I work for a relatively small company in comparison to others in my industry. I am a crew lead and run a truck with usually one other guy. We work completely outside in the Great Plains area of the US so its pretty fuckin cold amd windy. Most of the work is local or maybe an hour away or so but sometimes we have jobs in the nearby large city that we have to stay away from home for in a hotel or air bnb(which is paid for by the company).
Now here's the issue. This company has very few benefits. The health insurance is laughable and that's all we get. No dental or vision. No clothing allowance except for gloves (and even that they sometimes don't give us). No per diem pay. Nada. We can sometimes borrow tools if needed so that's nice I guess. The pay is decent enough for the area but with the skyrocketing cost of living I feel like it won't be enough soon. Raises are decent and pretty regular right up until you max out (three years and 7 dollars more an hr but I won't be making any more than that)
All I'm asking my bosses for is per diem pay so I can buy groceries when I'm away from home. I'm not even asking for eating out levels of money. My partner and I are getting rental assistance and I still can't seem to really save all that much money. Is asking for per diem pay and a clothing stipend too much? We go through boots and gloves like copy paper around here. Do I need a reality check? All I want is to feel appreciated.