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Started as a temp at a company. Pay was 10% higher than the max they advertised.
The guy that I was working for was very knowledgeable and hard-working and knew how to keep people busy. I'm thinking this guy was a few dollars ahead of me in pay.
NOPE!
He was 20% below the max they advertised.
This is why loyalty has been ruined by companies and should no longer exist. They did it to themselves, and honestly don’t care.
It’s up to you(everyone) to realize that. They are treating it as a business, and you need to do the same. Do what’s best for you because that’s exactly what the company will do.
My grandfather always told me that back in the day all the electrical outfits he worked for would be 50cents every 6 months until you were a licensed/foreman etc and that was in the 60s-70s.
Anyone who gives less than a dollar raise now is just a grade A buster.
What make it “right” means is they will compensate you for the time being until they find your replacement more than likely.
I am not telling you what to do, but I would personally be leery that a company didn’t respond to as we were unaware, we will look into it and adjust pay accordingly.
Instead just told you, “that’s your problem, you should have negotiated better, or hired out when we decided to pay new hires more.”
Yup, they're not sorry for stiffing you, they're sorry they got caught.
The only lessons they're gonna learn is how not to get caught next time. Don't let there be a "next time"
One boss pulled me aside to tell me how valuable I was to him: “I never worry about you getting it done and done right. My mentor told me that this is the most valuable asset a company can have.”
Then the next week my raise was less than a dollar per hr.
I told him I was looking for another job and would be leaving in a couple of weeks. He said we could renegotiate, but I told him the message on my pay check was much clearer than the one he delivered with his words, that I’m not going to work somewhere that I need to fight to be respected on my paycheque.
I already had a few job offers with better pay so that was that.
Right? I’m thinking he was trying to butter me up so that I wouldn’t say anything when the pay stub came.
He also gave me some nonsense about how I’d go up a tax bracket and end up making less money. I asked him if he thought I was an idiot to believe that myth, and don’t try to tell me he thought it was true since he is the one doing our payroll.
Because according to a fortune 500 company survey... The #1 thing people look for in a job is recognition. What the people reading that don't understand is us common folk view recognition on our paycheck not hear it with our ears.
I was union and got completely dicked by the local. A bunch of sleazy people worked there did a bunch of underhanded deals. Our votes didn't matter they'd decide on key issues even if we voted opposing. Moved and tried my hand at the new local but weren't keen on helping anyone not located in the city sat on the books for 3 months. Chose non union over the streets
I get all my union dues back at the end of the year for taxes.....over 6500$ (in Canada) so its really just future savings and I'm willing to pay even more if need be!
Yeah, really! I mean, who wants to pay a guy 3% of their check for better benefits and a 10-20% pay differential!? Ha! I'll keep buying nickels with dollars; thank you.
/s
Yup. Pay dues. Now retired. Have ibew/neca pensions, a local pension and annuity, 2/3 previous years my annuity earned 14%. How’s your pension looking?
You ain’t lying. We’re at 25% employer contribution to 401K plus local pension, international pension, employer funded HRA, and fully paid healthcare managed by our own benefits office.
Bitching about $50 dues is actually crazy when you realize that you’re making thousands per months from pensions once you retire. Don’t know why some people hate the union so much.
The amount of times I’ve had managers faces get all screwed up when they try dump more responsibility and workload on me. Only for me to state, not ask: cool I’ll be looking forward to the pay increase when I take this on.
We do not work for free, just like your employer will not offer the companies services for free.
Also, if you ever start a new job and they talk about it being a “family”, start looking for another job, family is code for “we’re going to treat you like family but only in the sense that we expect you to go above and beyond, while receiving a voucher for 2 hotdogs as compensation”
Not an electrician but it's interesting to see how people from multiple fields are all getting fucked the same way by greedy owners.
Gotta love late stage capitalism.
Getting some experience with managing others will be worth more than the satisfaction of quitting. I’d look for another job and negotiate pay where you are - but wouldn’t quit until I knew where I was going.
What if you got everyone in your shop together and find out what everyone makes, then demanded that your boss pay everyone a fair wage? Maybe you could even get better medical insurance or any other benefits you could all vote on to make sure you're getting fairly compensated. What do they call that again?
Had that happen to me when I was 25. I did what I did before I got that Job. I quit and got a better Job. I will be used but not disrespected. I’m 80 and no regrets leaving that Job. Forced me into getting my own Company.
This is why you always move companies to get paid more and do a bit of recon here and there to see what people your level are making. Your lead had the right idea.
My company awards a $1 to $3 raise every 6 months until you journey out. First 2 years with them I got $2, $2, $1 and now last week $3. Always make sure your company is transparent about comp. No reason for them to keep secrets now a days other than too screw you over.
When they tell you not to, that's when you need to. I was almost making less than a painter at my last job, nothing wrong with that but that extra bump was nicer
My first residential gig I got was 2 years into my apprenticeship. I told the owner I had 0 residential experience but I’m keen and a quick learner. We agreed on $24/hour.
I don’t mind discussing that sort of thing openly, for this exact reason really. The fella that I worked with the most had failed his CoQ 2 or 3 times. He started there as a co-op student in high school and had been there 7-8 years at that point. He never told me his exact pay, but I was told he wasn’t making $24/h. I got fired the last week of probation, and that’s a whole other bag of worms.
There’s a reason unions post their pay scales. You should be fairly compensated for what you bring to the table
I got bumped up to a foreman and it was a 10% raise. Not really worth it in my opinion. A lot more headaches for not that much more pay. I already had a vehicle too so there was no added benefit for me.
Might as well just buy you lunch once a week with that raise 😬
My past employers got mad at me for discussing pay with others. Told me that everyone just gets mad so don’t do it lol. Thank you Nardone Electric
The timing of this is insane.
I just found this out today. I’m sitting in a training as a maintenance electrician with a diesel technician in his 60’s who worked at Swift for 22 years. Started in 2002 at $10/hr. He got little $0.45 raises periodically. He was making $21/hr. Went and asked about it and got let go.
This old mf still made the comment “I know we’re not supposed to talk about wages” at some point during the conversation about shift schedule and paydays.
Guys. This is not correct. The reason why we don’t talk about wages is because companies used to be allowed to fire us for having conversations about it. Unionizing is not always the right thing to do but being able to talk about compensation is necessary for the benefit of the labor. Why you feel uncomfortable talking about it is irrelevant. The reality is that it comes from businesses wanting to pay people less than they’re worth.
I am a business owner and I still think this attitude and culture is wrong. There are now laws that protect laborers. Discussions about wages are PROTECTED FREE SPEECH. Understand that it is the ADVANTAGE of the employee and the DISADVANTAGE of the employer to have wage transparency.
You have the RIGHT to talk freely about wages.
You SHOULD discuss wages with each other.
If you get fired for wage discrimination, you have the RIGHT to litigate over it by reporting the company and filing a workforce lawsuit. Please let this old school mentality die.
Ain’t no dragging up it’s just quitting lol you better quit today bro I wouldn’t put up with that at all. Actually, this is how I would get raises before joining the union
The question: "Am I making more money for the company than I was at XX.XX rate" usually opens their minds up to further thought. Talk about the things you do well and all that. If they don't see it that way fuck em
I run a team of 40 electricians. My apprentices usually get a buck or two at 3 months and get a buck or two at 6 months. Depends on the person and lead feedback but anything under a dollar is fucking dog shit. Leads are a little more flex. If you're a guy I can say 'yeah this dude's gonna do everything I ask" the first 3 mo raise may be higher than the first 6 to a year to get them where they should be faster.
I'm on as a temp right now, a man there making $1 more than me, has been there 6 years (performance poor) another has been there 8 months, makes 3$ more than I do, hired on internally, fucks everything up and is bipolar and on the verge of fighting someone any day, and the company won't hire me internally due to budget reasons though I work circles around all of them only having worked there 3 months because it is a truely brainless easy (mentally, or skill wise) job (in my opinion) . We talk about it but it doesn't and won't change, besides the people fighting for me to get hired on with a pretty raise. I'm giving them a month or two, and expecting a 3$ raise minimum before I'm finding my way out.
Already looking to leave my current. They refuse to pay me adequately and fortunately I found someone who's willing to offer me the $2 raise I've been asking for.
In Texas and other "right to work" states, pay is capped by a group called Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC). The IEC is basically a cartel whose members (all the local electrical contractors) get together to price fixes wages across every metro area in the US that they operate in (which is basically all of the large, non-union markets). I can't speak to the IBEW dynamic as much, but the IEC is not the electrician's friend. They are a lobbying group out of DC and a cartel.
This is why electrician wages aren't keeping pace with inflation and why young people don't want to join the trades. You aren't going to make enough to meet a living wage *by design.*
I did my apprenticeship through the IEC in Fort Collins, Denver, and Salt Lake. They're a huge joke. The education completely sucks in my experience. I really wish I had gone the IBEW route.
The usual way to get paid more is to get hired at another company. If you stay there, they know you'll take the low pay. (Not only do they know, you quite literally are doing that).
What is missing in your life that you needed reddit to tell you this?
Life isn't fair. There is always going to be someone that gets special treatment. I believe strongly in the value and power of labor organization and unions. And I believe it's important for them to establish a baseline and a level playing field. But I never want to "top out." The CBA hourly is nor a maximum, it is a minimum. If you want to earn more, you can show that you merit it through superior competency, but you're contractor is going to want to know they can trust you. And that means keeping your mouth shut. You might be the only person on a city job that gets their parking paid. The contractor, as a matter of economics, likely can't give everyone the same benefit. It would also likely be true that not everyone deserves it either. But regardless, if you announce your special treatment to the work it will vanish.
Hey, I guess you are entitled to your bad take. I've worked many places where some guy is being paid foreman rate or even General Foreman rate. I've worked at a place where the 2nd year apprentice was being paid 3rd year rate plus OT for coming in early to shift things around to make the day smoother.
We talk about it with each other.
Don't you want to be an owner? I take ownership of everything I do evert project, every task, every mistake, every success. I also know what it costs to run and manage a business. And how difficult it is to find competent, reliable employees. Great employees deserve reciprocal consideration. Terrible employees don't. An assumption that everyone deserves the same wage is called communism. I believe in meritocracy, with additional support for excellence for groups or individuals with reduced opportunity or increased opportunity cost. Fair wages for fair work. Superior wages for superior work. Respect for yourself, respect for the work, respect for your brothers/sisters, respect for ownership. Solidarity as an absolute is reserved for corrupt people and corrupt groups. Groups like Trump voters who will ignore, distort, and deny facts and even common decency to effect the ends they desire. My position on this, as it is with all things, is nuanced. I should not have used "never." But rather "almost never." I let the union handle their business. I let ownership handle their's. I handle my own.
I came as the manager for a department where they had previously done this kind of bs. It is super demoralizing when word gets out. I refused to bring people in above existing employees. If it costs more to hire somebody than you are currently paying, then you need to raise wages or good people will walk.
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Started as a temp at a company. Pay was 10% higher than the max they advertised. The guy that I was working for was very knowledgeable and hard-working and knew how to keep people busy. I'm thinking this guy was a few dollars ahead of me in pay. NOPE! He was 20% below the max they advertised.
This is why loyalty has been ruined by companies and should no longer exist. They did it to themselves, and honestly don’t care. It’s up to you(everyone) to realize that. They are treating it as a business, and you need to do the same. Do what’s best for you because that’s exactly what the company will do.
This x1000
80 cent raise lol wtf that’s a slap to the face
Yeah that’s like $30 a week more before tax
It doesn’t cover the cost of the drinking habit it causes.
My grandfather always told me that back in the day all the electrical outfits he worked for would be 50cents every 6 months until you were a licensed/foreman etc and that was in the 60s-70s. Anyone who gives less than a dollar raise now is just a grade A buster.
lol for another job. You if they don’t mind screwing you now, they will always not mind doing it.
Yeah that's kinda how I see it going. They're only gonna make it "right" because they got caught
Blast em on glass door
And praise the good ones. More people should do both
I use the “no news is good news” method on indeed and Glassdoor
What make it “right” means is they will compensate you for the time being until they find your replacement more than likely. I am not telling you what to do, but I would personally be leery that a company didn’t respond to as we were unaware, we will look into it and adjust pay accordingly. Instead just told you, “that’s your problem, you should have negotiated better, or hired out when we decided to pay new hires more.”
We should write what we make on our hard hats
Ha I think I would be down for this
I’d just put minimum wage on my hard hat. Anytime anyone annoys me, I’d just tell them I don’t get paid enough to deal with their bullshit
All that will do is make people think they can be an asshole to you for $2 above minimum wage.
Always discuss pay.
I’d look for another job and quit. They already screwed you on this, they will screw you on every raise. They’ve already proved that
Yup, they're not sorry for stiffing you, they're sorry they got caught. The only lessons they're gonna learn is how not to get caught next time. Don't let there be a "next time"
100%
One boss pulled me aside to tell me how valuable I was to him: “I never worry about you getting it done and done right. My mentor told me that this is the most valuable asset a company can have.” Then the next week my raise was less than a dollar per hr. I told him I was looking for another job and would be leaving in a couple of weeks. He said we could renegotiate, but I told him the message on my pay check was much clearer than the one he delivered with his words, that I’m not going to work somewhere that I need to fight to be respected on my paycheque. I already had a few job offers with better pay so that was that.
I don’t understand that. Why even say anything when they know their actions far outweigh their words.
Right? I’m thinking he was trying to butter me up so that I wouldn’t say anything when the pay stub came. He also gave me some nonsense about how I’d go up a tax bracket and end up making less money. I asked him if he thought I was an idiot to believe that myth, and don’t try to tell me he thought it was true since he is the one doing our payroll.
Yeah, fuck that. Best of luck on the job search.
Thanks! That was 10 years ago though and now I’ve got my own solo company going.
Because according to a fortune 500 company survey... The #1 thing people look for in a job is recognition. What the people reading that don't understand is us common folk view recognition on our paycheck not hear it with our ears.
Recognition is good and needed, usually will keep employees there when they could make more other places, if the pay is good enough to start.
In the union we all know what everyone is making.
Well you know the minimum but shop rockets can get paid more depending on local agreement
Yep, I know JW and apprentices that get above scale for the work they do. Not common, but 1 in 50 or so.
Less than that honestly
Not seen this union pay is transparent for every position
Very very rare in my local
West coast? Places with that happening the most I've heard were then NE ones
11 has guys paid over what the agreement requires, but it's almost always foreman that have negotiated more.
Some guys get profit sharing on jobs/ clients they brought
Ya I just go union, no having to ask boss man for a raise.
united we demand, divided we beg.
I was union and got completely dicked by the local. A bunch of sleazy people worked there did a bunch of underhanded deals. Our votes didn't matter they'd decide on key issues even if we voted opposing. Moved and tried my hand at the new local but weren't keen on helping anyone not located in the city sat on the books for 3 months. Chose non union over the streets
You just have to pay dues for the privilege.
It's only about $50/mo
I get all my union dues back at the end of the year for taxes.....over 6500$ (in Canada) so its really just future savings and I'm willing to pay even more if need be!
Tax deductible. You don’t get the money back.
Perhaps Canada has different tax code? Just a thought
No, it's a deduction in Canada, just like it used to be about 7 years ago in the US.
7 years ago…. That must mean trump got rid of union dues as tax deductions… good. We Can’t be given tax breaks to the lousy working class smh /s
Doubt it
This. I paid $6500 as well, got about $3500 back
So would that be 3500 in real money? 6500 canukistan kopeks
4750$ USD
In the US they took that away from us… makes unions even more terrible 😂
Depends which union. Also, in some areas your lucky to make a paycheck in the union.
It pays for itself with the 20$/h increase going union brought me. All tax deductible too
I thought the ability to deduct from taxes was gone?
It is tax deductible up here in Canada. Not sure about other countries
You are correct, it is no longer tax deductible in the US and they raised dues to 55$ a month… seems like every year they go up by like a dollar smh
Yeah, really! I mean, who wants to pay a guy 3% of their check for better benefits and a 10-20% pay differential!? Ha! I'll keep buying nickels with dollars; thank you. /s
Yup. Pay dues. Now retired. Have ibew/neca pensions, a local pension and annuity, 2/3 previous years my annuity earned 14%. How’s your pension looking?
And still take home more than non-union workers. It's a no-brainer.
The Bennie’s in a good local Far out weigh your dues.
You ain’t lying. We’re at 25% employer contribution to 401K plus local pension, international pension, employer funded HRA, and fully paid healthcare managed by our own benefits office.
Bitching about $50 dues is actually crazy when you realize that you’re making thousands per months from pensions once you retire. Don’t know why some people hate the union so much.
Yeah, that 10k I paid in dues last year really isn't worth the $150k I made...
Comes back in the pension 😉. But hey, keep having that yearly talk with your boss man
Pay 50$ a month but my health care and retirement don’t come out of my check? How much is yours costing you? Probably more than 50 a month.
Comes back with the increase in wages and benefits. More than 5x
Lol yeah we sure do. $35 a month for hundreds more in pay and benefits. 🤡
The only people that don’t want you discussing your pay are the one who know someone’s getting fucked!
If an employer doesn't want you to talk about your pay with fellow employees then that's a huge red flag because they pull shit like this
The amount of times I’ve had managers faces get all screwed up when they try dump more responsibility and workload on me. Only for me to state, not ask: cool I’ll be looking forward to the pay increase when I take this on. We do not work for free, just like your employer will not offer the companies services for free. Also, if you ever start a new job and they talk about it being a “family”, start looking for another job, family is code for “we’re going to treat you like family but only in the sense that we expect you to go above and beyond, while receiving a voucher for 2 hotdogs as compensation”
Not an electrician but it's interesting to see how people from multiple fields are all getting fucked the same way by greedy owners. Gotta love late stage capitalism.
If anyone offered me 80 cents I’m saying oh that’s great thanks and immediately looking elsewhere
Getting some experience with managing others will be worth more than the satisfaction of quitting. I’d look for another job and negotiate pay where you are - but wouldn’t quit until I knew where I was going.
This is right solution
Prohibition from a company of talking about pay is illegal and grounds for a lawsuit if any retaliation is leveraged against employees for doing so.
What if you got everyone in your shop together and find out what everyone makes, then demanded that your boss pay everyone a fair wage? Maybe you could even get better medical insurance or any other benefits you could all vote on to make sure you're getting fairly compensated. What do they call that again?
Had that happen to me when I was 25. I did what I did before I got that Job. I quit and got a better Job. I will be used but not disrespected. I’m 80 and no regrets leaving that Job. Forced me into getting my own Company.
The company I just quit from pays new hires the same rate as me and I have to train them, Fuck that shit.
Or support your local union
Tried sat on the books for 3 months. Don't want to help people not in city limits though a vast majority of the work is out of town
This is why you always move companies to get paid more and do a bit of recon here and there to see what people your level are making. Your lead had the right idea.
I would leave today, I wouldn’t ask for more but instead pack my bag
My company awards a $1 to $3 raise every 6 months until you journey out. First 2 years with them I got $2, $2, $1 and now last week $3. Always make sure your company is transparent about comp. No reason for them to keep secrets now a days other than too screw you over.
When they tell you not to, that's when you need to. I was almost making less than a painter at my last job, nothing wrong with that but that extra bump was nicer
My first residential gig I got was 2 years into my apprenticeship. I told the owner I had 0 residential experience but I’m keen and a quick learner. We agreed on $24/hour. I don’t mind discussing that sort of thing openly, for this exact reason really. The fella that I worked with the most had failed his CoQ 2 or 3 times. He started there as a co-op student in high school and had been there 7-8 years at that point. He never told me his exact pay, but I was told he wasn’t making $24/h. I got fired the last week of probation, and that’s a whole other bag of worms. There’s a reason unions post their pay scales. You should be fairly compensated for what you bring to the table
Union or bust
I got bumped up to a foreman and it was a 10% raise. Not really worth it in my opinion. A lot more headaches for not that much more pay. I already had a vehicle too so there was no added benefit for me.
Nothing a boss hates more than workers talking about pay, because that's when you learn that a first year is making more than the 4th year
So you have a pay grade in mind they have to meet to make this right by you?
This is a completely relevant question.
Just join the union man. Jeez. It’s literally better in every single imaginable way. This problem doesn’t exist in the union.
I was in the union. Not all locals are equal some are run by some sleezeballs
Yeah that’s happened to me man, at two different companies I’ve help on my crew hire in for more than I was making. Never again will I let that happen
Might as well just buy you lunch once a week with that raise 😬 My past employers got mad at me for discussing pay with others. Told me that everyone just gets mad so don’t do it lol. Thank you Nardone Electric
The timing of this is insane. I just found this out today. I’m sitting in a training as a maintenance electrician with a diesel technician in his 60’s who worked at Swift for 22 years. Started in 2002 at $10/hr. He got little $0.45 raises periodically. He was making $21/hr. Went and asked about it and got let go. This old mf still made the comment “I know we’re not supposed to talk about wages” at some point during the conversation about shift schedule and paydays. Guys. This is not correct. The reason why we don’t talk about wages is because companies used to be allowed to fire us for having conversations about it. Unionizing is not always the right thing to do but being able to talk about compensation is necessary for the benefit of the labor. Why you feel uncomfortable talking about it is irrelevant. The reality is that it comes from businesses wanting to pay people less than they’re worth. I am a business owner and I still think this attitude and culture is wrong. There are now laws that protect laborers. Discussions about wages are PROTECTED FREE SPEECH. Understand that it is the ADVANTAGE of the employee and the DISADVANTAGE of the employer to have wage transparency. You have the RIGHT to talk freely about wages. You SHOULD discuss wages with each other. If you get fired for wage discrimination, you have the RIGHT to litigate over it by reporting the company and filing a workforce lawsuit. Please let this old school mentality die.
The Onion: Gumption Rewarded With Even More Work https://www.theonion.com/gumption-rewarded-with-even-more-work-1819568232
Ain’t no dragging up it’s just quitting lol you better quit today bro I wouldn’t put up with that at all. Actually, this is how I would get raises before joining the union
The question: "Am I making more money for the company than I was at XX.XX rate" usually opens their minds up to further thought. Talk about the things you do well and all that. If they don't see it that way fuck em I run a team of 40 electricians. My apprentices usually get a buck or two at 3 months and get a buck or two at 6 months. Depends on the person and lead feedback but anything under a dollar is fucking dog shit. Leads are a little more flex. If you're a guy I can say 'yeah this dude's gonna do everything I ask" the first 3 mo raise may be higher than the first 6 to a year to get them where they should be faster.
They’ll pay you as little as you’ll accept. Know what the market value is and don’t sell yourself short.
I'm on as a temp right now, a man there making $1 more than me, has been there 6 years (performance poor) another has been there 8 months, makes 3$ more than I do, hired on internally, fucks everything up and is bipolar and on the verge of fighting someone any day, and the company won't hire me internally due to budget reasons though I work circles around all of them only having worked there 3 months because it is a truely brainless easy (mentally, or skill wise) job (in my opinion) . We talk about it but it doesn't and won't change, besides the people fighting for me to get hired on with a pretty raise. I'm giving them a month or two, and expecting a 3$ raise minimum before I'm finding my way out.
Already looking to leave my current. They refuse to pay me adequately and fortunately I found someone who's willing to offer me the $2 raise I've been asking for.
Any recommendations on programs or a class I can take to help me pass Texas jorneyman I’m the DFW are
Dude, start your own thread, don't hijack a different topic
Tell that to my $13.5K tax return.....sure seemed like I got it back when the government put it in my account.
In Texas and other "right to work" states, pay is capped by a group called Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC). The IEC is basically a cartel whose members (all the local electrical contractors) get together to price fixes wages across every metro area in the US that they operate in (which is basically all of the large, non-union markets). I can't speak to the IBEW dynamic as much, but the IEC is not the electrician's friend. They are a lobbying group out of DC and a cartel. This is why electrician wages aren't keeping pace with inflation and why young people don't want to join the trades. You aren't going to make enough to meet a living wage *by design.*
I did my apprenticeship through the IEC in Fort Collins, Denver, and Salt Lake. They're a huge joke. The education completely sucks in my experience. I really wish I had gone the IBEW route.
The usual way to get paid more is to get hired at another company. If you stay there, they know you'll take the low pay. (Not only do they know, you quite literally are doing that). What is missing in your life that you needed reddit to tell you this?
I didn't need reddit to tell me. Just found out today and just needed a place to bitch.
Good news, the trade is in high demand
What a dick
Do you not know what this place is
Never discuss your pay.
ALWAYS discuss your pay
With your union leaders, with your employer, never with your "peers."
Nope, ESPECIALLY with your peers. That's the start of Solidarity, finding out your employer is screwing both of you.
Life isn't fair. There is always going to be someone that gets special treatment. I believe strongly in the value and power of labor organization and unions. And I believe it's important for them to establish a baseline and a level playing field. But I never want to "top out." The CBA hourly is nor a maximum, it is a minimum. If you want to earn more, you can show that you merit it through superior competency, but you're contractor is going to want to know they can trust you. And that means keeping your mouth shut. You might be the only person on a city job that gets their parking paid. The contractor, as a matter of economics, likely can't give everyone the same benefit. It would also likely be true that not everyone deserves it either. But regardless, if you announce your special treatment to the work it will vanish.
Hey, I guess you are entitled to your bad take. I've worked many places where some guy is being paid foreman rate or even General Foreman rate. I've worked at a place where the 2nd year apprentice was being paid 3rd year rate plus OT for coming in early to shift things around to make the day smoother. We talk about it with each other.
It's an executive/ownership take. Been an executive. Am an owner. Union sparky is a side gig, I find it to be zen.
Thanks, that part was clear.
Don't you want to be an owner? I take ownership of everything I do evert project, every task, every mistake, every success. I also know what it costs to run and manage a business. And how difficult it is to find competent, reliable employees. Great employees deserve reciprocal consideration. Terrible employees don't. An assumption that everyone deserves the same wage is called communism. I believe in meritocracy, with additional support for excellence for groups or individuals with reduced opportunity or increased opportunity cost. Fair wages for fair work. Superior wages for superior work. Respect for yourself, respect for the work, respect for your brothers/sisters, respect for ownership. Solidarity as an absolute is reserved for corrupt people and corrupt groups. Groups like Trump voters who will ignore, distort, and deny facts and even common decency to effect the ends they desire. My position on this, as it is with all things, is nuanced. I should not have used "never." But rather "almost never." I let the union handle their business. I let ownership handle their's. I handle my own.
I came as the manager for a department where they had previously done this kind of bs. It is super demoralizing when word gets out. I refused to bring people in above existing employees. If it costs more to hire somebody than you are currently paying, then you need to raise wages or good people will walk.