Service industry salaries

[RNMOM]

I see topics frequently regarding teachers, their unions and salaries among other things. I do feel teachers should be well paid but that also goes with police, firefighters and especially nurses.

Most nurses are not in unions and many wouldn't want to be. I don't necessarily agree with that but there is a lot to be said about leaving patients in the lurch when a strike occurs and I don't feel I could have done that. I worked 32 years as a nurse and have only retirement benefits from my last 8 years. There is no continuity in retirement unless you work for the public sector, as I did those last years. All the other years of work got me nothing to prepare for the future.

I agree salaries need to be better for us middle class folks, no matter what your job. The inequality of money in this country is abominable. We should all be taking a good long look at the way things were done over the past couple decades and see if we can do better.

When people are in unions like the teachers and public employees, they don't pay into social security so they DON'T GET social security payments when they retire. That is one fact that isn't mentioned enough. It isn't like these folks will be able to double dip. Heck, I will qualify for both SS and PERS and they will only allow a certain monthly amount. PERS pays what I am entitled to and SS will only make up the difference. So remember, nobody is getting rich being your kids teacher or putting out your fires.

I also want to say though I hear stories about certain occupations being able to retire after 20-25 years and get paid really large amounts yearly. Can that be true? It sure isn't in nursing.

 

[AKL_Megs]

My DH is a police officer. Are we RICH, no, but we are extremely comfortable.

My DH is 30 and will be able to retire at 45 with a full pension. If he works REALLY long hours his last five years, he will retire with a pension in the six figures. We have quite a few retired police neighbors who are sitting pretty.

But for the next 15 years, we worry if he will come home every morning, and he risks his life for the community that will pay that pension one day.

 

[barkley]

just for the record-some union member public employees DO pay into social security and are eligible to both it and their retirement pension.

dh and i are former public employees from the service industry (social and health services), and we both paid into social security for the entire time we were employed by our respective government agencies.

i think these things vary greatly depending on what branch of government a person works for, and even to the extent of what particular union within a single government agency.

 

[golfgal]

Nurses here are union and they pay into Social Security. Being in a union doesn't exempt you from paying into social security, being a state or federal employee SOMETIMES exempts you and in some states teachers are state employees (not in our state-they are employed by the school district and DO pay into SS, Pensions, AND pay health insurance premiums).

Nurses here make a very good living-starting at about $50K for a hospital nurse and making over $100K after 10 years or so--NOT including overtime-for which they get time and a half or double time and a half-which can add several thousand to their annual income. Many nurses here actually get paid for 40 hours/week but only work 32-35.

Sure is a lot better then the $1.46/hour the teachers make.

 

[DMickey28]

My BFF is a union nurse and she hates it. The previous hospital she worked with was not union and she much prefers that. She has been a nurse for only about 3 years, give or take. She was first an ICU nurse and is now an ER nurse. She makes approx. $56K without overtime. She works 36 hours a week before OT.

 

[Hoodie]

just for the record-some union member public employees DO pay into social security and are eligible to both it and their retirement pension.dh and i are former public employees from the service industry (social and health services), and we both paid into social security for the entire time we were employed by our respective government agencies.

i think these things vary greatly depending on what branch of government a person works for, and even to the extent of what particular union within a single government agency.

Actually, most do. I think there's only a handful of states where that doesn't happen and the feds all pay into SS as well.

 

[tink1978]

I am not a nurse, police officer, etc. I am a master's level mental health professional who works with low income families (mostly). I have been working in my field for 10 years and my income started at $26000 and has hovered around $36000 for most of it. I don't get paid overtime, but frequently have to work 50+ hours per week. I also don't get benefits (luckily my husband does). I deal with a lot of stress in my job as well, but I love what I do. Do I wish I made more money? Sometimes. Do I wish I didn't have to deal with the delinquency of some of my clients and families and the court systems? Sometimes.

 

[msjprincess]

Like others have said most union members pay into Social Security. DH and I will collect a nice pension and Social Security (if it still exists).

 

[Pakey]

My parents, both union, retired with pension and are now drawing social security in addition (they both retired before social security benefits kicked in). My mother had a GED and is drawing close to a six figure pension, retired at 52. I don't know how much my father's is but he retired at 50. Neither one of them worked in a career that would be deemed stressful or dangerous. They are not wealthy but they live pretty comfortably.

I, on the other hand, with a master's degree, will have to fully fund my own retirement. I'm going to be 55 this year and there's no way I could afford to retire because of what health benefits would cost me.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Nurses here are union and they pay into Social Security. Being in a union doesn't exempt you from paying into social security, being a state or federal employee SOMETIMES exempts you and in some states teachers are state employees (not in our state-they are employed by the school district and DO pay into SS, Pensions, AND pay health insurance premiums).

Nurses here make a very good living-starting at about $50K for a hospital nurse and making over $100K after 10 years or so--NOT including overtime-for which they get time and a half or double time and a half-which can add several thousand to their annual income. Many nurses here actually get paid for 40 hours/week but only work 32-35.

Sure is a lot better then the $1.46/hour the teachers make.

I think I missed the conversation--is this from that post about the babysitter rate?

B/c even a teacher making $32,000 12 months of the year at 80 hours a week would make over $7 an hour. More if they are fortunate to be one of the few that gets the breaks that folks gripe about all of the time.

 

[golfgal]

I am not a nurse, police officer, etc. I am a master's level mental health professional who works with low income families (mostly). I have been working in my field for 10 years and my income started at $26000 and has hovered around $36000 for most of it. I don't get paid overtime, but frequently have to work 50+ hours per week. I also don't get benefits (luckily my husband does). I deal with a lot of stress in my job as well, but I love what I do. Do I wish I made more money? Sometimes. Do I wish I didn't have to deal with the delinquency of some of my clients and families and the court systems? Sometimes.

Which brings up another point in EVERY salary discussion, $36,000 in Tennessee is not a bad wage compared to $36,000 in say, San Fransisco. Wages without supporting COL information really mean nothing. Even in "expensive" states, there are areas that are very affordable. In our old town, a single person or a married couple could EASILY get by on $36,000, in our town now, that would qualify you for welfare.

 

[MariDisney]

I was in two teacher's unions and absolutely paid into social security.

 

[wvjules]

My BFF is a union nurse and she hates it. The previous hospital she worked with was not union and she much prefers that. She has been a nurse for only about 3 years, give or take. She was first an ICU nurse and is now an ER nurse. She makes approx. $56K without overtime. She works 36 hours a week before OT.

I didn't realize nurses made so little. I always thought of nursing as a well-paid profession.

 

[eliza61]

My BFF is a union nurse and she hates it. The previous hospital she worked with was not union and she much prefers that. She has been a nurse for only about 3 years, give or take. She was first an ICU nurse and is now an ER nurse. She makes approx. $56K without overtime. She works 36 hours a week before OT.

As with every job situations are different. that's why I hate the blanket "all unions are bad" statement.

My sil is a nurse at a major Philadelphia hospital, one that is world known. Before they unionized nurses were:

subjected to emotional, verbal and a few physical abuses by doctors, who would then threaten their job if they reported it.
forced to work overtime, regardless to whether they were single moms or not. once again without recourse
subjected to humiliating treatment from hospital management.
no type of fair wage policy or professional advancement

In 2000 the Philadelphia inquirer finally did an expose on the working conditions and after public embarrasment a entirely new leadership was brought in. the nurses unionized and my sil is 2000% happier.

Now of course, I hope and pray that there are not other workplaces where the treatment she went through is common but the reality says there probably are. So in her case, organized labor was a godsend.

Once again I think we have to move past "XYZ group" is the reason why our country is going to the toilet.

 

[wvjules]

As with every job situations are different. that's why I hate the blanket "all unions are bad" statement.

My sil is a nurse at a major Philadelphia hospital, one that is world known. Before they unionized nurses were:

subjected to emotional, verbal and a few physical abuses by doctors, who would then threaten their job if they reported it.
forced to work overtime, regardless to whether they were single moms or not. once again without recourse
subjected to humiliating treatment from hospital management.
no type of fair wage policy or professional advancement

In 2000 the Philadelphia inquirer finally did an expose on the working conditions and after public embarrasment a entirely new leadership was brought in. the nurses unionized and my sil is 2000% happier.

Now of course, I hope and pray that there are not other workplaces where the treatment she went through is common but the reality says there probably are. So in her case, organized labor was a godsend.

Once again I think we have to move past "XYZ group" is the reason why our country is going to the toilet.

Family status should be irrelevent in all work situations.

 

[twinboysmom]

I didn't realize nurses made so little. I always thought of nursing as a well-paid profession.

It depends where you are. At 3 years of experience, I didn't make 56k even with overtime. Now granted I have been a nurse almost 14 years so wages have gone up since then. Brand new RN's generally start here around $15-16 per hour. Generally you work a 36 hour work week and get paid for.....36 hours. You make a little more for holidays, weekends, and nights. Overtime is paid at time and a half. There is no double time. Usually our retirements are poor and despite working in healthcare, our benefits are quite pricey. My DH is also a nurse and we make a decent living. I mostly stay home now since having my twins but he works nights, multiple jobs, and any overtime he can get to try to compensate for my decreased income. Thankfully nursing is one of the few jobs that you do have options like this though.

 

[allison443]

As with every job situations are different. that's why I hate the blanket "all unions are bad" statement.

My sil is a nurse at a major Philadelphia hospital, one that is world known. Before they unionized nurses were:

subjected to emotional, verbal and a few physical abuses by doctors, who would then threaten their job if they reported it.
forced to work overtime, regardless to whether they were single moms or not. once again without recoursesubjected to humiliating treatment from hospital management.
no type of fair wage policy or professional advancement

In 2000 the Philadelphia inquirer finally did an expose on the working conditions and after public embarrasment a entirely new leadership was brought in. the nurses unionized and my sil is 2000% happier.

Now of course, I hope and pray that there are not other workplaces where the treatment she went through is common but the reality says there probably are. So in her case, organized labor was a godsend.

Once again I think we have to move past "XYZ group" is the reason why our country is going to the toilet.

What does being a single mom have to do with it?

 

[AshleyW]

I didn't realize nurses made so little. I always thought of nursing as a well-paid profession.

Yeah, not really. Depends on the part of the country you live in, I guess. Many of my family members are nurses here in Iowa and don't make very good money. My aunt works for the university, has been a nurse for almost 20 years, and makes about $45k a year including all of her overtime. Before my mom moved to Florida, she was a nurse manager with a master's degree and only made about $55k - which isn't bad money, but considering her degree and that she'd been a nurse for 25 years - it's not good. She makes closer to 85k in Florida now. If you work in a doctors office, it's even less - I have a friend that works in an urgent care as an RN making $13/hr. I make significantly more working at the police department and don't have a degree. Iowa is one of the lowest paying states for nurses, though, so take that for what it's worth.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Money is paid by the people who receive a good or a service. How much they are willing to pay for the service is dependent on the value they assign to that good or service. Unfortunately, the recipients of most civil service efforts are those who can't pay for the services therefore the pay scale will be low. It would be nice if noble efforts meant $ but that's not how things work in my experience.

I wouldn't touch the specifics involved in union issues right now with a 10 foot pole but speaking as a slice of middle America who has watched many many non-union friends & neighbors suffer the brunt of this economic slowdown I have to say they are coming off like spoiled brats totally oblivious to the issues everyone else has been dealing with for a long time now. All I hear is static.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

I didn't realize nurses made so little. I always thought of nursing as a well-paid profession.

There are ranges for any profession. Most of my classmates made $190K or more. And when I say most, I mean about 85% of them. The other 14.5% of them had salaries around $45K working as judicial clerks. My starting salary was $36K as a governmental attorney.

Of course had I stayed in government, I would be making more than I am teaching.