I work for a municipal government. I have worked for this municipality for about 5 years as a fire inspector and I have asked for a raise.
I understand that in government work you typically do not get a raise but there are many reasons why I should get it.
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I have picked up extra roles outside of the work I was hired to do. These roles are different positions than I currently work and would typically take another employee to be hired to do that work.
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The work that I do in every capacity, I objectively do extraordinarily well. Of course, there is the fact that anyone should be doing their job as described. I do exactly all of the work that is required of me just as every one of my predecessors have done. What sets me apart is that I do extra tasks and objectives to help other departments as well as further the required work by taking on fire and safety related projects for the town. These projects protect the public as well as the firefighters.
Another thing that I do above my required work is public education with schools, senior groups, and community groups.
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I’m a cash cow for the municipality. I bring in about twice as much money as I’m currently being paid. I have also proposed to change ordinances to more appropriately establish invoices and fines generated my department to be more efficient which would actually bring in even more money.
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When I originally proposed getting a raise I was asked to look into what other municipalities pay for my position so they can be more comparable. I generated a list of other people that do exactlly if not less work than me in other locations along with a summary of how they are proportional to my work load versus their salary. Ultimately, everything boils down to roughly the same pay across the board. When I am added into the equation I make about 25% less than everyone else and this does not include the added duties as stated in point 1.
So as of 6 months ago, I asked for a raise based on the points listed above which I gave to them in writing. Then about two weeks ago, I was told I, along with the rest of the municipality employees, will be getting a small raise of about 6%, compared to the normal 2.2% we get for inflation.
I advised them that the raise is appreciated but is still a long way off from what I should be getting. Upper management got visibly upset with me that I appeared ungrateful (note that upper management got a 10% raise).
I have since emailed a few of the other upper management people regarding additional increase in pay and it has now been almost a week with no response.
So I have been ghosted by the people that pay themselves handsomely and I hear that they have received my email but are choosing not to respond. They hope to just keep me hanging on for as long as possible.
Oh and they had the audacity to ask me to do even more work that is not part of my job description in an email, I chose not to respond.
Over the past week people have been telling me about “quiet quitting” and it is what I feel like doing; just the bare minimum. BUT, I feel like the wrong people (the public and first responders) will suffer from the consequences of quiet quitting. So here I am, working like a dog, knowing that I am not going to get my raise.
I have been looking for other work and have a few interviews. I just feel disappointed and upset that I put so much effort into my job and got screwed in the end. I also feel embarrassed that I am so naive to think that anyone would appreciate what I have done.
Rant over. Thank you for reading and be safe.
TLDR; I am a fool who thought I could get a raise if I work hard. Turns out I was being taken advantage of and I should probably quit and find new work. Upper management refused to respond to any request for salary increase or to even meet and talk about my future with this job.
Still tldr; I want fair wage for my work and I’m ignored.