Retrained steel worker still struggles
One man drives an hour to work because he can't find a local job.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
BROOKFIELD -- Too bad Ed Durch can't turn around the economy like he can turn a wrench.
He fixed steel mill equipment for 22 years and now has a college degree in electronics, but he can't find a job in the Mahoning Valley.
"It's frustrating that the economy is so soft that I can't go out and use my talents," said Durch, who lost his job as a crane repairman when CSC Ltd. in Warren closed in April 2001.
Nearly every company he has visited has refused to even take his r & eacute;sum & eacute;.
He knows he has the skills. He's had jobs maintaining machines nearly all his adult life.
Also, his 130-year-old Brookfield home is full of his handiwork. He has replaced inadequate plumbing and aging wiring, added joists in the basement to better support the floor, laid brick to improve the chimney foundation and is installing a new side porch.
To make himself even more valuable, Durch, 53, went back to school with the help of federal retraining funds. He earned an associate degree in electronics in May from Kent State University Trumbull Campus. In the 1970s, he earned associate degrees in industrial and mechanical engineering.
Temporary work
Instead of evaluating his skills, however, local companies tell him to apply at temporary agencies that they use to fill short-term needs.
He followed their suggestions and was hired to work a few weeks last fall and winter at Solon Specialty Wire in suburban Cleveland.
The makers of wire for dipsticks and other products liked him enough that they hired him in May to work full time in the maintenance department.
He likes the variety of the work. In the mill, he was restricted by work rules to a particular job. At the Solon company, he repairs machines but also does carpentry and masonry work.
He's still looking for a local job with the help of the Trumbull County Department of Jobs and Family Services.
One problem is the one-hour drive to Solon, which sometimes extends to nearly two hours because of road construction.
He'd also like to use his electronics training, partly because he thinks that is the wave of the future, but also because crawling around machines isn't as easy as it used to be.
"I took the first job that was offered because there's just nothing out there," said Durch, who is receiving a pension from his work at CSC.
Durch said he'd rather not move closer to Solon because he figures he'd have to buy a smaller but more expensive house. He enjoys the century house on Warren-Sharon Road that he and his wife, Karen, bought in 1988, and the surrounding 9-acre lot.
He does consider relocating, but the job would have to come with a large jump in pay to make up for the loss of income from his wife, who is an administrative secretary.
Remains optimistic
Faced with all this uncertainty, Durch has remained optimistic but admits the experience has been frustrating in some ways.
He and his wife sold a new pickup truck they bought just before CSC closed and refinanced their home mortgage to extend the term.
He had to get used to being in school, where calculators are more complex, studying is harder than it used to be and fellow students are young enough to be his children.
That's all in the past now, and Durch thinks he can land a local job when the economy picks up.
"The only part I don't like is starting all over again at this age. Anywhere I go, I'll be the bottom man," he said.
He is, however, willing to do whatever it takes to make sure his hands are busy.
"I'm going to make it even if I have to start my own business," he said.
shilling@vindy.com