When was your last cost of living raise?

[BBQ Guy]

I have not asked, my employer has been the type that hands out raises to everyone at the same time and they are usually a flat amount. My criteria list is long but for starters I want to work graveyard shift with no coworkers, customers, etc. $23 to start and at least a weeks worth of vacation to start (I get three right now). Inside, no driving, no uniforms, no security work, no driving of forklifts, etc, flexible break schedules. I would prefer something less physical. The parts I am often working on now are getting bigger and heavier and I am getting older. They bought a bigger oven and opened up the doors so they could do bigger parts but bigger usually means heavier. I can keep up with it for now but I can tell that won't be the case forever. Shoulders will be giving me problems one of these days.

There will be other criteria that aren't top of mind right now.


Edit: before I ask for a raise I would like to have my ultimatum plan all worked out.

Unless you are making more than industry average for your position, you have a strong bargaining angle.
IE, more pay, better schedule, and or more PTO.

Even if a chimp can do your job, it takes money and time to train that chimp. Factor in experiential knowledge of policies, procedures, and equipment. It could cost the company a year of wages or more to get that chimp up to speed.

Any reasonable person can look at the solutions to keep you, keep you happy, and make a value based decision that is best for all parties involved.

However, waiting until they make the first move only signals that you are okay with the current agreed upon terms that will likely result in them offering you what they view as best for themselves. I also realize that a lot of management and HR folks are not reasonable and actually care very little about the folks they supervise/manage.

 

[arakboss]

Unless you are making more than industry average for your position, you have a strong bargaining angle.
IE, more pay, better schedule, and or more PTO.

Even if a chimp can do your job, it takes money and time to train that chimp. Factor in experiential knowledge of policies, procedures, and equipment. It could cost the company a year of wages or more to get that chimp up to speed.

Any reasonable person can look at the solutions to keep you, keep you happy, and make a value based decision that is best for all parties involved.

However, waiting until they make the first move only signals that you are okay with the current agreed upon terms that will likely result in them offering you what they view as best for themselves. I also realize that a lot of management and HR folks are not reasonable and actually care very little about the folks they supervise/manage.

It's a very small company, I will be dealing with the owner directly when I am ready to ask for greater compensation. While determining what I should ask for, I have to factor in much more than simply wages. I like most everything about my job and it's location. It will be difficult placing values on different aspects of my current employment but every year that goes by without a cost of living adjustment will make it easier.

 

[kmk1012]

Last year in March. Getting another one this March. 2.3%. I also received a dollar an hour raise, and a larger bonus this year than last.

That said, I'm still not happy with my pay. I worked my ash off for my company last year, and did almost two million in gross sales for them BY MYSELF. That accounted for just over 13% of total sales for my store alone, and I'm still getting paid less than some checkout clerks at Costco.

This sounds a LOT like a tire store chain that I worked for almost 17 years. Are you a tire monkey too? Technically, I'm a former monkey, LOL. Last COLA I had was last July, with a CPI adjusted one coming this July.

 

[monkeybutler]

I don't think I have ever got a cost of living adjustment.

 

[Aero Denezol]

Last year and first quarter this year I cut my salary 40% due to Covid related industrywide slowdowns. I did this so I could keep my most valuable people at full-time. It's not been fun, but I'm optimistic the end of the mask mandate may bear some fruit.

 

[arakboss]

My boss was in last night and handed me my paycheck. He told me there was a dollar raise on the check. Finally some relief after 3+ years of notta.

 

[Alexx1401]

My boss was in last night and handed me my paycheck. He told me there was a dollar raise on the check. Finally some relief after 3+ years of notta.

We get one every year. They are normally in the .50-.75 cents per hour. I never pay much attention. I figure if I did not like it I could find another employer. We do get REALLY nice insurance which many never seem to factor in to the pay until they need it. I warn the younger guys all the time that even they are not exempt from some disaster. One guy years ago who complained a LOT about his pay ended up having to have an emergency appendix removal on a weekend. The insurance paid almost all of it. He admitted that if not for that he would have probably had to go to bankruptcy court.

 

[Heyjoe]

I have been giving the idea of looking for a new job more thought lately but it seems like a very disruptive idea to me. I have a bad feeling that cost of living raises are not going to happen again this year. The boss was complaining last night about another supplier raising material cost by 15%. They had previously raised prices late last year. My plan B is to request that my work week be changed to 4 ten hour days instead of 5 eight hour days, so I can have more weekends to recreate, visit my cabin property, etc. The boss will resist this idea as he believes it doesn't translate into the same amount of production and dayshift may not be able to keep up with prepping of my parts. Otherwise I will have to suck up the status quo or look for a new job. Finding a new job that meets my criteria will be very difficult even in todays pro employee environment. First world problems, I know.

Your job sucks

 

[arakboss]

Your job sucks

The compensation sucks but it checks a lot of other boxes for me that would be very difficult for me to find elsewhere.

 

[Heyjoe]

The compensation sucks but it checks a lot of other boxes for me that would be very difficult for me to find elsewhere.

Roger. I realize after the fact that my reply wasn't kind and was totally subjective. Sorry.

That said, your boss should have a clue that with his costs going up and with inflation being what it is, shortages in skilled labor, etc., be wise to adjust wages and product pricing.

 

[Catfishmoon]

I received a cost of living adjustment of about fifty cents per hour earlier this year and recently received notice of another one coming of .49 per hour... I would prefer that inflation was not occurring.

 

[monks]

It's been three years. I'm an IBEW electrician and I took a 20k pay cut due to a shop closure and major furloughs three years ago. I'm making $33 an hour right now and hope that will improve. We're not even close to settling a contract with my employer and people are walking away from the job and finding other non union work that pays better or treats the employees better. I would have left already if it weren't for my family situation and the fact I have twenty four years toward my retirement that won't transfer to another job. I just keep hanging in there and hope it will get better. If not I'll pull the plug in six more years on a medical.

 

[kmk1012]

It's been three years. I'm an IBEW electrician and I took a 20k pay cut due to a shop closure and major furloughs three years ago. I'm making $33 an hour right now and hope that will improve. We're not even close to settling a contract with my employer and people are walking away from the job and finding other non union work that pays better or treats the employees better. I would have left already if it weren't for my family situation and the fact I have twenty four years toward my retirement that won't transfer to another job. I just keep hanging in there and hope it will get better. If not I'll pull the plug in six more years on a medical.

Jeez, sounds like my former life working for a company for close to 17 years. I truly feel for you! It's people like you that are real salts of the earth that make the world work. We know that we have to work, even if we don't like or enjoy it. I hope it works out for the better in your near future.

 

[monks]

Jeez, sounds like my former life working for a company for close to 17 years. I truly feel for you! It's people like you that are real salts of the earth that make the world work. We know that we have to work, even if we don't like or enjoy it. I hope it works out for the better in your near future.

Thanks. You eventually reap what you sew when you treat your help poorly. When I started people didn't leave because the benefits were great, the pay pretty good and the retirement was awesome even though the schedule sucked. Now the company is struggling to service it's customers because the hedge fund cut us to the bone and the only way out is to spend a ton of money hiring and training people who so far aren't applying. Most of the furloughed people didn't come back when recalled so all that experience went out the window and word gets around now thanks to the internet on who not to work for. It's turned into quite a scandal and there's been some congressional inquiries now and talk of re regulation in the industry.

 

[arakboss]

I recently learned that my youngest son (19) is making $20 an hour (counting tips), slinging drinks at Jamba Juice. He has been there about two months.

Even after my recent COL raise, he is only making $2.50 an hour less than I'm making after numerous decades at my job.

That should make me feel disappointed but I have realized that I am grateful for what I am making now. My income exceeds the cost of my basic living expenses by a good margin and has allowed me to amass a pretty good size collection of utilitarian firearms. You won't find any Gucci guns in my safe but I have enough firearms now that I rediscover ones I forgot I had.

I picked up a second income recently and it is only paying min wage. That makes the wage at my primary job seem a little less disappointing.

I have heard that money can't buy happiness and I am starting to believe it.

This guy illustrates how our expectations continue to grow, if we stay on the treadmill. I am going to spend less time on the treadmill of life and more time on the treadmill at the gym.

Edit: This gal talks about the consumption problem as well.

 

[pharmseller]

I get a pay raise just about every year. Doesn't keep up with inflation but it helps. I'm not complaining.



P

I'm having a phone chat with my boss on Monday.

I had a good year but I'm not expecting much, maybe 2 1/2%.

You guys need to eat more biscuits and gravy.

 

[CLT65]

It stinks to go backwards so bad, with the average raise being so much less than inflation.

It sure seems like the company does well in times like this. They've been crowing about how well the sales team has done in passing inflation on to customers, but they don't pass it on to employees, just pocket the difference.

I've been told for many years that the only way to get ahead in your career and grow your income, is to be willing to move around. If you stay in the same job you're going to stagnate along with your wage. Often the best thing to do is step out and find another job, give it all you've got.

 

[kmk1012]

It stinks to go backwards so bad, with the average raise being so much less than inflation.

It sure seems like the company does well in times like this. They've been crowing about how well the sales team has done in passing inflation on to customers, but they don't pass it on to employees, just pocket the difference.

I've been told for many years that the only way to get ahead in your career and grow your income, is to be willing to move around. If you stay in the same job you're going to stagnate along with your wage. Often the best thing to do is step out and find another job, give it all you've got.

Wise words, I changed careers almost a decade ago and recently got promoted to the superintendent position.

 

[CLT65]

Wise words, I changed careers almost a decade ago and recently got promoted to the superintendent position.

I was laid off at the end of '08, went back to school on the Trade Act. I eventually ended up back with my former employer, but with a much better job.

I've had opportunities in the last few years to move on to better, but would have had to move somewhere we didn't want to raise our family. At this point I could go into management, but have come to realize some things about that over the years, at least in my industry. I've seen the stress and abuse that managers deal with. I don't think I would do well with that. I'm good with senior tech, for now. I don't live for work; I work to live. Maybe I'm not ambitious enough, but my main focus in life is on my family, not work, and not even guns.

Right now I'm very open to moving for a new job, sadly not to further my career, but rather to leave the PNW.

 

[Alexx1401]

It stinks to go backwards so bad, with the average raise being so much less than inflation.

It sure seems like the company does well in times like this. They've been crowing about how well the sales team has done in passing inflation on to customers, but they don't pass it on to employees, just pocket the difference.

I've been told for many years that the only way to get ahead in your career and grow your income, is to be willing to move around. If you stay in the same job you're going to stagnate along with your wage. Often the best thing to do is step out and find another job, give it all you've got.

Most of the restrictions on income are self imposed. People get comfortable and do not want to move or do anything to improve. Place I work will pay the lions share + of education to move up in pay. As long as the education follows what we do. FEW ever take advantage of it sadly. I have often tried to get some of the young people who hire on to sign up. Almost none of them do. A handful have and boy are they glad they did now as they make more money than they ever thought they would.