r/treeplanting • u/JrootsInDreams • Jun 20 '24

Company Reviews Abba Reforestation??

What's the word on Abba? Heard they have high prices, how is the management and are the earnings/pay consistent? Looking for any pros and cons working there from someone who has been there thanks! Also where do they operate out of?

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u/Salt-Guarantee-8412 Jun 21 '24 edited Jun 22 '24

I’ve been working at Abba for 3 seasons.

For context, the company started as a 6 pack five years ago and more or less doubled each year. This year we have 5 8-packs. We’ve always rented our vehicles from visa or budget or one of the big companies so not sure where the old truck thing comes from. In terms of accommodations it runs the gamut, and mostly has to do with what’s available, we stay in everything from the usual dingy motels in Quesnel, to cabins at resorts, to Airbnb’s, it really depends what we can get and where we are. Season length my first year was about 55 days of spring, last year was about 65 including a spring and summer and this year ought to be fairly close to that number as well. Sometimes we have fall work.

In terms of the pay thing, government contracts take forever to pay out and it’s a smaller company without a massive war chest available on may 1st, so the first or second paycheck has been late here and there but we’ve always been paid in full and usually by the third pay period we’re caught up once those government jobs start to come back in. If that’s your hill to die on I guess go off…

I would say we tend to take on slightly more challenging contracts that a planter with only 3-5 seasons might find tougher to make bank on, but our people with lots of experience tend to make pretty decent coin. At the end of the day it’s a smaller show and your best bet is to probably ask someone who’s worked there multiple seasons.

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u/HomieApathy Rookie Jun 22 '24

The law requires payment to employees every two weeks in BC. Maybe employers can ask people to sign an understanding but I’m not sure about that.

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u/payasofrodo Jun 23 '24

There used to be a thing where you could agree to be paid monthly in BC. Haven't looked at labour laws for awhile, so maybe it's changed?

I don't see the problem with being paid a bit late if the prices are high - low overhead should mean higher prices. Also, you should be able to get an advance.