{"id":4397,"date":"2012-02-01T07:30:19","date_gmt":"2012-02-01T14:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=4397"},"modified":"2012-01-31T17:48:09","modified_gmt":"2012-02-01T00:48:09","slug":"jobless-in-idaho-leaving-home-for-the-oilfields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/02\/01\/jobless-in-idaho-leaving-home-for-the-oilfields\/","title":{"rendered":"Jobless in Idaho: Leaving Home for the Oilfields"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_4429\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 246px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Allen Brown stopped in Boise on his way from Lewiston to Pocatello for a job interview.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/01\/AllenBrown_012512.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4429\" title=\"AllenBrown_012512\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/01\/AllenBrown_012512-300x365.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"246\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/01\/AllenBrown_012512-300x365.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/01\/AllenBrown_012512-620x754.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/01\/AllenBrown_012512-220x267.jpg 220w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 246px) 100vw, 246px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Emilie Ritter Saunders \/ StateImpact Idaho<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allen Brown stopped in Boise on his way from Lewiston to Pocatello for a job interview.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>The Idaho Department of Labor estimates there are at least 65,000 people in the state without work.\u00a0 <em>That doesn\u2019t include thousands more who are underemployed or have stopped looking for a job.\u00a0 This is the latest story in our \u201cJobless in Idaho\u201d series, that follows several Idahoans in their search for\u00a0work.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong>We <a title=\"Jobless in Idaho: Laid Off Mill Worker Uncertain of His Future\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2011\/12\/15\/jobless-in-idaho-laid-off-mill-worker-uncertain-of-his-future\/\" target=\"_blank\">introduced you<\/a> to Allen Brown a few days before Christmas.\u00a0 He&#8217;s a 44-year-old single father who was one of 250 people laid off from the <a title=\"Idaho Forest Group Buys Lewiston Sawmill\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2011\/10\/26\/idaho-forest-group-buys-lewiston-sawmill\/\" target=\"_blank\">Clearwater Paper sawmill<\/a> in Lewiston.\u00a0 We recently caught up with Brown as he passed through Boise on his way to a job interview in Pocatello.<\/p>\n<p><object width=\"100%\" height=\"81\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"https:\/\/player.soundcloud.com\/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F35171405&amp;show_comments=true&amp;auto_play=false&amp;color=D8472B\" \/><embed width=\"100%\" height=\"81\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https:\/\/player.soundcloud.com\/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F35171405&amp;show_comments=true&amp;auto_play=false&amp;color=D8472B\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" \/><\/object> <a href=\"http:\/\/soundcloud.com\/stateimpactid\/jobless-in-idaho-leaving-home\">Click Play to Listen<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When Allen Brown lost his job at the sawmill he thought finding a new one wouldn\u2019t be <em>that <\/em>tough.\u00a0 He has a background in electronics and is a good 20 years away from retirement.\u00a0 But when he started applying for jobs and meeting with potential employers he found a lot of low-paying temporary or part time work. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Then, he met with a recruiter for one of the world\u2019s largest oilfield service companies Schlumberger, a company with job openings in North Dakota and Wyoming.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/01\/31\/where-the-jobs-are-and-arent-in-idaho\/\">Where the Jobs Are (and Aren\u2019t) in\u00a0Idaho<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/maps\/private-vs-public-who-writes-more-paychecks-in-your-county\/\">Private vs. Public: Who Writes More Paychecks in Your County?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2011\/12\/15\/jobless-in-idaho-laid-off-mill-worker-uncertain-of-his-future\/\">Jobless in Idaho: Laid Off Mill Worker Uncertain of His Future<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/09\/WinstonDavidian_getty1-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/unemployment\/\">Tracking Idaho\u2019s Unemployment Rate<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/11\/JustyWEB1-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/jobless-in-idaho\/\">Series: Jobless in\u00a0Idaho<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong><\/strong>\u201cI kind of had in the back of my mind if things got real bad and there wasn\u2019t much for job offers in the valley, that\u2019d be an option I\u2019d take,\u201d says Brown.<\/p>\n<p>Based on conversations with the recruiter, Brown knew the electronic tech job with Schlumberger would be his.\u00a0 That\u2019s assuming he\u2019d pass a physical, a drug test and a background check.\u00a0 This is why he traveled to Pocatello last week.<\/p>\n<p>Now, he\u2019s getting ready to leave his three teenage daughters behind in Lewiston for company safety training in Wyoming.\u00a0 Then he\u2019ll be assigned to a crew there or in North Dakota.<\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s almost like looking back to when the Hoover Dam was built,&#8221; Brown says.\u00a0 &#8220;Just all the fathers and husbands and everybody who was moving out because there weren\u2019t any jobs anywhere.\u00a0 Just leaving their families behind.\u00a0 It seems to be the same thing happening now \u2013 going to the oil fields because there are no jobs anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The western North Dakota town of Williston is the center of the region\u2019s oil boom.\u00a0 That\u2019s where U.S. Recruiting President Ron Garrison sends most of the workers he finds.\u00a0 Garrison says Schlumberger hired 50 of the people he recruited at the Pocatello event last week.\u00a0 In the last year, Garrison has recruited 400-500 Idahoans to work for Schlumberger out of state.<\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a culture of Idaho.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the fact it\u2019s an agricultural community that\u2019s used to hard work,&#8221; Garrison says. &#8220;I\u2019m not sure what it is, but It\u2019s there.\u00a0 While we find good workers all over the United States, Idaho just seems to be, in my view a superb place to attract people&#8230;to come in and do the work we need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allen Brown isn\u2019t planning to move his family.\u00a0 Instead, he\u2019ll live in a company <a href=\"http:\/\/www.suntimes.com\/business\/7391868-420\/earning-100k-at-man-camp.html\" target=\"_blank\">man-camp<\/a> for two weeks at a time, then Schlumberger will fly him home to Lewiston for his week off.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2878\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Allen Brown is a single father with three teenage daughters.  He lost his mill job in October, 2011.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/12\/AllenBrown.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2878\" title=\"AllenBrown\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/12\/AllenBrown-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/12\/AllenBrown-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/12\/AllenBrown-620x440.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/12\/AllenBrown-220x156.jpg 220w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/12\/AllenBrown.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy Allen Brown<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allen Brown is a single father with three teenage daughters. He lost his mill job in October, 2011.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That means his three girls, twins aged 17 and a 15-year-old will live most of the month without their dad.\u00a0 They&#8217;ll rely on help from nearby family and friends.\u00a0 This is the part Brown\u2019s having a hard time grappling with.<\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong>\u201cYou always think you\u2019re preparing your kids to go out in the world, but you\u2019re hoping to do it on your plan, on your time-frame,&#8221; Brown says.\u00a0 &#8220;But to have everything just kind of thrown at you, OK this is what it is, and you have to deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown says what makes this transition worth it is knowing he\u2019ll be able to support his kids and send them to college.\u00a0 He\u2019s been offered a six-figure salary with full benefits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlus they\u2019re saying after working there 10 years after you retire, all the benefits you get to keep for the rest of your life.\u00a0 What they\u2019re throwing out there, yes it\u2019s hard work, you\u2019re sacrificing quite a bit, but if you can do it, they are reimbursing you for your time.\u00a0 They will pay for that,&#8221; Brown says.<\/p>\n<p>The Idaho Department of Labor doesn\u2019t track the number of Idahoans leaving the state for work and Census data is still a couple years behind this latest oil boom.\u00a0 But, Allen Brown knows many of his former colleagues at the mill are doing the same thing, leaving home for a good job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Idaho Department of Labor estimates there are at least 65,000 people in the state without work.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t include thousands more who are underemployed or have stopped looking for a job.\u00a0 This is the latest story in our \u201cJobless in Idaho\u201d series, that follows several Idahoans in their search for\u00a0work. We introduced you to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":4429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[106,74],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4438,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4397\/revisions\/4438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}