$2 pay cut: vent thread

[Base groove]

Anybody ever had to take a pay cut before?

Here is my rant - I work for a local construction company as an hourly employee. This company also subcontracts work out to other, smaller companies who often can't find work for themselves or need some kind of assistance with completing projects. It's lucrative because the contractor can take some $ of the top and the subcontractor saves on things like insurance and tax contributions.

Anyway, the company I work for also subs me out hourly to one of their subcontractors. ... meaning my wage just comes off the top of the subcontractor's check but he doesn't need to worry about any of the technical aspects of having employees.

Originally I thought it was a bit of a bad idea because I had one of the highest wages in the company for an hourly guy and I knew full well that the only way I can really earn this wage is by being in a position where I can have power and resources to plan entire builds and direct employees. Basically I need to INTJ this shit.

Unfortunately, that was not the nature of this new arrangement (even though I made it precisely clear that it was my field of excellence when I was first hired), and instead it is just me and one other guy trying to build these houses together. No minions, no resources, no power ....... no way to properly earn my wage. A fucking losing deal from the start. God damn people suck... anyway.....

So this other guy, the subcontractor, doesn't have a lot of cash in his business and has inferior quality tools and equipment. Plus he's as sensor as sensor gets so a lot of my plans never make it past his preliminary screening. The natural result of this is that production never really saw any improvement, at least not enough to justify my wage (not to mention they assessed the situation prematurely, i.e. after only one house). So it was just as I originally expected: he (the small-time subcontractor) simply does not have the tools, cash, equipment, or manpower to justify having an employee of my caliber or wage level.

To wrap it up: this guy apparently isn't making enough money to keep his family and his business moving along and because expectations aren't being met my boss (not the subcontractor I work for) decided it was best to give me a $2 pay cut so the other guy could take home a little more cash. To add vinegar to the burn this pay cut isn't effective immediately, but actually effective March 2nd (10 days ago).

So WTF do I fucking quit this shit or what? I really intended to have a lot of discipline and dedication with this one but I think what happened today was total bullshit.

Sorry for the stupid thread I know it's stupid. FUck fuck fuck.

 

[TimeAsylums]

pay cut

So WTF do I fucking quit this shit or what?

FUck fuck fuck.

so...


Colorado Spring Break?

 

[ummidk]

Probably wouldn't be worth fighting but it's probably not legal for him to change your pay for 10 days of work you already did to a lower rate than you previously agreed to.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

^I don't think he can retroactively cut your pay. Get that shit in writing.

You should have goddamned everything in writing. Employment contracts, etc.

Meantime, keep working with the hope that your methods take hold and you get the shot to demonstrate yourself, at which point you've got some real power.

Also, note your statute of limitations on back wages, and file 2 months beforehand.

 

[Base groove]

Probably wouldn't be worth fighting but it's probably not legal for him to change your pay for 10 days of work you already did to a lower rate than you previously agreed to.

yeah I forgot to mention that I'm not about to get a lawyer involved and people pick and choose which laws they're going to follow.

I knew it was a dumb idea. A company of one individual who needs help with his projects needs a novice employee who will work for about 8 dollars less than I will, and will probably get almost as much done (Se, $e, $e) in a situation such as this. He didn't have the cash flow or equipment to handle such high costs and what probably happened is he showed negative cash flow on the balance sheet (i.e. insolvency) and had to adjust his costs. The main reason for this was the company I am employed by also rented out a machine to the subcontractor for us to use. However, due to the fact that he constantly failed to supply any more employees (reminder - the subcontractor can't legally hire his own employees) meant that the machine just loaded us with more costs and put more $$ from the project right back into his own pocket. I say "us" because apparently I was personally invested, as an hourly employee.

I'm going to just go write up a letter of resignation right now...

@TA. Colorado has just been given a taperoo back into the 'maybe' category. Usually quitting one job means a dozen more are about to come and go and I'm basically freelancing ... a losing deal.

 

[Hawkeye]

Good luck

 

[Base groove]

Gonna bump this, because I have a bit of a funny story to tell with regards to how this will all play out, hope you enjoy.

So while I was working for this guy I had a bit of an accident with the forklift where I bumped into another trade's vehicle that they had parked on site. Well, I guess a few weeks later they billed my boss $1000 for the damage, which was totally preposterous as their vehicle was parked on an active construction site with heavy-duty equipment.

Anyway .. by time I found out about the bill for the damage it was pay-day and he had already deducted me $200 and said he would take another $300 the next check (50:50 responsibility). In good spirit I agreed because I was still content with my job at that time and this was 1 week before I was offered a pay cut.

So .. yesterday I received a response to my resignation letter, finally, and he said he would be withholding an extra $1000 from my final pay because he received a second bill in the amount of $2500 for the damage. (I'm telling ya, this was the tiniest of dings in the side of a large vehicle) ... my resignation letter of course was full of scathing criticism for his unscrupulousness,

So this greedy bastard decides he's going to hold back another thousand? Well, joke's on him - he will get nothing. What an idiot. All I have to do is put a lien on the title and make a complaint to the labor board and he will owe me the $200 he already took plus all of my outstanding pay at the original wage, not the deducted wage. The builder/owner will not be able to sell the property until the lien is lifted so they can easily pay me and take it off of one of his checks as he is still working for them.

The thing is, I would not have gone through all the trouble to make up for a few hundred dollars (I was ready to cut my losses as long as he paid me) but he's trying to take me for over $1500 now. What a greedy idiot. Lesson is, quit while you're ahead or you get nothing at all. Thank you for enjoying my story.

 

[TimeAsylums]

So this greedy bastard decides he's going to hold back another thousand? Well, joke's on him - he will get nothing.

Lesson is, quit while you're ahead or you get nothing at all. Thank you for enjoying my story.

Justice served

 

[Base groove]

Meantime, keep working with the hope that your methods take hold and you get the shot to demonstrate yourself, at which point you've got some real power.

Which is now, btw.

 

[Jennywocky]

Anybody ever had to take a pay cut before?

Well, in my first job, we got paid lunches (i.e., we got paid for eight hours but were allowed to take an hour lunch in the middle, hence really only working seven) for the first few years, but then we got bought out by a large corporation and they made everyone work a solid eight + take extra time if we actually wanted lunch = 8.5 or 9 hours.

Yeah, First World Problems....

So .. yesterday I received a response to my resignation letter, finally, and he said he would be withholding an extra $1000 from my final pay because he received a second bill in the amount of $2500 for the damage. (I'm telling ya, this was the tiniest of dings in the side of a large vehicle)

it's amazing how much the fix-it companies charge for small dings, in terms of paint-matching and depending on where the ding is... but typically most people don't even bother because there's no bang for the buck. He only got it fixed because he could force you guys to pay through the nose for it, and otherwise wouldn't have bothered.

And like you said, what did he expect, taking his car into a busy, active construction site? Dork.

So this greedy bastard decides he's going to hold back another thousand? Well, joke's on him - he will get nothing. What an idiot. All I have to do is put a lien on the title and make a complaint to the labor board and he will owe me the $200 he already took plus all of my outstanding pay at the original wage, not the deducted wage. The builder/owner will not be able to sell the property until the lien is lifted so they can easily pay me and take it off of one of his checks as he is still working for them.

The thing is, I would not have gone through all the trouble to make up for a few hundred dollars (I was ready to cut my losses as long as he paid me) but he's trying to take me for over $1500 now. What a greedy idiot. Lesson is, quit while you're ahead or you get nothing at all. Thank you for enjoying my story.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Spoiler

So .. yesterday I received a response to my resignation letter, finally, and he said he would be withholding an extra $1000 from my final pay because he received a second bill in the amount of $2500 for the damage. (I'm telling ya, this was the tiniest of dings in the side of a large vehicle) ... my resignation letter of course was full of scathing criticism for his unscrupulousness,

So this greedy bastard decides he's going to hold back another thousand? Well, joke's on him - he will get nothing. What an idiot. All I have to do is put a lien on the title and make a complaint to the labor board and he will owe me the $200 he already took plus all of my outstanding pay at the original wage, not the deducted wage. The builder/owner will not be able to sell the property until the lien is lifted so they can easily pay me and take it off of one of his checks as he is still working for them.

The thing is, I would not have gone through all the trouble to make up for a few hundred dollars (I was ready to cut my losses as long as he paid me) but he's trying to take me for over $1500 now. What a greedy idiot. Lesson is, quit while you're ahead or you get nothing at all. Thank you for enjoying my story.

By the time you gave him the resignation letter, you have lost all the possible investment value, so objectively, for him it was optimal to get ahead as much as he could while putting you to the ground.

Typical object-oriented treatment of another human being.
Hopefully you get your worth back and find something steady again.
A valuable story.

 

[EditorOne]

Just a wry observation: I'm a student of history, especially the U.S. Civil War and the years leading up to it. It may come as a sour insight: Slaves in the American South were not all field hands good with a hoe and not much else. A great many learned crafts like carpentry, cabinetry, brickwork, etc. And their owners would, when they were not needed at the home operation, sell their time to others. In fact, now that my brain is engaging, this was also the main economic form human ownership took in New York City, also, while slavery was legal there. Anyway, depending partly on the state laws regarding slavery (which changed decade to decade) but depending mostly on the disposition of the owner, some slaves got to keep some percentage of what they earned while working off the home ground. They could use that money to buy their freedom (again, depending).

Your story reminded me of all that. I hope you achieve actual economic freedom. :-)