I want to note that everyone I work with locally are fantastic, hard working people that care. Management acts as support for myself and my fellow drivers. Making sure we get what we need and truely helps us succeed.
I’ve been working for 3 years at a Barricade company (traffic cones, road closed equipment, advanced warning signs, etc). Averaging 65-80 hr/weeks in the summer and 40-55 hr/weeks in the winter.
The company was bought by a big corporation a couple months before I was hired. The previous owner stayed on as the state manager (Thank god!).
Management pretty much stayed the same after the purchase. Just now has a corporate overseer/backer.
I had a good talk with my boss recently. He informed me that I had just qualified for healthcare benefits through the company. Now I thought I had missed registration the last 2 years. I moved around a bit and had some personal stuff going on at the time, but I wasn’t too worried.
Needless to say I was confused when he told me that. I thought I already was eligible, I just missed the last couple deadlines?
Turns out that this giant coast to coast company, doesn’t consider my position full time. Now schedule wise, we technically don’t have guaranteed hours. We work what gets scheduled, most of that time it’s a full days work and then some, and on occasion we’re up at 7 and home by 11 (AM). This is their excuse to not provide benefits for my position. Now, if they’re saying I’m not a full time employee, how do I have benefits? My local company that these MF’s purchased is 1 of 3 companies across the nation that offers full time benefits to “part-timers”.
This genuinely has me upset. I’m lucky to be with the people I work with locally, but for the thousands of other drivers under the same coporate banner without even life insurance?!?! I was considering moving to another state with the same company, but it might literally kill me.