When I first started seniority was a huge deal. Those who had it got “first dibs” to whatever jobs they wanted. Last month it was changed to basically “first come, first serve”. Experience and skill level is out the window which is not only annoying, but is a huge safety concern. The new hire is a family friend of the boss who arrives at work at 5:30am every morning so he can pick what he wants to do. The following is the job requirements:
Requires blueprint reading,machining, measurement, data collection, and safety abilities at a career skilled tradesman level.
Must be able to program and operate cnc machines and/or set up and run manual mills and lathes.
Must be able to hold close tolerances.
Must be able to work from print star to finish unsupervised.
Accurately operate various machining equipment including but not be limited to the following:
Vertical and horizontal lathes, milling machines, drill presses, surface grinders / sanders, hydraulic presses, broaching machines, welders including MIG, TIG, ARC/Stick, Oxy Acety, chop saws, and band saws. Must be able to machine parts complete from print holding tolerances as tight as .0005 per inch. **
He is 20 years old and this is his first shop job. I’m being pulled away from my work no less than 10 times a day to answer his questions or help him because I’ve been there the longest. I finally had enough and today I went to my boss and told him his new hire is a liability and unless I was getting a raise, I will only be doing MY work.
Before you ask why I haven't been promoted before now, I never wanted to be a supervisor. My job is M-F 6:00AM-2:30PM. I’m a single dad and this schedule just works perfectly. My boss responds that “we are a big family here, we help each other” and since I’m “not reliable lately” I wouldn’t be getting a raise anytime soon.
Color me confused because in the job requirement it says “must be able to work UNSUPERVISED”. I’m not reliable because in the past two weeks I have been late to work 3 times. All 3 times it was under 15 minutes late. In almost 10 years the only day I have ever taken off unexpectedly is when my daughter died.
And as far as “family” I asked for a $150 cash advance on my check because my toilet is broken, I was denied because it wasn’t an emergency. I guess I'll be looking for a different job while I’m walking my kids to and from gas station bathrooms.
TL;DR: New hires get the opportunity at the best jobs despite having zero skill or experience and I'm expected to step away from my job to help him because we are a great big family here.