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Antiwork

Business owner needing advice.

Preface: I have owned and operated an architectural finishes company for over ten years. This is a fancy term for a painting company. We specialize in small to medium sized commercial projects. We are an open shop (non-union), but our wages compete with unions in our area (Midwest US) and we don’t lay our guys off like some companies that use union labor. We work year ‘round and have enough work for everyone to have at least 40 hours a week. I ran into an ethical dilemma this morning that I will explain further down, but would like to outline the business first for you guys to make an informed opinion. Wages: Superintendent: $65k/year salary Foremen: $25/hour Lead People: $23/hour Skilled: $19-$22/hour Semi-Skilled: $16-$18/hour *Unskilled: $13-$15/hour *: Unskilled labor is zero experience in the trade. This hourly wage is determined by the ability to work well with others, show up…


Preface:

I have owned and operated an architectural finishes company for over ten years. This is a fancy term for a painting company. We specialize in small to medium sized commercial projects. We are an open shop (non-union), but our wages compete with unions in our area (Midwest US) and we don’t lay our guys off like some companies that use union labor. We work year ‘round and have enough work for everyone to have at least 40 hours a week.

I ran into an ethical dilemma this morning that I will explain further down, but would like to outline the business first for you guys to make an informed opinion.

Wages:

Superintendent: $65k/year salary
Foremen: $25/hour
Lead People: $23/hour
Skilled: $19-$22/hour
Semi-Skilled: $16-$18/hour
*Unskilled: $13-$15/hour

*: Unskilled labor is zero experience in the trade. This hourly wage is determined by the ability to work well with others, show up on time, and stay diligent. The last two people we have hired at this rate moved up to $16/hour in a little less than 3 months. This wage path is discussed with everyone who is hired on as “unskilled”.

Side note: I don’t care if people talk about what they make. If anything it incentivizes lower earners to work harder to get to that higher level.

Benefits:

I am going to get shit on for this, but here it goes:

  • I have implemented an incentive-based program on a per project basis. We finish early, everyone on that project gets a bonus ranging from .25% to .75% of the total project value. We don’t finish early but still make money? Everyone gets a set bonus shared equally up to a total of 25% of the profit.

  • I am currently searching out health insurance providers to include that into our wage package. We are currently not large enough/make enough money to pay for it on top of the current hourly wages, so a portion (if not all) of the cost would be taken out of our employee’s hourly wages. It has been a pain in the ass to search out anything that would come close to competing with coverage that employees could get through the HealthCare Marketplace.

  • 401k…this is something that we are very close to having in place. The company will match up to 1%. Small, but it’s something. This will change as the company continues to grow.

Why we aren’t Union:

Again, gonna get shit on…

I have been approached several times by a union BR(business representative). We even tried it out as a signatory member for a 6 month period to see how it went. It did not go well. During that 6 month period we had to send back 10 of the 12 guys they gave us. It’s not that they had bad attitudes or showed up late…these guys couldn’t even paint! Two months after, I get a packet in the mail from the Roofer’s Union. The Painters and Glazers Union had mismanaged their pension fund so badly they had to group it with the Roofer’s pension fund.

I was approached a second time, and I was seriously considering joining the union at this point as we had a huge job lined up and we needed labor on-demand. The BR told me that they had 3 guys available to start. We needed 7-10. He said it would take 2-3 months to get that many. On top of that, these guys would be coming from 40+ miles away, which means they would be payed travel both ways. So a normal 40 hour week would have 10+ hours of OT per person with no additional work occurring.
I pay a gas stipend and travel one way for our current employees, but 10 hours/person at time-and-a-half for an entire project would put about any company over budget. Jobs aren’t bid to have that much OT built in. If they are they wouldn’t be close to being competitive.

Ethical Dilemma:

Two weeks ago we ran into a pinch on a project. We had 12 employees on the project, but needed a small labor infusion (4 guys) from a competing company to help meet an aggressive schedule. The owner of the competing company and I have helped each other out in the past, so it was no big deal for me to make that call. His guys were on-site that Monday.

Fast forward to this morning. I get a call from the competing company’s owner saying we are trying to poach their labor. I said that I wanted to keep our business relationship respectful and would shut down any talk of labor jumping ship.

I called my superintendent to let him know we wouldn’t be hiring anyone he had spoken to about our wages. My super then tells me this single guy approached him a couple days ago about wanting a job with us and the superintendent hired him on the spot. The guy then quits his job the next day. I essentially said “still no”.

The super then explained something that made me completely and utterly change my mind. The guy who had approached him didn’t even work directly for the competing company. He worked for a sub of the competing company. Furthermore, he gets paid under the table, no taxes withheld, and has been denied getting paid anymore (capped out). I immediately said he needs to call his boss (the sub of competitor) and explain to him that this was his decision and in no way the superintendent tried to “poach” him. He is making an informed decision to better himself and to make more money. I’m sending his employee packet for him to sign today.

Summation:

I will probably burn the bridge with my competitor(s) after accepting to hire one of theirs. Word will get out about us being poachers of labor and nobody will help us in the future. Oh well. Did I do the right thing? I think so. Will it adversely affect my company? Probably.

Reddit Advice:

I know I’m going to regret asking, but…

  1. What things can I improve on with the company? Wages? Benefits? All ideas welcome. I just want people to stick around and see that they can make more than a “living wage” here.

  2. How did I handle the above dilemma? How would you have handled it differently?

Thank You:

Thanks to this sub, I have learned to better my business and the lives of its employees. I also appreciate those of you that read this post.

TL;DR:

Hired an employee from a sub of a company that was helping us out. We pay better and withhold taxes…but in that company’s eyes we are the assholes. Oh well.

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