I am a 52 year old man who has not touched a knife (for a living) in 25 years. When I was 15-16 years old, I worked in a slaughter house as a clean-up man for about a year (after football practice) Then, I went to work for Kroger Supermarket in the meat department (union) as a general laborer. My jobs duties included wrapping, lunch meat cases, freezer cases, and grinding. I guess my work was pretty decent, so the Market Manager lied about my age and put me into the apprentice program to become a butcher.
Back then, we worked off hanging beef; naturally, I learned how to bust beef down very quickly. Then I prepared the front and hind quarters for processing. As a traineee, I got the nasty jobs such as pulling aiche bones and boning plates.......lots and lots of boning. I also got the hand-freezing job of cutting ice-packed chicken into various parts for retail sale. Speaking of hand freezing, how many of you guys remember cutting frozen beef liver on the saw? Kroger was a good training ground for a young butcher.
Later, I moved to Florida and went to work for Winn Dixie while attending college and playing ball. Winn Dixie put me into their training program. At the time, Winn Dixie was still using broken down beef. We would order full beef loins (with sirloin still attached) Full Cut Rounds (with tip still attached) and complete chucks with shoulders. Boxed beef was being used, gooseneck rounds and chuck rolls were getting popular. Of course, the pork all came to us ready for processing. We would get whole lambs and sometimes small pigs to process as well. I worked full-time while still attending college, and I became a Market Manager at age 22. I worked that job before becoming a teacher and football coach a couple of years later....a job I still have today. I stayed active in your industry by cutting 4H Hogs and Cattle for friends and family. Of course, when someone kills a deer, guess who gets elected to process the animal? When I visit a new area, I love to visit a grocery store's meat market. Just looking at the meat case will tell me a lot about the store itself.
Here is my question. I am thinking about going back home to be near my kids and grandchildren. I will not be teaching; however,I would still like to coach. I was considering re-entering the meat business once again (part time...but who knows?) Considering my not-to recent-experience, would a meat market take a chance with someone like me?
your name takes me to another person of that name lol "TheNature Boy"
I was considering re-entering the meat business once again (part time...but who knows?) Considering my not-to recent-experience, would a meat market take a chance with someone like me?
Once a meat cutter, always a meat cutter !! As short as we are on meat cutters now a days youshouldn't have a problem, If you in Fla. try Publix, Whole Foods, Winn-Dixie first.
If you need any help, let me know or post here, lots of us old cutters here , an a lot of good young ones that will be glad to help you. If you need to refresh your mind on anything we have a number of video's here on meat cutting. I also can give you a members link, Mainemeatman on youtube that has maybe 30 or more video's there you can check out.
GOOD LUCK to you. Keep us up to date !!
Back to the "TheNature Boy" Rick Flair, in the late 60's to the early 90's I used to use a phase of his to motivate my young cutters that were good to be better, " To be the man, You got to beat the man", During that time of my life I was the man, It worked well for me because I had daily races with them trying to beat me, I got a lot of meat cut behind that phase lol An every time I would beat them i would do his other thing WOOOOOOOOOO. I had a Regional Supervisor ask me once, " why is it every cutter that comes out from under you is so fast? I wink at him and told him, to stay in my market you got to be fast and good or you get transferred to another market. Which was the truth lol
I'm positive you would fit in well at any wholesale or retail meat job right now. However you probably won't like it if you work at any large chain. It's changed too much from when we started. (I'm just about a year or two younger than you). If possible, you should keep cutting pigs and lamb for friends. That is unless you need to acquire medical dental and vision benefits. Then you have no choice but to take a job, like it or not.
In my opinion, most of today's jobs are like the Special Olympics of meat cutting. Sorry if I offend anyone who has friends or family in the real Special Olympics, but that's the analogy I thought of when trying to describe a lot (but not all) retail meat industry jobs (in USA) today.
I appreciate the response. I am thinking on taking an early retirement from the school system, but I would still need to supplement my income. I was hoping I could fall back on my experience in a retail market....and perhaps continue to coach High School Football as well.
I understand that things have changed over the years, so I would have to be brought up-to-date on the new rules and laws of meat merchandising. I do not think the learning curve would be too bad.
Its funny. I was talking with a friend ( a Winn Dixie Cutter) at his store a few weeks ago. He mentioned something about all the boning he had to do before he went home. I asked to see how much boning he actually had. I about laughed when he showed me a few boxes of gooseneck heels and chuck necks to process. I am sure you old timers will remember baskets and baskets of plates, and heels, and shanks which still had to be boned. I said to him (sounding like an old man) "You dont know how good you have it now")
I appreciate your help. and I will be in touch....great website.
We hire a lot of older, nearing retirement age folks just to work the service counter in the evenings. Of course the wage is a joke. And its part time, no benefits.
What "older" age are you talking about? 49? 69? Are these older people meat cutters, or are they new to the industry? New is OK but it It would be a shame to do that to Ric-Flair who's probably better (better worker, better attitude) than more than 1/2 the 20 something's working right now. I work with a guy in his mid 60s, we hired about 2 years ago. He started at the top (journeyman wage $23/hr) because he is a journeyman. He's just as good as everyone else (18 people) in the shop.
-- Edited by Burgermeister on Sunday 29th of July 2012 08:25:53 AM
We hire a lot of older, nearing retirement age folks just to work the service counter in the evenings. Of course the wage is a joke. And its part time, no benefits.
