Apologies if this is posted in the wrong place, but I figure this sub has a similar attitude to mine, and might have some people who’ve had experience with this, or are also looking for advice.
I currently work “part time” for a non-profit theatre in PA. Of my 15 coworkers in production, 8 of us are “part time”, working 30hrs a week over 4 days. Now, I say “part time” because we work full days M-Th, but we’re told that we shouldn’t be considered full time/receive benefits, since we can just ‘pick up outside gig work in our “ample” free time’. I was slightly horrified to find out, after discussing with most of my coworkers, that I’m making the second highest (a whopping $17/hr!) of the part time staff, and I’m the newest hire (dec. 21). Maybe irrelevant, but most of us hold undergraduate degrees in our respective fields.
I can go way more into detail on some of this, but to avoid an unneeded rant, here’s what I’m hoping to get some advice on:
We’re looking to put forward some form of demands to admin/the board to make our positions full time salaried/benefits, (minimum $35k + Benefits) ideally without changing how long we’re working (this is the healthiest job environment I’ve had in a long time, and would rather not sacrifice that).
We’ve considered a few options (in order of priority):
– co-signing a letter of request to submit to the higher ups with our desired terms.
– contacting a union organizer to get some professional advice/significant pressure to leverage against said higher ups.
– holding a walkout on a significant day (eg. before installing a production).
This is my, and my co workers, first time trying to confront any employer regarding re negotiating a contract/solidifying a position, so we’re kind of going in blind, so any relevant advice is very appreciated!
Other extraneous info:
– the only co worker making more then me has been here for 5+ years, and only got a significant raise recently after threatening to leave. (So it seems like admin wants to keep on skilled workers).
– I’d rather not seek other employment, and instead make this job better, as I’m weary of job hopping/freelancing.
– the company is not struggling for finances (attached to a charter school so plenty of money from educational grants/funders), for context their big budget show has a $30-40k budget.
– our direct managers are also frustrated with their salaries and want all of us to be paid a decent wage, so the first layer of obstruction is the upper management and the COO/Board.