Independent contractors gear up for wintry weather expected to sweep across SE Wisconsin

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Local contractors, who have waited longer than usual to cash in on snow accumulations, are gearing up for the expected snowstorm. 

Winter is usually the busiest season for many independent contractors who rely on seasonal snow for work. One local business told CBS 58, they've waited weeks for a major snowstorm to hit the area.

"It seems December isn't too much of a snowy month nowadays," said Clint Albert, owner and operator of Albert's Contracting. "It seems the heap of the snow is January, February, March; everything gets pushed back."

For the past 18 years, Albert's Contracting has been operating in New Berlin as a landscaping and snow plowing business -- helping clear snow in the winter throughout Waukesha and Milwaukee County.

But this year's winter has been tough.

"It's hard when the guys, the crews rely on 40 hours throughout the season, and they go weeks straight without getting any hours," explained Albert.

That's forced some of Albert's nine winter employees to look elsewhere to make ends meet.

"Some of them do Uber and different things," he added.

"It's just how snow is, how Wisconsin is--you get it and you don't, that's just the name of the game," said Jeff Brown.

Brown has been a loyal employee at the company for almost four years. He said he knows Tuesday will likely be a long day.

"There's been long weeks where you're working 60, 80 hours," Brown said.

On Tuesday, the company will assist about 100 clients who booked their services way back in October. So, Albert's Contracting is prepping, because winter is (finally) coming.

"Going through trucks, making sure every, all the windshield washers are full, all the tire pressure is OK, all the plows are operating properly," Albert said.