Ask for a raise? Is your company do same to you

[unterhaus]

Originally Posted by Halfnutz At the time (especially after that conversation) I was sick of working for him (three years is enough at any place for me) and I knew of another company that had allready made me an offer of employment for the same pay, but with insurance included at the start of employment, so rather than fight with the guy I just quit and had the thing fixed through insurance a couple of months later.

I take it from his reaction that he missed you when you were gone?

[Halfnutz]

Originally Posted by unterhaus I take it from his reaction that he missed you when you were gone?

Well, I'm sure he did, not because I'm anything special, but just the fact that I was reliable and knew the ropes meant that for every hour I worked it put money in his pocket, and he lost that income.

At some point, after telling the guy I had an injury and it was getting worse and had to get it taken care of for 2-3 months prior to that last time, it became clear to me that he didn't give a damn about me. I had even told him about the other offer and that if he didn't back me up I was going to leave, so it wasn't as if I just walked in one day and quit.

I can't imagine what he was thinking, by then I didn't care, but it was a shock to me to see how upset he got over me quitting. He really did come to my new job and threaten me.

It reminded me of that nut that beat his sons little league coach to death.

[Adobe Machine]

Take some advice from and old man who has been both a shop owner ( 35 years) and an employee..Do not , under any circumstances, give up your right to Workmans Comp..If your hurt at work, report it NOW,if some one tries to "talk you out of it " call the Industrial Commission immediatly.
No shop owners insurance will go up that much, unless there are multible instances ( that indicates UNSAFE CONDITIONS).
I have had employees hurt at work, not report it, then 2--3 weeks later end up in the hosbital ..What a mess that turns out to be. Remember, the Insurance carrier is YOUR ENEMY..They will and do use every trick in the book not to pay..But if you follow procedure and report an accident NOW, you will be covered.
I paid workmans compensation gladley...There was no better protection for my crew than this insurance..If your employer is skating and not paying workmans comp ( illegal in most states)leave now...anything can happen in a shop, anything ...and it will..
Know of a shop that a machinest put an eight, foot 3 inch round stock in through the back of the lathe with no support. The machinest who proceeded him on the machine had the machine spndle set on the highest RPM as he was polishing (2500 rpm) dummy 1 did not check the spindle and turned it on.The solid round stock bent like 90 degree with so much force it lifted the lathe ( a big 19 X 80 ) up off the floor and travled 2 feet. Dummy 1 did not get hurt, but an innocent machinest working a mill 15-20 feet away got a piece of concrete driven into his neck and back, is now ( as far as I know ) a quadraplegic.Because the shop owner ( a real good friend, he helped with my BAH race boat) had workmans comp, he did not lose his business, but most important the fellow who was hurt has the best medical care and an income for life .
Work with out Workmans Comp ? Never. Accidents WILL happen.

Adobe (old as dirt )

[diarmaid]

Wow. As a future self employeed shop owner (Touch wood), who may even have a couple of employees eventually, this was a really interesting thread. I guess you just decide which road to go down.....the screw your employees and probably not last for long, or look out for your employees and still maybe dont last for long! I guess business is dog eat dog, and since it won't make much differance either way, might as well treat the employees well.

[Halfnutz]

Originally Posted by diarmaid Wow. As a future self employeed shop owner (Touch wood), who may even have a couple of employees eventually, this was a really interesting thread. I guess you just decide which road to go down.....the screw your employees and probably not last for long, or look out for your employees and still maybe dont last for long! I guess business is dog eat dog, and since it won't make much differance either way, might as well treat the employees well.

Integrity's true value is to the possesor perhaps.

[Egar Twins]

lol, it is all to the same these days.....I have bounced 3 times in the last two years....at 25 I must say that I am comfortable with my wage and my employer.....I think the problem with our industry and trade is that we are smart people working in a vastly stupid industry...it sux because more often then not your boss doesnt even know what the hell your talking about and automatically assumes you are bull****ting.....i think it is the same everywhere...eventually you jump to a salary that you dont let it bother you...

[Mazaholic]

I gotta agree with the whiners do the least.
I can't help but laugh because i am reminded of a couple of people at work.
They are always complaining that they are doing all the work and everyone else is lazy.
I can't even tell you what they actually do because most of their time is spent complaining.
Since i have become maintenance and also know how to program,setup,and operate CNCs,(according to the complainers),the job requirements of being maintenance have really increased to include fixing their setups.....you know...because they do all the work and i do nothing.
I have come to the conclusion that they are too busy to do anything.

[sdopp]

It's always interesting to be on both sides of the fence. When I had my business I always had a meeting with my employees, once a month, every other month depending on business. I would discuss with them the work the bid and the cost of doing business. Never had anyone pissed off or quit! That open door approach seems to work all the time. Yea Walt and Adobe!!!

[AlexBanich]

I look at it this way for my raises. When I started I was fresh out of votech with no experience. I started at $8.50 an hour and after my 90 days was suppose to go up to $9 I then got layed off shortly before my 90 and went on to college to pursue further academics. My college career did not pan out at all and I ended up in a tool and die shop as a trainee. I constantly improved and was rewarded with a nice pay raise when I finally was able to run solo as part of a powdered metal tooling support staff. I simply just continued to show that I was able to improve my abilities to show management that I was making them more and more money. With each step I took further the better I was rewarded. I find that its simple economics the more you bring in profit the more you are worth. Obviously in a small shop it does become at times a hardship to be able to give out raises but for most of the guys I work with who take the I make a decent paycheck so why strain myself would be a good reason for them to get mediocre raises and trust me I have heard that that is what they get. Of course there is a certain level you reach in ability but you have to realize that your pay does top out. In our shop the only way to break the top out is to become multitalented. In our shop we have that option to be top notch in EDM, grinding, cnc lathe and mill, cylindrical grinding, polishing, programing and a few others. The more people you can theoretically cover their work the more you are worth especially in a small shop. If its a slow little shop being able to do ALL the work instead of a little niche will make your raises just a little more honorable. Adobe Machine does hit on a nice point, but if you decrease the guys because you have wider skilled talent you can keep your employees happy with nice raises, but if work load greatly fluctuates then so will how often and how nice your raises will be. If you nail the right job with the right company and right stability like I stumbled upon raises are equal to how much you give to the company.