I was working as the overnight concierge for a retirement home for a little over 6 months, making $13/hr. That's not bad pay where I'm at but I had a contract stating I was supposed to be getting 20 cents after 3 months and another 35 cents after 6, then a $1 raise after 18. I never got the initial 20 cent raise and had a gut feeling that it would be an issue, so I just left it alone until it came time for the 2nd raise. Well the 2nd raise didn't happen when it was supposed to, so I went ahead and brought both it and my first raise to my managers attention. She told me “no one got the first raise and no one will” and that the 2nd one should be put on my file soon. I asked if there was a reason that “no one” got it and she never responded.
Lo and behold, I find out a day later that my job (of which I was the only employee even working at the location on that shift) was listed onto job boards. It was uploaded the day I questioned the raises. So, I quit. I put in my resignation letter effective immediately and did not go back.
I've been treating my job search as if it were a full time job for the past week, and just landed a stay at home position for $16/hr… so a $3 pay raise after a dispute over 55 cents. And I'm not having to drive 30+min to and from work every day, so I'll be saving money on gas too.
I've worked a lot of shitty jobs in my time, but I've never had an issue when it comes to getting a raise of some sort, even if one is not in my contract. I know I gave that job the best work possible and frankly I was offended by how poorly they handled it. I'll happily stay my ass at home and make more money with better advancement opportunities instead. Don't be afraid to just leave jobs that don't value your work.