I started working my current job about six weeks ago. No apparent issues have been brought up to me, and during the interview it was made clear that after my introductory 90-day period, that I would be converted from hourly pay to commission.
After a few weeks of training, I was able to talk to a couple of coworkers candidly about the work culture, environment, and how they generally feel about the place. I brought up how much I was getting paid (18.50/hour), and it caught one of my coworkers off guard. This person has been employed there for three years, yet was only getting paid 17.50/hour. I also mentioned that I was also going to be commissioned after my first 90-days, which is definitely more than my current pay.
I could tell the gears were starting to turn in his head, and so I decided to press the issue, and told him he should negotiate for more money. He seemed responsive, but we left it alone after that discussion. I also began to discuss with another employee how apparent it was that he was being groomed to replace one of our managers, and how it isn’t a coincidence that he all of the sudden has a lot more responsibility at the same time the manager is becoming more and more checked out of his work. I advised that employee that he has more bargaining power than he realizes and to use it to his advantage.
Both of these conversations were a few weeks ago, and when I returned to work this week, both coworkers had independent discussions with me about things that were changing. The first one, who was being underpaid, told me that he was applying to another similar place to work, and that our management caught wind of it. So they negotiated better pay for him, and an immediate changeover to commission pay instead of hourly. The other employee told me that he began having discussions about the employers about their future plans with his position and its responsibilities.
Today I was approached independently by my other manager, and he told me that starting on the first, I’m going to immediately be changed over to commission. This surprised me, because it’s definitely happening before my 90-day mark of employment there. I can’t confirm whether or not my discussions with my coworkers forced this change so suddenly, but it definitely doesn’t feel like pure coincidence.