Vent/ Rant - Now I know why

PrairieMom wrote: YOu aren't supposed to discuss your pay with co-workers.
Last night I was sitting in a room with 4 other coworkers all of whom I have senority over except one. We happened to start discussing our pay, ( something that is highly frowned uppon for some reason ) and I discovered that I am getting paid FAR less than anyone else in the room.
Here come the numbers. After 9 years of expereiance, certification, and being nationally registered I make $17.53 an hour. The most recent hire that was in the room has been there 3 years, is NOT registered, and she is making just a few cents more than me. BUT she got a $8000 hire on loan forgiveness bonus that I didn't get. Now when she takes and passes her Registery test she will be making $2.00 more than me.
The new hire graduating students will be making more than me.
I am LIVID!!!!!!

I was already feeling that I was not that valued as an employee, and now I have proof! I feel so yucky about my job right now. I wasn't really happy there in the first place, but now I am really feeling bad about it.

So all you business savy people, what do I do about it?

luvmykids replied: We have some employees who are very "open" about their pay and it ticks me off to no end when we get a whiner complaining about so and so making more than them.

The difference is, our pay scale is FAIR and although I do not have to justify to employees why we pay someone what we do, I could with a clear conscience.

I would talk to your supervisor and tell them that although this subject should not be discussed, it was and that you are unhappy (to say the least) and that you want to know what they are willing to do about it. Unfortunately, many big businesses are only too happy to pay people as little as they can get away with. If you don't complain, why should they pay you more?

Does your hospital HR staff have a compensation analyist (sp?) Maybe they are the one you would talk to.

Good luck, I hope someone else knows more about the proper way to go about it but I would definitely speak up!!!!!

Boo&BugsMom replied: Yuck. I don't know what I'd do. I wonder if there is a way to bring it up without getting yourself or other people in trouble. That's probably what I would try to do. I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut, but I wouldn't want to get myself fired either.

C&K*s Mommie replied: No advice... plenty of hugs!

BAC'sMom replied: I think I would be asking for a raise.

coasterqueen replied: It's business baby. The younger ones will always make more because that's how it goes, at least everything I've seen in the business community. Dh gets paid way more than the guy sitting next to him that's been there 20+ years. It's bargaining power when you walk in the door and get asked to take the job.

ETA, I'm just a very small few thousand $'s less than the lady here in the office who has been here for 12+. I've only been here 6. Bargaining power when I walked in the door and later when I told them I was taking a higher paying job if they didn't give me what the other guy was offering me.

PrairieMom replied: The problem is that I have no barganing chips, and I am one out of 80 pluss employees. What am I going to do, quit? They wouldn't miss me or pretend to care. What I SHOULD do is quit and get re-hired. Seniority really means nothing there anyway. I'm realisitic, I'm not that active in my department, I don't work extra and really try to be there as little as possible. I don't feel that I diserve pay at a level as high as the majority of my fellow staffers, but really, I SHOULD be getting paid more than a graduating student that isn't even credentialed.

The thing is, we aren't supposed to be discussing our pay, so how do I even bring it up to my supervisor?

Here's the kicker. I learned Friday and the base pay for a mail man here is $18.00 an hour. Really, I should be earing more than that.

kit_kats_mom replied: It is frusterating. That's why I always tell people that I do not want to know what they are making. Happened to me once and I had been happy until I realized that I was getting jipped.

The only thing that you could do IMO, is to go to a few websites like salary.com, pull up your job, your area, your credentials and take whatever it says the average is to your boss and say something like "you guys are getting a bargan. I'd like this average salary to be taken into consideration when I have my next review".

PrairieMom replied: I'm just frusterated. I know its not even worth bringing up, because They won't do anything about it. It just makes me feel even worse about a job that I don't want. Oh well. At the end of the day, it is something that I have to deal with 6 days a month.... My REAL job is being SAHM, the rest is just something that I have to do.

luvbug00 replied: I'm sorry Tara. I hate finding that kind of stuff out. Are there any opther medical facilities where your talents will be more appricated financially?

PrairieMom replied:
yeah. BUT I have things good where I am. becuase of my seniority I am able to work just everyother weekend nights, and if I go somewhere else, IF they will hire me just part time, I will be expected to work day and night shifts, and what ever extra $ I will make I would have to pay a baby sitter, so it isn't worth it to me. Plus I HATE HATE working in the ICN and if I go to another hospital I will have to work in one. and I refuse to work for our VA hospital.
They have me where they want me. I know I just have to live with things the way they are. I WILL be mentioning it at my next review tho. (that whole process is another load of you-know-what, and I'm not getting started on that too )

punkeemunkee'smom replied: That sucks! But I know it happens alot! I have always thought it was because of the pay you were hired at...I mean say 5 years ago you were hired at just over minumum wage $5.25 an hour-you have been getting your maximum cost of living raises and good preformance raises and have worked your way up to $10.50 an hour...the guy hired today at the same pay scale will be hired at almost $7.50 an hour and will reach your pay in a much faster time frame...It is not fair really but unfortunately it seems to be how it works! I would ask for a raise...all they can say is no and you wouldn't be any worse off then you are now!

boyohboyohboy replied: Can you ask for a review sooner? What if you just said that you felt under appreciated, and wanted a review, and said you felt you deserved a raise, what would it hurt to just ask? the worst that could happen is they say no, and you are right where you started.
I dont think I would mention that you were talking about the pay rate of other employees, unless you did it under the pretense, that several people were talking, and it was just mentioned, what the new starting rate was, or something really general. I dont know if you can be terminated for that or not.

Usually a company though, will do a cost of living raise to keep their regular employees up above the new highers....
I know that prn employees dont get the cost of living raise for nurses anyways, thats how it is, and they tend to be under what the rest of us regulars are at .
I will also admit once, I had a friend call my most superior boss, and pretend that it was for a job reference, and act like I was thinking of leaving, and in the end that got me a raise, twice! you might be more needed then you know.
I know how it feels to be at a job you dont like, but you pointed out a lot of good perks you have there, like not working in the unit you dont like, and getting a schedule you do like. It works for your family right now. So maybe if you decide to let it go, focus on the things you mentioned that are working for you now...and maybe someday you can just call it quits and do your favorite job, sahm, full time!

Good luck tara

Cece00 replied: Ask for a raise or shop around for a new, more fairly paying job.

That really sucks. I'm sorry

CantWait replied: WOW that sucks. Sorry to hear Tara, hopefully you get it straigtened out.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: Tara, you have said all the points I was going to make. You do have the hours you want, it's just the dissatisfaction of the pay rate. I understand that feeling of being unvalued all too well. Do you have a bachelor's degree? I only ask because I am unfamiliar with the training a respiratory therapist needs. If you do, I can't believe you're only getting paid $17/hour. I have a BS degree and I started in the lab at more than that. Sounds like RTs are getting shafted.
I do agree that you need to bring it up at your next evaluation. Starting anything in the meantime may be unproductive. Hope you get the answers.

7thHeaven replied: Ohhh, I'm sorry sweetie. That would tick me off too!! I would speak to my supervisor, they can't demand information from you like where you heard it, just tell them that you found out and would like to know why & ask for a raise. If they tell you 'No' for the raise I would start looking for a new place of work that fits the schedule your looking for.

PrairieMom replied:
I have a AS. In a RT program you can do either AS or BS, but BS is mainly for those that want to be in a supervisior or teaching position.
The thing is that it is specialtiy training, so its not like I can apply my skills to another job.
IMO $17 is reddiculous. I thought that BEFORE i knew I was the lowest paid one. We Run life support for crying out loud. When someone "pulls the plug" I am the one that has to do it. We should be getting paid more just from the stress alone.
Part of the problem is that RT is a relatively new profession, and isn't recognized exery where as necessary, so it is easy to give us the shaft.