Jim Warman Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I wanted to weigh in on this for the Alberta perspective which also includes the Canada perspective. I answered the poll questions as if I was still a line mechanic. Canada and Alberta labour laws are pretty succinct about what is and isn't legal. For dealerships, flat rate is the norm without a guarranty in my experience. Paid sick days is an employer choice. It'd be nice but I think it encourages a certain amount of abuse. Paid vacations are government mandated - length and remuneration determined by provincial governments. The rates and times can be viewed here http://www.payworks.ca/payroll-legislation/VacationPay.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I get one sick day per year. I entered 5-10 days because it wouldn't let me keep it blank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Saunoras Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I was surprised to find 2 others had a 40 hour guarantee. From all the shops in the area I've been around and our 2 dealerships this is not the norm. I requested it or I was leaving. No sick days but I have 6 paid vacation days( which never works out well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmorris Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 The closed thing to "Paid" sick days we have here is our short term disability coverage through work. We are allowed to collect our holiday pay when-ever we wish. It is calculated and banked monthly, so there is always something there in case you miss a few days. Only problem with that is if you actually go on vacation you may not have enough to cover the time off, so one needs to be carefull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I always worked at a dealer that would allow you to take a vacation day to help make up for a shit week. It could get confusing at times when confronting the gals in the office about how many days you have left. My current dealer took care of that issue.......they pay you your vacation up front on the first of January every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 The problem with sick days is that most people will take them... I do know a guy that works at a dealership that gives 8 sick days per year, and as an incentive to people who don't use/abuse them, they will add $75 to their pension at the end of the year for each unused sick day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmlew Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I am quite surprised how many guys have a 40hr guarantee. We can't get ANY in this area. Plus they want you to work 60 hrs a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Ditto on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Saunoras Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I've never been able to figure out why a dealership can't afford to pay an honest guarantee. Then again I can't figure out a lot of shit about how dealerships work I remember back when I was starting out in the shop I am in (5 years ago) we were looking for a seasoned tech to handle all the big stuff. We had an interviewee from North Carolina that was looking to move up here and needed a job. The reason he didn't get hired was he wanted a 40hr guarantee. If you saw our old shop you'd know why he wanted it. A lot has changed since then, new building and techs still aren't beating the door down. We were suppose to have a new hire Monday but that guy just backed out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmlew Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I ran into a shop manager recently from back in 99-00 when i last had a 40 hr week guarantee. He has been managing a Precision Tune for 12 years and said his guys have been with him for most of that time. Wanted me to stop by and check out the shop and talk. I stopped on a Sat afternoon...shop was about empty. He was working the counter alone and didn't have time to talk. Said come back Tuesday as I'll be off Monday...I go in Tuesday...he's off. Shop empty and three guys sitting on stools beside their boxes at 3:00PM. They are open till 6PM. Hard to turn time when you only work 60% of the day, at least for me? Sitting here now needing to go make something happen but am just really depressed with the state of my career/the industry. Really want to sell everything and go live (homeless) on South Beach. When I run out of food try to swim to Cuba... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmorris Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 When I first started with ford back in 1991, I was working 3:30 to midnight. We had a 3 hour a day guarantee as long as you were there for the first 3 hours of the shift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmlew Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Went to an interview. It was that or blow up my floaties... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 We got something special. We are paid hourly and then we get what they call incentive. Pretty much flat rate time for everything you produce extra, and it's totalled daily instead of weekly. We only get overtime on the hourly part though. I've been there 5 years and have never had less than 10 hours of incentive on a paycheck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I can't believe there's only 3 of us not on flat rape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Clyde Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 the shop I worked at until I got sick was hourly. I worked in the truck shop end of the dealer which did F250 on up to Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, plus whatever else rolled in the door as long as it was diesel. Nobody in the shop had ever worked flat rate, with the exception of myself, and it showed. They were groomed to be slower than molasses and the customer paid for it. The labour guide was thrown out the window for those guys. we were paid our normal wage whether you worked or not, and there was a shift premium for 4-12. I almost always produced 20 + hours over my time clocked in, and I was compensated modestly. Its been 2.5 years since I have been off work, and I am still "in" the social club, which means I still get my turkey at Christmas, and invites to functions. if I was able to go back now, I could go back and make at least 60 % more per hour. There was a lot of negatives at work, but there were also a lot of good things about my employer too ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Prior to accepting this job, I told them I would only take it with a 40 hour per week guarantee. It has nothing to do with my ability to make 40 hours per week, but more to do with giving them the incentive to make sure I have at least 40 hours worth of work to do in a week. IMHO, it's our responsibility to get the work done, but it's their responsibility to bring the work in. And, FWIW, I have not needed to cash in on the guarantee, nor do I expect to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Saunoras Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 That's why I wanted it. 3 years ago we didn't do trucks here. We didn't have the customers and we didn't have the room. Whatever I'm doing now I've built from nothing and work isn't always raining in from above, I'd estimate 95% of what I work on we didn't sell. I can usually look busy but I'm not an hours burner just killing anything that walks through the door... quite frankly I never have been, I've got 30 more years of this and it's not happening if I burn out in a few years. Most dealerships (at least this one) don't think about their techs long term. Our new service manager is a numbers guy but he's starting to understand how I work. Shop foreman would be a nice title but I'm not pushing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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