First time poster, so please let me know if i break any rules.
I work for a small manufacturing company in Colorado (less than a dozen employees). I started last year for a seasonal position, and was hired back this summer as a regular employee. I'm only part time, because apparently 32 hours a week isn't full time to these owners… The multi-millionaire owners “don't have the hours :(” to make me full time (literally one extra hour a week would make me full time but whatever i guess). I get paid the same now as I was last year, which means after inflation I've taken at least a $1/hr pay cut to do the same work but with more responsibilities than when I was seasonal.
I've been there just at 2 months, which is their probationary period before I can earn PTO (the max i can earn in a year is 32 hours, so 4 days total) and paid holidays. My manager wants to have a meeting with me to discuss… Something. I'm not entirely sure, but she asked me to think of any questions I might have for our meeting next week, so I wanted to seek advice on what I should ask.
I'm definitely asking for a $1.50 minimum pay raise to match inflation, or at least more hours so i qualify for company insurance. If that's a no, I'm asking to drop down to 30 hr/week, because my wife and I are on Medicaid, and at 32 hours I make like $1000 over cutoff. We have a lot of doctor/therapy appointments (my wife is on hormone therapy and we're both in individual counseling, on top of regular checkups, expensive meds, etc) and we literally would not be able to afford private insurance if we're kicked off, so it would be worth it (to us) to take the drop in hours to keep our necessary healthcare. God bless America 🇺🇸. I am looking for other work, but I really like my coworkers (who are also looking to leave) and don't want to leave them hanging during the upcoming busy season if i can help it.
I hope this comes across coherently since I'm getting drunk after work today, but does anyone have any idea what kind of questions to ask in this situation? I can't afford to get fired, so i don't want to stir the pot too much, but I also want to stand up for myself as much as possible. Any help is appreciated, and i can clarify/answer questions in the comments, if this gets any traction.