Displaced workers find hope for future in diesel school

Charles Gambling was an employee for Nordyne in Poplar Bluff for 11 years. He worked as a Set-up 4 operator. He liked his job, and he didn't anticipate losing it.

"We heard rumors," Gambling said. "Everyone heard rumors. But, when they decided to shut the plant down, they held a big meeting and told us what all was going on."

The decision by Nordyne to relocate its plant in Mexico put an estimated 500 people out of work in Poplar Bluff.

When asked if he imagined he would have to start over after 11 years of working at one place, Gambling said, "No."

Eric Reed was a forklift operator for Nordyne. He worked at the factory for two years. Scott Switzer was a maintenance apprentice at Nordyne. He had worked there for eight years.

Gambling, Reed, and Switzer all decided they needed something different after losing their jobs. They decided they needed something that would be more stable, and make them more marketable.

The three men decided to enroll in the diesel mechanic class at Three Rivers College (TRC) in Dexter.

"I kind of learned my lesson after Nordyne," Reed remarked. "I had worked at Darlings in Corning, Ark., before Nordyne. I went to Nordyne after they shut down I just decided I needed something different that could keep me employed."

Robert O'Briant didn't work at a factory. He was a mechanic at Southside Auto Sales in Malden. But, when the work load went from two or three truckloads per-day to two truckloads per-week, he found himself without a job.

"I was one of three that got laid off," O'Briant said.

"These guys here, every one of them, will find work when they graduate,"Alan McQueen said. McQueen is the instructor for the diesel program. "The job placement rate for our students when they graduate is 100-percent."

McQueen used to be an instructor for University Technical Institute (UTI) in Texas. Once he decided to leave UTI, he came back to Stoddard County and decided he couldn't go without teaching.

"I guess that's the way it is with teaching," McQueen noted. "Once it gets in your blood, it stays."

McQueen is quick to point out everything he has set up for his class. He points with pride to an "air board" that is contains the complete air system for a diesel truck.

"By the time someone graduates here, they'll know how to troubleshoot and work on any truck's air system," McQueen notes. "People don't realize how much goes into one of these trucks. There is more technology in one of these truck motors than what was used to put a man on the moon."

As an instructor in Texas, McQueen said he saw a shrinking number of Americans pursuing vocational education.

"We started getting more students from South America, and places like that," McQueen said. "I'm not exactly sure why that is; but, I think maybe some people felt like this kind of work was beneath them."

McQueen pointed out that he knows of people with bachelor's degrees working in the service industry.

"You look at some of the degree programs that some universities have, and what some of these kids are graduating with... it's stuff they won't be able to do professionally," McQueen commented. "The manufacturing base is shrinking, and we're losing those jobs. But trucks aren't going away anytime soon. A good diesel mechanic will always have work, and they'll make good money."

Reed, O'Briant, and Gambling said they have plans on opening their own diesel shops after graduation. The allure of being their own boss and setting their own hours has great appeal.

"They'll be able to do that," McQueen explained. "I have some graduates who went to Florida and opened their own shops. They're all successful. Some of them have other mechanics working for them now."

And it isn't just for men. McQueen said he has already had a couple of female students who have graduated his class and gone on to make a good life for themselves.

"I have a female student enrolled in this class right now, and she's doing very well," McQueen said. "She'll probably find good work when she graduates."

McQueen explained that Dexter's TRC Center Director Bill Hampton has been extremely helpful.

"He reaches out to other companies that need diesel mechanics and brings them in at the end of the semester," McQueen said. "And my students get snatched up left and right. There are plenty of jobs and opportunities available for them."

The current class will graduate in December, and McQueen said he's confident that every one of his students will have a good-paying job almost immediately after.

"There's no shortage of work in this area for a diesel mechanic," McQueen remarked. "It's a good job that can take you anywhere."