I work for a pest control company, in the termite division. We have to be licensed in two states to be able to apply pesticides. We spend all day outside, digging trenches around houses, using an auger to dig holes for bait stations, or getting into nasty cramped crawlspaces. Trainees do everything from day one, except the paperwork, and only get paid 17/hr. We could make that at any factory and some retail places around here.
So, it's no surprise we had someone quit for more money the other day. He called my trainer and told him, and my trainer said he should watch his phone because our manager might call him with a counteroffer. I said something about how the employee who left has only been there a few months longer than me, and if he gets a raise to nearly 20/hr, I'd like one too. My trainer told me that if I go to our manager to ask for money, I shouldn't mention that I know what someone else makes. Apparently there's a history of people getting fired very shortly after doing that. He said our manager doesn't like us talking about it.
The problem is, I live in Indiana, which is an at-will state. I haven't seen my manager fire anyone for discussing wages, and I'm worried I wouldn't be able to prove it if it happened to me. Is there anything I can do to get ahead of this? I want to express my freedom and my right to discuss my pay, without getting fired for “some other reason,” like being a minute late, or taking too long on a job.