Career advice...

[PonymanfiveO]

I have a lot on my mind right now and I could use the opinions of my friends.
So please read and post what you think...

I have been working in the production facility of Coca-Cola for over six years now and I pretty much like everything about my job. We make good money, insurance is damn good, and were union. Heres the bad stuff. I have absolutly no seniority after six years of service. Due to job elimination and downsizing they have been making everyone work harder and it is keeping me from advincing up the chain. The upper management of Coke is basicly trying to destroy the union and basicly treat their employees like shit. I am never on a single shift. I get bounced between three shifts on a weekly basis (because I have no seniority to go where I want) its hard to sleep and have a personal life like this.

I have been offered a job with Samuel Adams brewing company downtown and I cant decide if I want it or not. I would be in the same union, and they make a little bit more on the hour than I do now...buuut... I would have to start out at $12 an hour. Thats over six dollars an hour less than I make now, and I would not be back up to scale pay for three years. Thats hard to swallow. I talked to the union president and he says they treat their people with a lot more respect than Coke does. He said they hardly ever file grievances or see write-ups. They are a smaller crew and the turnover rate is pretty high, so I would probably get some seniority pretty quickly. They work a looot too. allmost always five to six, ten hour days a week, every week.
I dont know if I could stand to work that much during the summer.
oh, and they give you free beer too.


what do I do????

[Pops Fun]

Hi
It is really up to you. I see a couple things in what you said.

You have a decent job (do you see a change is 5 years or so)

Pay cut is hard to take. Only you can answer that.

Turnover in the new job
Turnover bothers me... You look at it as a good thing, I would be asking why do people leave if it is a good job??

Only you can answer if you think it would be better for you in the long run. Sorry I know that isn't the answer you want.. just what I see it in.

Pops

[95redstang]

Dude you know my answer to that...I put 10 years in that shit hole...I had to decide what was best for me and my family.. A person can only take so much..Like you said the pay is good and so is the insurance..There is life after Coke and I am realizing that now.. I use to come home from there and I would be in such a bad mood. You know all the bullshit I went through there..I couldn't just go in and do my job..Even once I switched departments they were trying to write my ass up for something that happened a month prior in the warehouse. Then they started making shit up.. It's basically a dead end job with good benefits..As long as Lisa Brown and Ryan are there nobody will ever move up from the union..She just keeps bringing in her friends that couldn't find their ass with both hands..I heard Sam Adams was a good place to work..If it's the money you are worried about you know that can be made up through the summer with some OT...Working a shit load during the summer does suck but remeber how much we use to work when you first started at Coke? I say move on but it is entirely up to you...You have my # guy...

[bobtsgt]

your kinda where I was before. I got screwed out of a better position so I searched for other places. I even got excepted somewhere else but the pay cut is a big deal for me. But if this place is paying only $12 to start and you have some nice 10-12 hour days that could make up some of the loses. And if your looking to move up somewhere then ask you boss or whoever when they expect to raise you up in the company. If they say never or later on then you might want to consider Samual Adams. If you can take a trip down there and see if you can talk with some of the people and see what they say about the job and how the people are. The turnover rate might be because some people expect way more in the beguinning but find out it takes time to get the little extras.

[cstreu1026]

The pay cut would certainly be hard to take, but if the working conditons and environment is better it may be worth it. Sometimes all the money in the world wouldn't make a real differnce when the job itself sucks. And then there is the free beer....

[Hangingcogs]

There are always going to be the people you don't like in every company. Sometimes it is better to bite your tongue and do your job! If you can survive on $12/hr for 2-3 years, then maybe it's worth a shot to go. On the other hand, you could stay at Coke for the time being, until you find something else.

That guy at Sam Adams is probably just a recuiter and with the turn over rate being high, he could just be telling you something you want to hear. Do your own research on the company. Wait for a shift to end and talk to the guys leaving....Just my .02 cents.

[95redstang]

your kinda where I was before. I got screwed out of a better position so I searched for other places. I even got excepted somewhere else but the pay cut is a big deal for me. But if this place is paying only $12 to start and you have some nice 10-12 hour days that could make up some of the loses. And if your looking to move up somewhere then ask you boss or whoever when they expect to raise you up in the company. If they say never or later on then you might want to consider Samual Adams. If you can take a trip down there and see if you can talk with some of the people and see what they say about the job and how the people are. The turnover rate might be because some people expect way more in the beguinning but find out it takes time to get the little extras.

At Coke they don't promote union employees...They use to..The current director of operations and the one prior brought in their friends to fill a few supervisor positions..The clowns they brought in had no experience in the beverage industry not to metion no supervisory experience at all...Matt is a damn good guy and is good at his job but honestly he will never move up in that company..He can switch postions but that is done by bidding and seniority..He is pretty far down seniority wise..I was there 10 years..In the production dept. where I was working and where Matt is now I wasn't even 1/3 the way up the seniority list..The benefits are good and the pay is just enough to keep you there..

[Gene]

Word of warning...the grass isn't always greener. I'm finding that right now in my job.

If you're able to get lots of hours and OT, will that make up for the pay cut for the most part? Yeah, working a lot in the summer will suck, but it may be the price for a year or two until you can get the seniority.

One thing I would ask...does Samuel Adams promote from within? I mean, could you potentially move into a supervisory/management role there?

[02mingryGT]

Turnover in the new job
Turnover bothers me... You look at it as a good thing, I would be asking why do people leave if it is a good job??
Pops

I agree with that. Try to find out why before you take the position.

[Ranger50]

Matt,

Do what you think is best. I regret, to some degree, leaving my $23/hr part time job working at the newspaper in MI. But in the end, I know it was just the tip of the iceberg and right decision to get myself off the sideline and into what I have a degree in.

On the surface to me, turnover might be a victim of slow pay increases, you said it would take three years to equal what you make now, or places, like Coke, offering a better "package". It could also be the "low" starting wage.

Some food for thought.
Brian

[PonymanfiveO]

Thanks for all your help guys. It means a lot to me to hear you guys really care and want me to make the best of my decision.

Sam Adams and the Local 1199 are in nagotiations on a new contract now, and I got some info from the mob boss yesterday. Aparently the starting pay and pay increases are going to be a topic that will be pushed hard to be changed for the better and he see's no problem with them accepting it.

I think that I will tell them that I am very intarested in the position but I want to wait and see if the increases work into the new contract.

I think I could manage on $12 an hour for a short while because I have no family or house to pay on. I basicly just have my toys. Its the three years that gets me...thats a long time.
Im just so damn scared that I would regret leaving Coke...

I'll be sure to let ya all know how it all works out. stay tuned...

[dedpedal]

Damn Matt. Im sorry I missed this yesterday. I know how you feel on leaving. It comfortable on one hand but sucks on the other. You gotta do what makes you happy. Getting into a new job is nerve racking sometimes, but at least you wont ever say "I shoulda took that job way back then." Its allways a chance that you wont like it and the money being low over the next 3 years is scary, but is it worse than staying at coke? Good luck and if you want to get a drunk on, call me.

[PonymanfiveO]

...and if you want to get a drunk on, call me.

Im on vacation next week.

[Carl]

Well, if you on vacation...drive your happy ass down here to NC...