Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Mercury
damn. that sucks.
how did you manage that?
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Sucked it up.
I looked at it like it was a survival game and was able to hang in for almost
35 years to make early retirement.
I started as an outside (union) guy that was paid for OT.
1 1/2 x for anything over 40 up to 50, 2 1/2 x for 50+
Holidays were also 2 1/2 x.
When I took a promotion, I thought I'd be better off in the long run
in management receiving a salary and annual bonus.
Over the years, the occupational/plant crew's OT was limited due to
cost cutting. My hours went up. I worked days, swing, graves and was
oncall 24/7.
Over time as a manager, my benefits were reduced, but the union crews kept the same level of benefits.
I also had to go back to my old outside job during strike duty, working
12 hr days/ 7 days a week.
For one 3 week strike coverage, I received an extra 500 dollars as a "bonus".
I missed many Holidays, Birthdays and fun events with family and friends
that I'll never get back. Especially as some of them are no longer around.
Often, I wished I would have decided against taking the promotion, but
there were some good times as a tech manager too.
I was able to get out before I expected to and that's all that really counts.
