Today I did my exit interview survey for the EMS job I've had for almost 4 years now. I joined in 2018 working full time with massive amounts of over time to compensate being able to afford to live while burning myself out.
The week before Christmas 2019 the company was bought out by a large with a few billion dollar net worth.
I didn't immediately transfer to the new company because I heard it was worse. So I waited till almost the end of February 2020 to
apply for a rare part time position. I had a paulse and had worked with most of the people now in management there before so I was hired at the rate of $13.70 an hour. Same circus different name essentially.
In June of 2020 they announced the raises. In the announcement email it stated that all brand new incoming EMTs would start out at $16.00 an hour. Each year of experience you had you would gain 3%. Each year of seniority you had would gain you 3%.
I came back and after the first year I was at $16.97 after the raise. I thought nothing of this because I had two years of experience at this point and according to the email that was correct.
Half a year later I got a voice-mail from the man in charge telling me that there had been a mistake in my pay and that I was going to be docked back down to $16.00 an hour.
The hell he was going to do that.
I emailed every important corporate person above this man attaching the email and explaining the situation. A few days went by, I got a response from one of the people I had emailed and a week or so later that manager had been fired. There were a lot of reasons I heard but id like to think they looked into him a little harder because of my email. My rate of pay stayed the same. All was good.
Until I asked about my 2021 raise stating I didn't get one. My manager responded to me saying that I had been paid incorrectly and they were correcting it by skipping my raise this year and I would be eligible next June for the 3% increase. I was told the original email written by the old manager was 'just poorly worded' and that it was incorrect how the increases worked. I stated that based on how he explained it I could quit and come back and immediately have my raise. That was correct but they wouldn't be hiring for a part time position anymore. Forcing me into even more hours and less freedom around my schedule.
I started looking for a new job immediately.
In my exit interview I told them it was extremely petty to withhold a raise of an entire 50 cents when they are a few billion dollar company and I would have to quit and come back again losing the small amount of seniority I had for peanuts in the grand scheme of things. This year in June I was suppose to be making 17.99 an hour and EMS is hardly paying most of us enough to survive as is along with working us to death out on the streets. I added detail about how horrible of conditions the ambulances are in, constantly out of supplies. A good day equated to hopefully finding a truck that would actually turn on without needing jumped and the AC/Heat possibly working in the front and back of the truck. Never being able to turn off the truck to lock it in fear that it wouldn't start back up again or the doors wouldnt unlock. I'm sure I didn't tell them much others haven't told them while quitting. But it felt nice to say it.
My new EMS job doesn't have benefits but it's much easier on my back. At $23/h and a more livable wage as the only income to my family as the prices of rent and everything raise around us. Eventually I can work my way up to salary here with overtime and benefits so it should be worth it down the road if I feel like going that route.
TLDR: I left my job at a sad EMS service over a .50 cent raise I was refused. I was bluntly honest in the exit interview. I have a better job now.