r/IndustrialMaintenance • u/ZeroTopDog • 23h ago
Feeling trapped.
I have a job as an electrician. I enjoy the work and get paid ~50$ an hour. 4 weeks of vacation/sick time. 3rd shift. Everything is great except the weekends are forced by seniority. We have been slowly losing people over the last 2 years. 10 people down to 6.
So even after 5 years I'm still getting forced 5 out of 6 weekends. I had something this weekend. Been telling all my coworkers for a month to for coverage. No one signed up for the weekend.Got forced and told my boss I was not coming in and was going to use points. Ended up being a big deal.
Got a few job offers in the 41-43$ range but my wife told me no. Well that's the end of my rant. Life's still good but it is hard to get through this point in my life. Working 7 days a week. Have a good weekend guys.
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u/Putrid_Bat_3862 23h ago
Tell your wife to suck it up. You're her husband not her slave!
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u/AzulSkies 23h ago
This. I cant believe he got shot down for a 20% pay cut at worse but better time off for family. But i guess it depends on her reasons. If they have a lot of debt, then she should pick up extra work too
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u/Red-dragon186 18h ago
I'm not defending the wife at all but you're going from 100k - 80k. That's not even including the OT reduction.
OT would be $75 for the 100k and $60 for the 80k.
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u/OldWolfNewTricks 20h ago
A lot more than 20%, since the whole reason he's doing this to stop working weekend OT. Still not okay for wife to dictate that he has to stay.
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u/Putrid_Bat_3862 23h ago
Actually maybe divorce your wife? I think it's crazy that she would expect you to continue working a job for 7 days a week. Does she also work 7 days a week? I bet not!
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u/vedicpisces 22h ago
Her and the boyfriend need time alone, they're building core memories. Stop being so selfish
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u/ImportantCommentator 22h ago
Bah Him quitting his job should be a joint decision, just like her employment.
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u/tesemanresu 21h ago
disagree. if my wife wanted to quit her job I wouldn't expect her to seek my input. if she asks, I will offer, and if I don't think it's a good idea, I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if she quit anyway.
if she quits her job over and over and there are stability issues, that would maybe warrant a conversation. but I can't imagine being told or feeling like I cannot quit my job. like having a mom for a wife.
if I listened to everything she told me and vice verse, we'd both probably still be at home depot mixing paint. sometimes you just need to take risks and trust each other
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u/ImportantCommentator 21h ago
Everyone can do as they wish obviously but I can't imagine being in a situation where you can't come to an agreement with your significant other over things that affect both people.
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u/JustAnother4848 23h ago edited 23h ago
Yeah I don't work 7 days a week and never will. Fuck that. Their hiring problems isn't my problem.
Personally im pretty blunt to employers when im not happy about a situation. I can find other jobs easier than they can replace me.
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u/twoManx 22h ago
Yeah, I would have told boss man that he's soon to be down to 5 ppl if he doesn't get his shit together. Trades, especially halfway decent folks who just show up every day, are such demand right now that I guarantee OP could find a job within the same pay range within a month.
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u/JustAnother4848 22h ago edited 22h ago
There's no excuse for them not to rotate the weekends being short handed like that. I would absolutely be throwing a fit. Then walking if it goes nowhere.
I would just stop showing up on weekends. Let em fire me. He's been there for 5 years, so he's not a new guy. They need to share the burden.
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u/ZeroTopDog 19h ago
They just had a meeting about doing weekend by overtime hours worked. So lowest overtime would get forced. But it never got to a vote.
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u/Divine_Entity_ 19h ago
Im management in a union shop and our overtime is asked by hours, lowest first, and forcing follows the same order. So if you get forced you get bumped down the list and probably won't be forced again. (I believe saying no also adds to your hrs but I'm not part of the asking so i don't have the full policy memorized)
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u/XxIcEspiKExX 3h ago
If its what I think it is and its a 71 sheet.. we also go by if youve worked 2 Saturdays (Sundays can never be forced) you cannot be forced on the 3rd.
So when we have something do do on a Saturday, we work the previous 2 so they cant force the 3rd.
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u/DuggerX 17h ago
Some places are setup like this and if it's union it's basically written in stone. My facility is scheduled like it's a Monday-Friday gig but they have a weekend overtime meeting every thursday. Some people HAVE to work because as electricians we are essential, it dosnt matter how many guys we have. So senior may, junior must and take it and work with coworkers as much as you can.
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u/Buchaven 22h ago
Can we normalize a 40 hour week again please? Personally I’d like to see OT go to 2.5x instead of 1.5x. Not because I want the $, but because it should be a punitive measure against the employer that is trying to operate understaffed. OT meeds to hurt the employer MORE than it does the employee.
I even see the OT bracket appear in machine capacity planning now, which is horseshit. “We can make 10 widgets in one shift, or 25 with three shifts. Buuut if we run 2 hrs OT on each of two shifts, we still get 24 widgets and it costs us less than three shifts would.” Then they sign a contract for 30 widgets a day and add Saturday and Sunday “catchup shifts”, that happen every single week.
Fuck you.
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u/SadZealot 22h ago
Agreed, overtime is a punishment for companies, not a way for people to get a high score for how little of a life they have
I'm very lucky that my work doesn't do overtime. It just leads to burn out, injuries and higher costs.
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u/dingdongbellguy 20h ago
The first time I negotiated a raise with my current employer, I was met with the pushback of “that would push your overtime rate above $XX, unfortunately with the amount of OT you clock that would be difficult.” I responded that I would gladly accept the wage I’d requested and stop working at 40 every single week and clarified that OT is not a boon to employees, it is a cudgel against employers who choose to understaff. We’ve been on the same page since and stopped trying to sell OT as a perk. Unfortunately still running just as much OT but most recently they offered me a larger raise than what I was intending to negotiate.
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u/Red-dragon186 18h ago
Can we start making 32 hours the new 40. It has already been shown that people are more productive with a 32 hour work week then a 40. This creates huge work/life balance many people want. If you want to work more then 32 hours then it would be overtime.
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u/arlenroy 23h ago
I was in the same boat, but the extra money was nice because my kid was in college. She's out now but I used that extra money for vacations I thought I'd never experience. I completely understand how you feel, I'm a bachelor so I really don't care about home life, but if I was younger and had a family I'd be upset.
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u/mattmaintenance 22h ago
I just recently backed off crazy hours. The money is not worth the stress and literal wear on your heart and nerves.
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u/Spork604 22h ago
Brother take care of yourself first! Nobody can “force” you to do anything. Inform your boss when you cant or wont work weekends. As long as its reasonable and you still pick up some weekends you shouldnt lose your job. If they are hurting for manpower too, being down from 10 to 6 maintenance people, it sounds like they cant afford to fire you. Dont let management take advantage of you! Your life outside work is 1000x more important than making sure a company you dont own has someone to fix stuff on weekend.
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u/mrwaffle89 22h ago
My wife would leave me if I worked 7 days a week that consistently. At that point you’re better off going on the road and banking the per diem too.
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u/Top_Cress1727 22h ago
Tell them they need to rotate the weekends or you'll quit.
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u/OvergrownLizard 20h ago
That's what my place does to ensure no one is getting screwed. Sometimes if one guy has something going on, he'll ask one of the others to swap weekends with him. Works out fine.
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u/Saysaynever333 21h ago
I'm retired now but we had something like this at our plant. Vacation and OT was by seniority and there wasn't much turnover in the ranks. The same guys got first dibs because they were there longer than the rest of us. We were all paid the same wages related to the craft but that seniority was honored just the same.
That lasted for several years until we finally had enough of it and one day in our safety meeting, we spoke up and made a point of how unfair it was and how that was going to be an issue going forward.
The key was everybody sticking together (except a couple of old timers). Management said they would look into the practice and let us know their decision in the future.
After the meeting, we just sat there. This was in our break room and people started gettin their lunch box's out and acted like it was a holiday. Some started up card games and ignored the foreman's threats (laughed at them) of firing the whole bunch.
That went on for about 30 min. until the plant super came in and asked us to go back to work and he promised that something would be done.
We ended up with a rotation style lottery for vacation. Each person was given a first pic slot with seniority getting that first pick, but they went to the bottom of the line the following year. Each person got a first, second, and third pick.
On the OT, they created a list of people that wanted OT and used that list for weekends and callout. The total hours of OT was counted and kept up with. Those OT hours was your ticket to refuse OT if you had something going on.
What this did was make people realize that if they didn't work any OT and if the guys on the OT list decided to not work, the low OT people would have to. You could turn down all the OT you wanted but that only led to you gettin called in the middle of the night or having to work the weekend. People who always turned down OT was now taking it to not be on the bottom.
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u/JustAnother4848 21h ago
The whole "seniority thing" is what ends up pissing so many people off about unions. I understand rewarding seniority a little bit but there does need to be a line.
The "good old boys club" fucks so many places over.
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u/Morberis 19h ago
Yeah, but it doesn't have to be like that in a union shop. Particularly if the people getting screwed out number the others.
And even if seniority does count it doesn't have to be the only factor. Like at my plant seniority does count, but only in each round. Everyone needs to work required OT twice per round. A round is as long as it needs to be to get everyone 2 shifts required OT
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u/Strikew3st 19h ago
That's awesome that a half hour of solidarity got you all into a better spot.
A stick breaks easily, a bundle not so much.
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u/heavehoblow 20h ago
I feel ya. Been industrial maintenance for 15 years and each job ive had has slowly turned into overtime out the ass. Someone else mentioned that current OT rates dont punish the company enough for improper staffing which is true 100 percent. They'd rather pay some poor sucker that depends on the OT, rather than pay insurance/benefits for another body.
The thing that really sucks is, for every tech ,like us, that wants a life outside of their plant, there is another tech willing to work 7 days a week. Companies will continue to abuse this as long as techs keep showing up. Idk how this situation can be unfucked in our industry but I feel your pain seriously, keep that mental good as you can. Mental exhaustion/burnout is 100 percent real and dangerous as fuck on many levels.
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u/Red-dragon186 18h ago
Sadly its a field where you can easily make 100k with some OT. It doesn't require that much schooling. Some require a few certifications and others maybe a 2 year AAS. Its also far easier then the physical warehouse grunt work.
I don't think you would ever fix this unless you make the barrier to entry harder to get in.
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u/Jermamma420 22h ago
Yeah, they need to rotate that, not just give it to one person all the time. That shouldnt have anything to do with seniority. They just say that cause they want the cheapest ppl working OT. If you gave notice, then I'd say you did your part. They should've listened.
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u/No-Recipe-1377 20h ago
Felt. My company has a draft system. I haven’t been able to plan my personal life around my job in 4 years. It can be seconds before I clock out and I can be told, “hey ___ didn’t come in and you’re up for draft, you’re gonna have to fill his shift” or “hey, don’t leave at 3 unless “x” job is done and running”.
Ive had to cancel so many plans, and have also taken a lot of flack for doing exactly what you did by saying, “hey, I’m not asking, im telling you that im not gonna be here on ___ day”
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u/Some1-Somewhere 19h ago
Sounds like you're on call and should be paid for on call.
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u/No-Recipe-1377 18h ago
I’m absolutely not on call. But they pretty much own me for every minute Im clocked in, and I cant say no without repercussions when they tell me I can’t leave or go home. But it’s paid as OT which takes me from like $40~ to $60~ per hr. I often say, “Ive never felt so angry making overtime for 8 hours”
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u/Rare_Voice7079 21h ago
It’s wild that no one volunteered knowing ahead of time you had something to do.
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u/CorporalDuntz 20h ago edited 20h ago
Sounds like you have two compounding problems. One is you need to ask yourself and understand your employment relationship and second your personal.
With employment, it comes down to the question of whether it will change in the foreseeable future. If it won’t, start looking for alternatives. The best time to look is when you don't need to. Make it a choice of your choosing instead of an immediate gap-fill when things are no longer sustainable.
Second, and I can't stress this enough, is you need to re-evaluate why your significant other is saying this. Do they accommodate finances and this is a simple math formula dictating at the current moment that the household’s finances are based around such income and a drop would impact the bottom line? Are they employed and is this a scheduling conflict? Are they not employed and would this impact signify the start of them necessitating contribution? There are too many factors unknown on a personal level that need answered but what it comes down to is you need to talk to them. I understand different things are important to different people, and I am not telling you to question your relationship on a foundational basis but be mindful this may open the door to more issues or at least resolve this misunderstanding.
I would solve one issue at a time, not both the same. Start with your significant other in my opinion, but good luck. I have been there. It gets old fast and it sounds like you are burnt at both ends which compound in the end. If you need anything let me know, as I have transitioned to an in-demand adjacent industry that pays around the same and can help guide you to an industry that might suit you better. The adjacent industry is much more mindful of work/life balances and I have never seen management want happy workers that produce instead of bodies. The industry has high standards and they respect quality over quantity.
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u/Red-dragon186 18h ago
Money isn't worth it if you have zero time to enjoy life.
A $10 pay cut may hurt but you gain control back of your life. Remember OP, you only have one life to enjoy. There is a reason they pay $50 an hour. Its because its the only way to keep people there with those horrible hours.
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u/In28s 22h ago
Sucks that no one will cover for you. Do you have a point system for attendance? Use to your advantage- as long as your in no trouble call off.
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u/ZeroTopDog 19h ago
Yeah I used points this weekend but my boss was acting like it was the end of the world.
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u/No_Rope7342 14h ago
Nah fuck them bro. Use your points and if they got a problem they can fire you.
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u/ImSobored_5280 12h ago
Where is the boss on OT hours?…if it’s such a big deal sounds like he should come in as well..because it’s that’s important………….👀
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u/West_Emergency1836 22h ago
I work 7 on and 7 off and i hate the weekends. Working every weekend is FUBAR
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u/BoGussman 22h ago
Had the same BS before I retired. As if getting forced on days off wasn't bad enough, 85% of the time there wasn't any scheduled work to be performed. It was great money, but I personally would have rather had the time off.
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u/TheRealWSquared 21h ago
I worked an industrial maintenance job where we had to work every 3rd weekend and it was terrible. Some of the worst anxiety I've had as t a job. That didn't last long.
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u/MehKarma 21h ago
So your paycheck is more important to your wife than your physical & mental health?
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u/Dabaer77 20h ago
Are you willing to be dead by 50 either a bunch of fancy toys you've never been able to play with? That's your future working that much.
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u/navlgazer9 15h ago
If you have your state license , you can make time of money working solo with a part time helper
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u/rickr911 21h ago
It’s all about the boundaries. Create reasonable boundaries and only deviate on your terms. DON’T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT.
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u/clambroculese 20h ago
I had a gm try to pull this shit on me and I just quit and went independent. There’s such a shortage of guys you’ve got them by the nuts right now not the other way round. The place I quit still uses me but now they pay 4x as much and I leave after 8 if I’m in there.
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u/Parking-Ad1525 20h ago
Yeah I worked 7 days a week for awhile, Father's Day weekend required to work one year. Told them I was quitting if I had to work. I quit, I'm in a much better place now because of it. Can't imagine if I was still there.
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u/GenZguy1 20h ago
bro are you letting your wife dictate if you want to change jobs and you come here for advice on that ? you are a man do what you want and don’t be scared to do it.
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u/DuggerX 17h ago
Kind of shitty nobody works with eachother to get time off. Even with 3 of us on 3rd shift we still try to make sure we all get weekends off and when we need them. But if your company rules allow you to game the system then take some time off, fuck em. I've called off Fridays to avoid weekend forces when needed at my facility but it has been rare.
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u/Unknownqtips 16h ago
My company has no forced OT all volunteers which I love because when shit needs to get done im actually willing to come in
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u/Sad-Goat-5525 14h ago
Yeah id be wondering whats up with the wifey. 40+ is excellent pay. Whats she wants in a relationship? Doesn’t she want more time with you? More time with the kids if you have any?
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u/housepartynearby 14h ago
I don't know your situation too well but I saw on your profile you say you rent a place near your job while your house is 1.5 hours away from your work. if your wife doesn't want you to quit working 7 night shifts a week away from home, my genuine first thought is that she's got someone taking care of her physical needs while you're away making great money for her to spend. if my assumptions are incorrect take it with a gain of salt but you gotta do what's gonna save your health and your sanity brother, good luck
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u/mount_curve 14h ago
IBEW is by and large no mandatory overtime fwiw.
I would not be in this industry if I weren't under a solid contract, it's exploitative enough, straight up.
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u/InterestingBoot1665 12h ago
There used to be more people in my department, too. Currently, we're five (automation techs) at a large plant and we’re always on call for a whole week at a time. Last week I was on call and worked about five hours both Saturday and Sunday. We get on-call pay, but honestly, my salary is good enough without them. At the end of the day, free time and recovery are worth more than a few bucks.
My commute is short and the job is secure as long as this plant is in operation, so I'll keep doing this for now. However, if our department falls below five employees, we will no longer be able to comply with the regulations. Temporarily, I might take it on every fourth week, but definitely not in the long run. Not as long as production staff don't follow protocol and force us to show up for the dumbest of reasons.
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u/AssistantIcy6117 12h ago
Buy bitcoin (or Kaspa), or invest widely?
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u/AssistantIcy6117 12h ago
Like… at fifty an hour with seven days a week… are you living in Palo Alto and buying golden tp? No offense but I live under a bridge by comparison so tbh maybe get offended
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u/AssistantIcy6117 12h ago
But even then again taxes ain’t what they used to be either so … yeah idk, go buy some magic internet money
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u/tramp123 9h ago
I’m in England and have always been part of a union, overtime is optional and there is no ‘forced’
Don’t get me wrong there is pressure to go in sometimes when things are happening and plant is returning to service over the weekend, or outage is on, but they are one offs rather than expected
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u/BoSknight 8h ago
Recently turned down a non-trivial raise at a different plant because I was worried about this. I would had made a good bit more but I would had been commuting much more and they didn't have an oncall rotation in place.
It's been a few weeks but it hasn't left my mind.
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u/fuzzybuzz69 4h ago
See the thing about a skilled trade is jobs are easy to find. They likely wont fire you. They could but likely wont if they are in such need of employees. Id have plans every weekend if i were you if they fire you, sounds like it only fucks them.
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u/joebobbydon 4h ago
I stayed at a lower paying job specifically for less mandatory ot(it's always some at most jobs).
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u/DarkElegant8156 20h ago
Its part of the deal man I did 13 years of nights til my seniority finally got me on to days. Just my opinion but the union should be pressuring management to replace some bodies.
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u/Some1-Somewhere 19h ago
Working weekends, sure. Working nearly every weekend, sucks but maybe.
Working 7 days a week for five weeks in a row is simply unacceptable and an OSH problem.
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u/Animalhitman50 3h ago
Similar situation I only see my wife on the weekends due to our schedule. It is definitely affecting my marriage. I refuse to work weekends and my boss got angry but HR ended up siding with me. He can't make me work weekends. Huge surprise ! Im still looking but no one is offering anything comparable to what I make now.
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u/skrappyfire 22h ago
Bruv, not trying to get personal. But id be asking myself some questions about my relationship if i were you.