Is my boss treating me unfairly?

[petersonra]

SIL topped out in the testing, interviewed well, and was a top candidate. They took no one during that time. Too many members were already "on the beach". That's what I was driving at regarding variations in local opportunities.

If they were making no apprentices at all, why was anyone surprised that your uncle was unable to get his SIL a spot?

 

[gadfly56]

If they were making no apprentices at all, why was anyone surprised that your uncle was unable to get his SIL a spot?

It was an evolving issue, apparent only with the passage of time. Her uncle was also well-connected to union leadership, which under most circumstances provides a little extra juice to the process. In this case, no joy. They did recently announce they are accepting new applications.

 

[rt66electric]

Down-the-road electric....

Down-the-road electric....

Down-the-road electric.... Is always hiring ..... TAKE it

your box is a jerk..

don't waste your time or patience. You don't owe him anything or an explaination.

When you do get another offer, take it. Just don't show up or call the old grumpy fart.

 

[Besoeker]

I have looked at this thread a few times. Unfairly? Possibly. Harshly might be a better description. Life is a learning curve.

 

[gadfly56]

I have looked at this thread a few times. Unfairly? Possibly. Harshly might be a better description. Life is a learning curve.

If the working hours are as described, with no pay, also illegal. This is not a medieval apprenticeship where the master trades his knowledge for your labor.

 

[Ingenieur]

do what your boss told you to do. call up the ibew local you'd like to become a member of, and apply for apprenticeship.

he has taught you everything you can learn there. on the forum here, we leave unions out of our discussions as strong
opinions abound.

and compensation varies widely from one local to another.

"The average total annual compensation for a DWP worker
for the year ending September 2015 was $136,100, according
to a recent report commissioned by the utility's Office of
Public Accountability.


That figure includes a $99,500 salary, $14,500 in retirement
contributions and $22,100 in medical and other benefits."

it's 15% above that now.

what is DWP?

op
document your time
is he paying you on the books?
don't let this go on too long without reporting it

 

[Fulthrotl]

You should be paid for all the time you are working.
I wonder if he is paying unemployment tax or has you covered by insurance.

i betcha a cheeseburger he isn't.

and i agree with the premise of leaving all collective bargaining units out
of this discussion. i grabbed those facts 'cause, well... google, y'know?

they are a benchmark that is easily located.

and as was mentioned, people sometimes have difficult times entering that
particular path to the trade. i sat for the inside wireman position test with DWP.

i test well. i may not know poop about anything, but i test well. i did well then.
finished #3 out of 8,000 who took the test. i was not accepted for one of the
20 available positions open. why? they took landscapers who were already in
dwp who wanted to transfer.

beaten by leaf rakers. that's where i'm at on the food chain. lower than a leaf raker.

 

[ggunn]

If the working hours are as described, with no pay, also illegal. This is not a medieval apprenticeship where the master trades his knowledge for your labor.

Isn't there a minimum size for an organization to be subject to labor laws?

 

[gadfly56]

Isn't there a minimum size for an organization to be subject to labor laws?

Yes, in NJ it's one (1). There are a number of modifications the the wage and hour requirements based on occupation but none of them relate to how many employees you have.

 

[kwired]

Isn't there a minimum size for an organization to be subject to labor laws?

Yes, one or more employees. Or at least W-2 employees, which leaves out owners and contracted individuals, though there are cases where individuals are "contracted" in order to avoid payroll taxes and/or workers compensation when they should be W-2 employees.

 

[jeremysterling]

I have looked at this thread a few times. Unfairly? Possibly. Harshly might be a better description. Life is a learning curve.

I believe in the mantra, "An honest day's work for an honest day's pay." As an hourly wage-earner, I am thankful for the protection of labor laws. I enter time on apprentices' timesheets, and I go by the clock. I rarely coffee break, lunch break, or hold a digital device in my hand, that's the way I roll. I drink 1.5 gallons of warm water per day, at one-quart intervals.

I use to ride with a guy like the OP's boss at my first civilian electrical job (two-truck shop). I was a first year apprentice. He was the owner's lead serviceman.

His named rhymed with "dismal," so that's what I called him when he wasn't around. Dismal was not a teacher. He would go as far as turning his back to me as he terminated a device so I couldn't see what he was doing.

I was expected to stock and gas the vans on (illegal) "green time". Furthermore, I never got paid for the ride back to the shop. I liked the job all the way up to when I was fired. Then I found another job, that paid more, then another and another...

The OP seems to be thoughtful, eager, and reliable. Any electrical contractor would give this kid a couple dollars more.

 

[lordofthisworld]

Hello, i am an apprentice electrician and recently got hired (about 2-3 months ago) by a residential electrician. It is just me and him doing work going from house to house Monday through Friday. Before this I attended a trade school straight out of high school. It was a school that taught the basics. I attended for approximately 6 months until I found a job and it helped me to hit the ground running so to speak. I did not walk into the job blind not knowing a thing. Recently I have felt that my boss has been treating me unfairly. My boss pays me for 40 hours a week the only exception being if I work until 8 o clock at night which has happened. I have also worked until 5 or 6 some nights and have not gotten paid any extra money. If I’m not working until 5 or 6 it is at least until 3:30-4:00. I arrive at his house everyday at 7 unless he says otherwise. Sometimes he tells me to be there by 6 or 6:30 and I do as told no complaints.


One day my boss tells to me that his old employee (who left for a big company) would sometimes sit on his phone for some time after he was finished eating lunch. He told me how much that agitated him so I never did that. My boss also said he does not like to stop working and sit down and eat and that if we are going to eat it will be in the truck on the way to the next job site. I am a very understanding person and even these two things did not have me questioning the fairness of the situation. I get that he’s running a business and time sitting down eatting could be time working. Therefore I just agreed and did as I was told.

Recently he got frustrated with me because I didn’t know what one of the supplies were. I asked him what it was and what it’s purpose was and he got aggravated. I was just trying to learn so that i could have more knowledge and be a better employee. Instead of him telling me what it was he decided to question my schooling and tell me that they did a crappy job of teaching me. He then went on to say that I must have not payed any attention because I should know what this was. It was something he later told me on the way home called a mud ring. Used to put a plastic face plate on a metal 4 square. After a few more questions he began to tell me that I either need to go to another school and learn everything or “just figure it out” because He doesn’t have the time to teach me. I just don’t understand where he is coming from considering the fact that he pays me only $11 an hour (minimum wage where I am) and it’s a push pull relationship where I do grunt work and get paid poorly and he teaches me some things. I give a little he gives a little and I was ok with that until he said he doesn’t have time to teach me. I would not have signed up for this job if I thought that he wasn’t going to teach me. You cannot cut corners or have the best of both worlds so to speak. I think that if I didn’t need to be taught anything then my paycheck would be bigger.

You’re getting used. Mass labor law states every 6 hrs of work, employer has to give 30 min break, but its the employer decision to pay or not to pay for that 30 min break. Anything over 40 is time and a half. Its to busy out there to take that bull.

 

[nickelec]

I agree with the rest in regards to if u work a certain amount of hours you should be paid for those hours however, through out your career your going to come across some A hole bosses co workers etc, we all did but I believe it's all part of the experience your going to get, learn something from every situation this particular situation will teach you how to deal with people in the feild and make you appreciate a better person in the future or the opposite make you realize that guy wasn't so bad . We all take a bit of abuse in the beginning it's just the nature of the beast. suck it up and roll with the punches one day you'll be the one sending a kid for a bucket of steam,.. my advice talk to your boss and explain to him you don't mind the long hours and working hard or eating your lunch on the road but, you need to be paid for hours worked.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[qcroanoke]

what is DWP?


is he paying you on the books?

That's my question too.
Check or cash when he pays you?
If by check is it a company check or from his personal account?
I'd bet you're not covered by workman's comp.

 

[Besoeker]

I believe in the mantra, "An honest day's work for an honest day's pay." As an hourly wage-earner, I am thankful for the protection of labor laws. I enter time on apprentices' timesheets, and I go by the clock. I rarely coffee break, lunch break, or hold a digital device in my hand, that's the way I roll. I drink 1.5 gallons of warm water per day, at one-quart intervals.

I use to ride with a guy like the OP's boss at my first civilian electrical job (two-truck shop). I was a first year apprentice. He was the owner's lead serviceman.

His named rhymed with "dismal," so that's what I called him when he wasn't around. Dismal was not a teacher. He would go as far as turning his back to me as he terminated a device so I couldn't see what he was doing.

I was expected to stock and gas the vans on (illegal) "green time". Furthermore, I never got paid for the ride back to the shop. I liked the job all the way up to when I was fired. Then I found another job, that paid more, then another and another...

The OP seems to be thoughtful, eager, and reliable. Any electrical contractor would give this kid a couple dollars more.

And I hope he gets it. And stays in the electrical field.

I don't know what the recruitment scene is like there for electrical but here, UK, it seems to be an aging profession/trade. I hadn't really thought about it that much but what really brought it home to me was a commissioning job. As many here will have experienced, that is very often a hurry up and wait thing. So the three of us on the job were waiting and having a chat over a cup of tea. Myself, my engineering manager, and the customers consultant. My engineering manager was the youngest and in his fifties, me over sixty, and the consultant over seventy. That got me thinking.............no new blood coming into the industry?

 

[kwired]

And I hope he gets it. And stays in the electrical field.

I don't know what the recruitment scene is like there for electrical but here, UK, it seems to be an aging profession/trade. I hadn't really thought about it that much but what really brought it home to me was a commissioning job. As many here will have experienced, that is very often a hurry up and wait thing. So the three of us on the job were waiting and having a chat over a cup of tea. Myself, my engineering manager, and the customers consultant. My engineering manager was the youngest and in his fifties, me over sixty, and the consultant over seventy. That got me thinking.............no new blood coming into the industry?

Problem is not many young ones want to work their way up the chain, especially the college educated ones, they want to start at the top and if they can't do that many would rather not work at all.

 

[Besoeker]

Problem is not many young ones want to work their way up the chain, especially the college educated ones, they want to start at the top and if they can't do that many would rather not work at all.

You may well be right. I had a different start. My company sponsored me and another through university so we had a student apprenticeship. When we qualified, there really wasn't a position for both of us. During the period I was sent to a company who made variable speed drives. When they heard I was leaving, they offered me a design/commissioning engineer. More commissioning than design but I travelled the world. I met a guy who offered me more money, then we started a company making drives. A couple of acquisitions and we became a division of the Eaton Corporation. That's it in a nutshell fifty years on.

 

[petersonra]

Problem is not many young ones want to work their way up the chain, especially the college educated ones, they want to start at the top and if they can't do that many would rather not work at all.

I have not seen that. What I have seen is that people do not want to waste their time on stuff they see as not benefiting their careers. I am inclined to agree with the idea that a college educated engineer really does not need to learn to wire cabinets proficiently, or to run conduit. It's pretty much a waste of his/her talents to spend time learning to be proficient at something he should never be doing. Familiarization with such thigns is a good idea but beyond that it is a waste of time.

 

[ggunn]

I have not seen that. What I have seen is that people do not want to waste their time on stuff they see as not benefiting their careers. I am inclined to agree with the idea that a college educated engineer really does not need to learn to wire cabinets proficiently, or to run conduit. It's pretty much a waste of his/her talents to spend time learning to be proficient at something he should never be doing. Familiarization with such thigns is a good idea but beyond that it is a waste of time.

OTOH and IMNSHO, engineers who have worked in the field have a better understanding of how to design things that go together better and more effectively out there. I am a PE, and ten years ago I had to reinvent myself once again; I chose to go into PV systems. I started with installing rooftop systems (in Texas in the summertime) alongside installers half my age and less. Nowadays I sit in front of a computer all day in an air conditioned office designing systems, but I have a much better understanding of what I am requiring of the field guys than I would have otherwise had had I not spent time out there doing it myself.

 

[gadfly56]

OTOH and IMNSHO, engineers who have worked in the field have a better understanding of how to design things that go together better and more effectively out there. I am a PE, and ten years ago I had to reinvent myself once again; I chose to go into PV systems. I started with installing rooftop systems (in Texas in the summertime) alongside installers half my age and less. Nowadays I sit in front of a computer all day in an air conditioned office designing systems, but I have a much better understanding of what I am requiring of the field guys than I would have otherwise had had I not spent time out there doing it myself.

I'll second your sentiment. Having actually been a wire monkey for a while is touted as plus on my company resume when the marketing group is hunting for business. It has certainly given me an appreciation for the challenges the installers face. The field techs also have a different view of you when you prove you can pull wire and make terminations on the equipment.