcohol we will lose 30% of our workforce worldwide ^^.

[cparle87]

Those are factory jobs... They dont get to be too picky with who they employ, if they wanna be picky they can suck it up if they got problem filling their posts.

So in your opinion they should hire these guys, who will in turn get somebody killed by dumping a load of steel on them or smashing a crane into a building, then end up with massive lawsuits forcing them into bankrupcy, the perpetrator in prison, because "factories don't get to be picky"?

I had a friend in high school who smoked a bong, and I didn't trust him to hand me my cell phone across the room, let alone man a multi-ton construction machine. I think he broke 2-3 cell phones of mine per year. The funniest one was: the phone rings, he beats me to it, says hey watch this, and throws it across the room. It hits the wall, leaving a crack in the plaster, then falls into the fish tank.

You really want someone going "hey watch this" with a hundred foot crane, while 40 ft up in the air, or while moving tons of steel?