If CAT doesn't work out, try this:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio...

Good luck.

Hopefully this will help :

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio...

So much for the promise of hundreds of "primary jobs". You have to suspect that cheap labor was one of the factors in deciding to build here.

Cat has approximately 93,000 employees. One can assume they offer competitive salary worldwide. An untrained, new employee is not going to get top scale. "What do you bring to the table when you apply? You have skills they need?" Otherwise, it is what it is.

There is always some exceptions, but the range discussed is par for manufacturers all over the US for entry level semi-skilled positions.

“We offer our employees a competitive total compensation package and what is competitive in another area of the country might not be competitive in Victoria,”
Jim Dugan, Caterpillar corporate affairs

I cannot recall or find (via google) where Mayor Armstrong ever quoted salaries. Do you have some reference sources for these promises?

It's not what we were sold Tophat and you know it. We were told that there would be high paying jobs manufacturing jobs. The kind of jobs that will breath new life into Victoria. Instead all we got is a fart in the wind.

just left bucee's and they start you off at $11/hr (per the sign on the door)

In the past any new plant would use experianced current employees to build a core start up group. Then hire and train local people to fill out staff requirements. What you will see is extended training provided by the local collage and tech schools. With the exception of some mechanical skills from the oilfield the skill sets needed in manufacture of heavy equipment are very differant from those used in the oil industry.

SergeantJiggler-
I did not say Cat has no clue- where did you read that?
I said Cat tells you what they are going to do based on current status- the future (as with any business) depends on a number of factors.

Of course they have projections - they didn't wake up one morning and decide to built a plant in Victoria Tx. Projections are exactly that- not facts. Commonly referred to as a "business plan"

Every plant start up requires experienced personnel. You indicated you have already noted this- Expect to see more in the future- particularly in the first year or two of production. Many will become permanent residences, some will move over to their next assignment somewhere in the world.

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post- Business paths are fluid- change is forever part of the picture.

My original point was/is nobody lied. People state things based on information at hand - if it doesn't turn out that way, they are not lying -- I commented solely the Mayor was not.

Beyond that, inexperienced personnel (local hires) will not be offered top wages. I predicate five years later will reflect a much different picture. Nature of the beast.

Tophat, you honestly want me to believe that CAT has no clue how much they pay their assembly line workers or that they don't know what is coming when the plant comes on line?

I have to believe they have made some very accurate projections or this plant would not have been built.

What I have seen is a large number of CAT people move into the Lake Forest subdivision, these have not been local hires but transfers from elsewhere in the company.

I will stick to my prediction, and your hourly wage info may bear me out, the most of the high paying jobs/ assembly positions will be filled with people with CAT experienc, except for security, janitorial and secretarial, in other words, your $8-$10/hour jobs.

A cashier at HEB made $8.25 an hour, and that was ten years ago. No degree required.

good luck finding quality workers with the eagle ford booming

I didn't know what to expect with Cat opening a plant in S. Texas.
Cat coming to Victoria will assuredly be a boast-

Mayor was telling the truth- it will be/is great for Victoria.
I went to his business office a few years ago, I did not spot any crystal balls in use, and I am 99.9% sure he doesn't have any future tellers on the payroll.

Pack of lies is bit harsh and inaccurate.

I share your disappointment, however only time will tell what the employment picture will look like. Cat will only tell you what they know to be true at this point in time, not what can/will be down the road. That hourly wage is based on what they know prior to the plant coming on line.

A 2 year "degree" is educational base-line for many jobs all over the country.