Hey antiworkers, I wanted to get some skeptical opinions on this.
I'm currently employed as a 911 dispatcher in “P” County (all names abbreviated for privacy). I've been looking to move up to another area of the country to be closer to my aging, retired parents, and since I generally like my job would like to take it with me. I applied for the same position in two (well, three, but only two are relevant to this discussion now) counties up in this area, “C” County and “S” County.
S County was offering a higher base starting pay, about $24/hour, but the benefits aren't as good. Meanwhile, C County has amazing benefits but a starting pay of about $21/hour, which is less than I make at my current job in P County (not substantially less, but less). I'd much rather live in C, since it has a big city in it that I'm already partial to, and S is kind of rural and I'm not a rural bitch.
So when C County sent me the conditional offer, I let them know that S was offering a higher starting pay, and asked if they could meet that, or at least meet my current salary. Again, I'd much rather live in C for reasons wholly unrelated to my job. I was told, after a bit of runaround, that per the union contract, they're not allowed to negotiate starting pay for this position.
That strikes me as sus. Why would a union contract not allow salary negotiation? I already have years of experience in this field, and several certifications as part of my current job that would make training me substantially easier. Surely that's worth a couple extra bucks an hour.
Have y'all heard anything like this? A set starting pay that the contract says they're *not allowed* to deviate from? Even for a candidate with experience?
Willing to answer (most) follow-up questions for clarity.