TL;DR AT BOTTOM
So to start this off im going to state up top. I make 25$ an hour and work in a niche welding environment. However welding is not my only responsibility. I also do shipping and receiving (whenever our main person requires time off due to health and or vacation) and as of late i have been training to take over simple laser engraving because our new coworker/team lead in that department (who is not getting a team leads pay they told me that and they are pissed.) is the only one doing it.
I have worked at this current place for five years now and im still bottom of the ladder in terms of seniority and pay. (Not to mention i get talked to like a child despite having more blueprint reading and CAD experience than my current manager)
What i do is very niche and very specialized. Ive been stuck at 25$ an hour for the last 2 years and have not recieved a Christmas bonus for the last 3 (all of our team leads and office personnel have gotten them despite not actually making tangible money for the company in terms of output or production)
Since this is such a niche market. We only have one competitor in our metropolitan area. Owners and GMs of shops tend to talk amongst themselves and i know for a fact my boss talks to the other shops GM. Since i feel like im being stretched like laffytaffy from one dept to another ive been wanting to stay on the same career path but also not work at the place im currently at…… Unless i get fair compensation. However. Finding people to talk with and get a market evaluation for what i should be paid is damn near impossible.
I feel like they think they can run a skeleton crew with me being at the bottom and absorbing most of the shit when it comes my way i.e: Having me wrap up other peoples jobs in protective casing when im not the one who worked on it. Filling out other coworkers paper work and printing it because they cant use the system we have in place and ignorance is their best excuse. Im also the only one who actually gets ” Managed ” due to my boss working with his highschool best friend and the others being either previous managers or on afternoon shift and not within his purview for 7 out of 8 hours. I am also the one who tries to cover my ass the most and gets blame thrown on me when weldments come back
I have come to think because im relatively young (27) and my manager is 38 and ive been the only laser welder in the last 6 years to make it this long. I dont want to be percieved as a sucker. Yet they dont want to compensate me fairly.
Herein lies the question. How do I :
A) go about finding out how much i should be compensated for the extra workload i am currently taking on and in future will probably take more on.
B) if i do apply to a competition job and the manager finds out and takes retaliatory actions against me, what do i do then? Im already bottom of the barrel so they could use “punishment” as a guise to say my responsibility is being expanded to lets say…. Custodiary duties or cleaning out the lathe metal shard catch( im allergic to the grease and they know that)
C) is it in bad form to get a better offer and bring it to the table where i am currently at and potentially burn a bridge.
The only reason i would not want to start at a new place is because now i have 15 days off (not paid) and full dental, vision, drug, and various coverages.
I just want to be treated like a fucking human being more than anything. My boss however still wants to talk to me like a toddler even though i can run 3 departments. What do i do. Please help.
TL;DR. Only making 25$ an hour. Taking on multiple responsibilities. More than other coworkers. Been at the job 5 years. Still bottom of pay and seniority. Despite all responsibility get talked to like child. Only one other shop in the area does what we do and theres a 85-95% chance my GM and competition GM talk. I dont want to burn either bridge but i want fair compensation. What do i do?