So just in case anyone sees this I'm going to try to keep details as vague as possible.
I actually have a pretty great job. I love what I do and it has an impact on people's lives.
I work for one of the federally recognized tribes in my state. The benefits are great, we get paid snow days, this is May and we still have 13 full Holiday days off plus 5 half days of admin time with more likely to be announced. They treated us great during Covid giving us 300+ hours of PTO plus a substantial bonus last year.
All that being said though, some background info. They have a very strict hiring hierarchy that takes your Tribal enrollment/affiliation or employment status by the tribe all into consideration before hiring non-natives. I am native, but unable to prove my lineage due to lack of records.
Despite that, I had a ton of prior experience doing what they needed me for, so I got the job. I was hired at 15% above starting wage for the position almost 4 years ago which I accepted because I figured I had a lot to learn in terms of Tribal policies, politics and how it would impact my position.
Fast forward to now. Each year they dole out two raises, one for COLA and another is merit-based on an Annual Evaluation. Each evaluation has 6 sections which are weighted toward your raise – Supervisors used to decide what percentages each section were worth but now HR makes that decision without supervisor input.
Here is my issue. As with any other major corporation, each year they restructure the pay scale for each position level so their wages stay competive with the market. So now after being here for almost 4 years, I am now making only 13% over the starting wage for my position.
This is a position that requires continuing accreditation and education as the job changes and yet somehow they have managed to negate 3 years of effort and education until what? 5 more years down the road I'm making 35 cents more than someone walking in the door with no experience?
My time here has shown that HR is of no help to ANY employee. I want to ask my boss for a raise but ultimately it's not really her decision. I fee like they're gonna pretty much shrug me off but….nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
If y'all were in my.position, how might you go about this to have a fighting chance?