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Because nobody wants to be the mayor who replaced 500 high-paying union jobs with five machines.

How about the mayor who fixed the terrible roads?

Voters don't remember which maintenance task was performed last month, but union types don't forget who acted against their interests.

I know it's not acceptable to just jump in there and say " word my brotha". But this may be a reason. No matter how good the tech is , you need guys out there swinging shovels. It's not fun, It's not easy, It's hot and sweaty. It don't pay like FAANG It hurts your body but you won't need to go to a gym after work so you can sleep Digging a ditch for prevailing wage in Calif is around 60 bucks an hour for union wages- even more depending upon the trade. Apprenticeship FTW

Just employ them in the same continuous way, but let them fix more problems.

I'll bet if you asked those guys, they'd rather use a backhoe or a bobcat instead of a shovel. Their bodies will last a lot longer too - I have many older friends who just destroyed their bodies doing crap like that when they were younger.

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