# My company isn't giving me my raise after completing my first semester of schooling



## dg628 (Jan 9, 2020)

We finished back in may but we didn't get grades until a week later. So I called and asked HR and they said it should be on my next check. It wasn't and I was explained sometimes it takes awhile for abc to submit the grades to the employer. 

No problem I thought. 



Here I am a month later and my next check still says 18/$ hr. this being a non union shop , I'm gonna assume I have no recourse and just suck it up? 

I've been with this company almost a year and have never had an initial raise but in their defense you only learn so much in the first year. 

I'm not working through ABC as a contractor , my employer is sending me through the indentured 4 year schooling program btw. 

The PM never replied to my email either.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

With everyone working from home things are all screwed up or they use that excuse.
Do you have a written agreement that it will be upon completion? My advice is to make sure you follow the chain of command when inquiring about this. Let your foreman/boss push it.


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## Vladaar (Mar 9, 2021)

dg628 said:


> We finished back in may but we didn't get grades until a week later. So I called and asked HR and they said it should be on my next check. It wasn't and I was explained sometimes it takes awhile for abc to submit the grades to the employer.
> 
> No problem I thought.
> 
> ...



Where you work at? $18 a hour is great for starting apprentice wage non-union. You must live in a big city?


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

I paid for my own schooling so no employer would "own" me. Be willing to shop around when you're non-union. It was the only way I could guarantee I would get a raise every year. 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


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## u2slow (Jan 2, 2014)

I would suck it up and carry on. It's hard enough to get indentured quickly, or find an employer willing to pay for school.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

dg628 said:


> We finished back in may but we didn't get grades until a week later. So I called and asked HR and they said it should be on my next check. It wasn't and I was explained sometimes it takes awhile for abc to submit the grades to the employer.
> 
> No problem I thought.
> 
> ...


You are entirely on your own. Hit the bricks and start putting out feelers and resumes. 1 yr. experience and 1 year schooling opens a lot more doors than 0/0. You say you're not working for an ABC contractor rather some other entity that is sending you through an ABC apprenticeship? Are they paying for it? Is this some kind of factory or maintenance or municipal position?


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## Easy (Oct 18, 2017)

If they promised you a raise then you need to let them know how you feel about not getting one. The squeaky wheel gets greased. Or so they say.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

Easy said:


> If they promised you a raise then you need to let them know how you feel about not getting one. The squeaky wheel gets greased. Or so they say.


Or changed


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## Jimmyltd (Apr 27, 2021)

just the cowboy said:


> Or changed


Better to speak your mind and know where you stand with them than to harbor ill feelings and resentment towards your career.


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## u2slow (Jan 2, 2014)

Wasn't there another apprentice recently on this forum who spoke his mind? (about not getting indentured right away) ...and no longer has that job?

Just sayin'...


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

I don't know why people think that because they went to school or got their license they automatically should get a raise. Your work output is key as well as your attitude and work ethics. Those characteristioc are worth more than any piece of paper. $18 an hour is not bad for a newbie


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

Everything in business has to be done in a orderly fashion yet you are seeing this as a personnel attack.

So you called hr and though that all they had to do was type in a new pay rate and bobs your uncle next week you earn more money. Well im sorry to inform you the world doesn't work that way unless you are in a small shop. .

Firstly hr has to get proof from the school and it probably needs to be on a letter head paper as a e-mail is un-acceptable.
Next they will fill in a form with attached letter from the school and some personnel records requesting a raise. This will require a bunch of signatures, your supervisor, his supervisor etc and that takes time as it probably all being done on paper. 
Finally it will end on someones desk that has the authority to change your pay rate. He/She will sign then send back to hr
Hr will transfer to accounts who will make the change.

Before covid this could take a while. During covid it became a nightmare as the paperwork constantly needed to be chased down and pushed and its hard to have the private little chats that grease the wheels when no one is in the same office. (remember the people higher up probably have no idea who you are or what you do so they may have questions).

Be professional and inform your supervisor that you have not received your raise yet. If i was your boss i would tell you im looking into it then walk around the corner and start cursing as it means ive got to deal with Hr and play chase the paperwork which is a pain in the arse.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

gpop said:


> Everything in business has to be done in a orderly fashion yet you are seeing this as a personnel attack.
> 
> So you called hr and though that all they had to do was type in a new pay rate and bobs your uncle next week you earn more money. Well im sorry to inform you the world doesn't work that way unless you are in a small shop.
> 
> ...





just the cowboy said:


> With everyone working from home things are all screwed up or they use that excuse.
> Do you have a written agreement that it will be upon completion? My advice is to make sure you follow the chain of command when inquiring about this. Let your foreman/boss push it.


@gpop Some days we think so much alike I think we have the same job.


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## Electrical SME (Jun 8, 2021)

HI,
1. You state you are an Apprentice, not union, as apprentices really are not union, just go to the union school. Is your shop Independent Electrical Contractor (IEC)? You stated that the school is indentured. BY WHO?? the Department of Labor is the only place to be indentured. As a 4 year sounds to be.
2. Just because you have your grades does not meet the requirement of your raise. Approved DOL Apprenticeship programs require (1) you complete and pass each semester. (2) you complete 1000 hours of on the job training(OJT). So if you start in Sept for school and finish in Jan. You will not get a raise until late Feb or first week or March. If your second semester, then start in Jan and you wont get your raise until about first week of July. A 1000 hours takes 6 months. The approved standard for the Dept of Labor apprenticeship programs like the Union and the IEC do not allow hours to be started before the first day of school.
This is a sticky point with alot of apprentices that work overtime. If you are in your 5th semester and work a bunch of overtime. You get your raise earlier, but the hours do NOT accrue to the next semester, as you can not get hours in advance. Check the time you started your semester, check your hours, add them up from your checks, be professional, and once you have it all, then approach your HR person. 
Good Luck, 
John
Master Electrician
IEC 4th year instructor for over 11 years.


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## Electrical SME (Jun 8, 2021)

dg628 said:


> We finished back in may but we didn't get grades until a week later. So I called and asked HR and they said it should be on my next check. It wasn't and I was explained sometimes it takes awhile for abc to submit the grades to the employer.
> 
> No problem I thought.
> 
> ...


I replied in the wrong spot, look below for your apprentice facts and answer for raises. Good luck


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

@Electrical SME 
Welcome John
Good advice. We get tons of questions about hours worked and raises, unfortunately many people are mislead as to what they are hired as. 
Since you are new here don't worry when someone don't answer a question on subjects like this, most times they don't like our answers because it's not what they want to hear. Also if you click on their name and check discussions you see that a lot are complainers anyway.

Cowboy


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## NoBot (Oct 12, 2019)

Did they hold the first paycheck when you started? Is your most recent paycheck for hours worked a week or two ago? The increase may have gone through but you haven't received those hours yet. I'd give it two weeks and then ask for the raise and back pay.


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## oldsparky52 (Feb 25, 2020)

My 1st helper job was for $2.25/hour, non union (by a union guy). I had to quit to get a raise to $2.50. 

My experience with the non union crowd is just like others have pointed out, you are on your own in negotiating your pay. 

It's a good time to look for a job, but I'm not sure how long this will last.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

oldsparky52 said:


> My 1st helper job was for $2.25/hour, non union (by a union guy). I had to quit to get a raise to $2.50.
> 
> My experience with the non union crowd is just like others have pointed out, you are on your own in negotiating your pay.
> 
> It's a good time to look for a job, but I'm not sure how long this will last.


$2.30 here as a light bulb washer, we washed fluorescent light fixtures and bulbs. BUT it was electrical experience.
I can't imagine any kid now a days doing that.


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## 210860 (Apr 12, 2021)

oldsparky52 said:


> My 1st helper job was for $2.25/hour, non union (by a union guy). I had to quit to get a raise to $2.50.
> 
> My experience with the non union crowd is just like others have pointed out, you are on your own in negotiating your pay.
> 
> It's a good time to look for a job, but I'm not sure how long this will last.


I can remember this rate of pay for Electrical helpers, very same amount when I started. Believe my pay raising up to $2.50hr, when minimum wage increased (remembering about $82.00wk after taxes). The Electrician's wages, they were around $6.00-$7.00hr back then.. Both of your statements in the first & second sentences "oldsparky52" are in parallel @ my time entering this craft.

Tipp'in me hat sir..


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## Puzzlewrecker (Nov 14, 2021)

Vladaar said:


> Where you work at? $18 a hour is great for starting apprentice wage non-union. You must live in a big city?


Over in Western ND Starting is 22/hr up to 26/hr for Apprentices (nonunion wages). Downside is you'll have a min 55 hrs per week.


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

I remember my first job as an electrician(Systems Mechanic), I think it was $12.25 an hour. The next job was almost $5 an hour more about 4 years later. That second job was IBEW. I don’t even get out of bed now until someone starts waving $100 bills at me.


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