Rant about pay

[dez1978]

1st I'll admit, this sounds spoiled, I'm aware. So our state recently changed the pay scale for state employees so that the minimum was $15/hr for the bottom of the payscale. So lots of job classes got over$3/hr raise. I already made $2.50/hr more than they did because my job class is a higher pay scale. However, now, I only make .41 more than the bottom of the payscale. So 21 years experience, education, in a job doing complex clerical skills (idk how else to word that lol) etc and I only get paid .41 more per hour now than someone who starts tomorrow with no experience, not even a ged required, preportioning already cooked food. I'm not saying they don't deserve that raise, bc they certainly do. But those of us above that minimum certainly got screwed. I'm grateful for the raise I got for sure. But man.... .41/hr for a whole lot more responsibility and headache surely doesn't seem worth it today. Esp when I'm already doing the work of what should be 3 different ppl right now.

 

[hhisc16]

1st I'll admit, this sounds spoiled, I'm aware. So our state recently changed the pay scale for state employees so that the minimum was $15/hr for the bottom of the payscale. So lots of job classes got over$3/hr raise. I already made $2.50/hr more than they did because my job class is a higher pay scale. However, now, I only make .41 more than the bottom of the payscale. So 21 years experience, education, in a job doing complex clerical skills (idk how else to word that lol) etc and I only get paid .41 more per hour now than someone who starts tomorrow with no experience, not even a ged required, preportioning already cooked food. I'm not saying they don't deserve that raise, bc they certainly do. But those of us above that minimum certainly got screwed. I'm grateful for the raise I got for sure. But man.... .41/hr for a whole lot more responsibility and headache surely doesn't seem worth it today. Esp when I'm already doing the work of what should be 3 different ppl right now.

Just curious, but which state?
I am a teacher in SC, so I understand the state employee situation.

 

[fla4fun]

1st I'll admit, this sounds spoiled, I'm aware. So our state recently changed the pay scale for state employees so that the minimum was $15/hr for the bottom of the payscale. So lots of job classes got over$3/hr raise. I already made $2.50/hr more than they did because my job class is a higher pay scale. However, now, I only make .41 more than the bottom of the payscale. So 21 years experience, education, in a job doing complex clerical skills (idk how else to word that lol) etc and I only get paid .41 more per hour now than someone who starts tomorrow with no experience, not even a ged required, preportioning already cooked food. I'm not saying they don't deserve that raise, bc they certainly do. But those of us above that minimum certainly got screwed. I'm grateful for the raise I got for sure. But man.... .41/hr for a whole lot more responsibility and headache surely doesn't seem worth it today. Esp when I'm already doing the work of what should be 3 different ppl right now.

I went through a similar experience a few years back and had a serious discussion with my manager regarding what it would take for me to get an increase in pay. It was a very civil discussion, and we were able to come to terms I could agree with.

Considering the job market right now, would it be worth it to have a similar discussion with your manager, or are pay rates non-negotiable?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm not saying they don't deserve that raise, bc they certainly do.

Why?

 

[kanerf]

I work as a Defense contractor and while I am highly paid there have been times when I saw young folks straight out of college or just out the military come in at a higher rate. It happens. The only thing you can do about is to get another job that pays better. Probably not something you would want to do in your situation.

 

[Moliphino]

I get your frustration, but this is the fault of the people at the top not the ones at the bottom making the minimum rate.

 

[Sinder]

I get your frustration, but this is the fault of the people at the top not the ones at the bottom making the minimum rate.

The OP never said it was their fault.

When all the talk about raising the minimum wage to a living wage started many people brought up this exact scenario. You can’t raise the pay of the bottom, unskilled or less skilled worker and not expect those with more experience, skill and/or education to just be happy making about the same salary as them.
It’s a perfect example of why minimum wage should be based on your education, experience and skill and responsibility level of your position and not whether it’s a living wage for you.
Eventually all salary levels will have to rise, and we all know the COL will continue to outpace that so the people at the bottom will still be at the bottom not making “a living wage”.

OP I’m sorry that it seems you are getting screwed. Hopefully you can discuss it with your boss and see if there’s anything that can be done.

 

[Meglen]

Time to leverage your experience and talk to management and get a pay raise. You said it yourself you are way more qualified than new folks and they need to be scared to lose you.

 

[kymom99]

Husband went through the same thing as a state employee. They raised starting pay to attract workers but those who have been there for years with minimal increases over the years got pennies

 

[dez1978]

Just curious, but which state?
I am a teacher in SC, so I understand the state employee situation.

Missouri

I went through a similar experience a few years back and had a serious discussion with my manager regarding what it would take for me to get an increase in pay. It was a very civil discussion, and we were able to come to terms I could agree with.

Considering the job market right now, would it be worth it to have a similar discussion with your manager, or are pay rates non-negotiable?

Non-negotiable for the most part.

Why?

The "bottom" pay positions are still jobs that deserve more than what they got before. They certainly deserved more, considering they are postions the hospital cannot run without. The clients have to eat, the hospital has to be cleaned. but I will say that its unfair to those who made considerably more to then have that gap closed almost completely

Time to leverage your experience and talk to management and get a pay raise. You said it yourself you are way more qualified than new folks and they need to be scared to lose you.

State jobs here don't work that way. No one here has the ability to pay any one person more. That comes from Office of Administration at the capital.

 

[disneychrista]

I completely understand your frustration. I too am a state employee. I have seen the pay scale for the entry level, no education required positions go up exponentially since I started 4 years ago. Where my position which requires education and experience as only gotten minor increases, that with inflation has been wiped out.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The "bottom" pay positions are still jobs that deserve more than what they got before. They certainly deserved more, considering they are postions the hospital cannot run without. The clients have to eat, the hospital has to be cleaned. but I will say that its unfair to those who made considerably more to then have that gap closed almost completely

Define "deserve."

If you offer me $10 and I agree to it, we've made a mutually-agreeable decision. If I think my time is worth $15 and you're unwilling to pay it to me, I'll go somewhere different. If nobody is willing to pay me $15 for my time, then I guess my time isn't worth that much.

 

[kdonnel]

There is always the risk of alienating existing employees when there is a partial across the board raise.

The local school district gave one time bonuses to only teachers then had to give the one time bonuses to all employees due to the push back. The bus drivers, janitors, kitchen staff, para pros, all threatened to quit because obviously the school board saw them as less important.

I can't wait to see the screaming that will occur if the activists fighting for student loan forgiveness win. Hundreds of thousands of people who paid for their education or their child's education getting slapped in the face for not getting loans. It will be very entertaining...

 

[loves to dive]

That does suck but when you work for the government they have set wages and they can't really go beyond those other than to change your title. I've worked for the same company for 32 years. Right now we are gearing up to shut down but prior to that when we were going full steam, I hadn't gotten a raise in 10 years. I'm the bookkeeper, office staff don't bill so we are always low man. In all fairness, I came in making much more money then the rest of the office staff and had been raised to a level that most likely no one else in the entire town in my position was making so I couldn't complain. Being the bookkeeper I knew exactly how much everyone else made, when they got raises and how much those raises were. Sometimes it did irk but that's the way it is.

 

[dez1978]

Define "deserve."

If you offer me $10 and I agree to it, we've made a mutually-agreeable decision. If I think my time is worth $15 and you're unwilling to pay it to me, I'll go somewhere different. If nobody is willing to pay me $15 for my time, then I guess my time isn't worth that much.

I also don't disagree with that. I've also argued about why across the board raises are difficult for small business owners for the very thing I'm complaining about. So I get it, that my rant is kind of ironic there lol. But in this case, we are talking about state employees. In a situation where I can go work at Walmart for more $ than I make as a state employee, it was time for the raise. And thats why they had to do it. Too many ppl leaving to go work at walmart and target etc. The state was no longer competitive as an employer. Now they are going to have to figure out how to retain the rest.

 

[nw6675]

I worked for a Fortune 100 company for many years. The way most people there got significant increases was to leave for 6 months or longer and come back at higher pay. As a director I saw many people get the short end of the deal in raises, promotions, etc. I tried hard for my team, but there were definitely issues with some inequality.

 

[Princesca]

This is one of several ways our current system penalizes older, more experienced workers. There's this, but there's also the fact that raises rarely keep up with real inflation, so someone who gets hired in right out of college is making almost as much as a 20-year veteran of the company, based on market price for staffing. But then once they're in, measly 1-2% raises don't come close to keeping pace with any real measure of cost of living. :/ Your choices are pretty much a) lobby for a raise/fair raises for all paygrades, b) if you can afford it, ask for a step down and at least trade off for less stress/responsibilities, or c) find a new job. I feel you, though, it stinks.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

IIRC you work for corrections, and if IIRC you complained in the past about the pay (and the conditions). Respectfully while you say you're grateful you don't necessarily come off that way. Other people got a raise because the minimum was raised nothing more nothing less. You're stuck on comparing the new difference. You didn't get screwed IMO. If this was merit based I would have been more on your side.

I remember when I got a "raise" when Federal Minimum Wage was raised when I was in college. I was making less than $6 an hour and got a raise to like what was it $6.75 or $7?? Then it was raised to $7.25 an hour. I sure wouldn't have had sympathy towards someone crying foul that suddenly I got a raise for no reason (because it wasn't really a raise it was the legal requirement to pay me this new minimum instead of the old) and now they weren't making much more than me. They had plenty of time making a lot more than me anyhow.

I think the advice in the past for you was to push on your side for high pay in general for corrections facilities. Or leave I think was something that was mentioned.

 

[Princesca]

I worked for a Fortune 100 company for many years. The way most people there got significant increases was to leave for 6 months or longer and come back at higher pay. As a director I saw many people get the short end of the deal in raises, promotions, etc. I tried hard for my team, but there were definitely issues with some inequality.

Yep, been at corporate all my life and the only way I've found to get a meaningful raise without a completely disparate amount of extra work is to leave for another employer. It's sad, but... the majority of people put up with it, and it serves their bottom line, so they keep doing it.

 

[Princesca]

IIRC you work for corrections, and if IIRC you complained in the past about the pay (and the conditions). Respectfully while you say you're grateful you don't necessarily come off that way. Other people got a raise because the minimum was raised nothing more nothing less. You're stuck on comparing the new difference. You didn't get screwed IMO. If this was merit based I would have been more on your side.

I don't agree with this, because this assumes that raises are keeping pace with cost of living. They aren't. OP's base hiring wage sounds like it was minimum wage from 20 years ago. Now they've finally adjusted their minimum to be more reflective of current market, and ALL employees should be given a percentage increase comparable to that first tier of new hires at the new minimum. To me, that's what would be truly fair.