I have been working at the same place for over 20 years. I am an electrical engineer who installs wires and components for manufacturing machines and scoreboards. Six years ago, I was demoted. I had been a foreman at the time, and they said that I did not posses the appropriate computer skills to hold that position. So they replaced me with the bosses son. Whatever, being foreman kind of sucked.
For the last three years I have been asking for a raise. My pay has been static ever since. For the past three years I have been asking for a raise. I am the only experienced person in my department and they keep on hiring new people within a dollar of what I am getting paid, and I have to show them how to do the job because the foreman doesn't know how to do it.
Last week they informed me I was getting a raise of 1.50$ an hour. I was very excited because I felt like my contributions had finally been recognized.
Yesterday, the bosses son tells me he had been promoted and that I was foreman again. This was not a position I had applied for, asked for, or even knew was going to become available. They just informed me that I had been promoted. Now I was upset when I had been demoted, mostly because of the rational, and clear nepotism behind it. I also was happy that I didn't officially have all the responsibilities of the foreman.
So I set up an appointment to speak with HR. My intention was to negotiate a new wage for my foreman position. I was told that I could not negotiate my wage. I was already given a raise for the position! Now I already was making almost 40$ an hour so 1.50$ a raise is not a significant raise, especially considering it was the only one I had received in 6 years. Not only is it not keeping up with inflation during that time, but it is DEFINATLEY not enough of a raise to justify the amount of extra work and responsibility I will have now. I was galled they never asked me if I wanted this position and by giving me a raise right before hand claimed I did not have an opportunity to negotiate a new wage. They preempted my ability to have discourse.
Unfortunately, this story doesn't have the kind of dramatic ending that this sub likes. It ends like this. I'm the foreman now and I'll just suck it up. Thanks for listening.