[focusracer]

As far as this goes, it all boils down to one thing. UNION!!!

Some wages are amazing for jobs comparatively. I sit at a desk all day, taking parts calls, dealing with customers, getting greasy and dirty once in a while. Pretty easy job really when I think about it. A friend of mine has been a member of the Vancouver Police Dept. for about 3 yrs now. I make more money than he does. I don't really have to worry about someone shooting me or going postal on me when I show up for a domestic dispute call or pulling someone over for a traffic violation.

Kind of messed up.

[NefCanuck]

I was going to remain quiet about this but I figure since we're all already sticking in our opinions what the hell eh?

Look, the "Sunshine Law" was a good idea in theory but all it does is create an atmosphere where people just see the magic 100K figure and go freakin' bananas that "their tax dollars" go to pay these salaries.

Reality check people, the money gets spent in the workers local economy, unless they're sponging off someone else. Not to mention that for the most part all you see is a number, not how the number is arrived at (EG: Like the example of the TTC collectors OT hours)

So what that means is you get a big sounding number that in reality ain't all that big <_<

NefCanuck

[FocusGuy7476]

mo_focus,Apr 2 2008, 09:07 PM Wrote:This guy is making 30$/hr and put in 20 hrs extra OT time over a week.

So lets brake it down a bit;
100k total salary-54k annualy=46K of overtime
46K/1000hrs= 46$/hr OT since 46$ is 1.5OT = aprox. 30$/Hr  Regular pay

As people have stated above this is not much for a guy who has to put up with abuse on a daily basis. This is obviosuly just a guestimate so you never know how much he really makes or how much of that OT is 1.5times or 2 times.
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think that those calculations are wrong, and the article is giving the correct info.

working 40 hours a week for one year is 2080 hours, not factored in is the at least 3 weeks or more of holidays in there and at a rate of $30 an hour it would come to $62,400 with out OT.

now with working 60 hours a week for one is 3120 hours in a year and is 1040 hours of OT $45 if its 1.5 and $60 if its 2.0. an employee would make $46,800 and 62,400 respectively.

that employee would could make up to $125,000 depending on the rate that overtime is calculated. even more if they work a stat holiday and overtime combined.

I agree with Sparky's examples there, and 1040 hours is considered part time work.

[Spinal]

1000 hours overtime or not, sitting on your fat ass DRIVING for a living must be really nice. they shouldn't be allowed to strike.

[OAC_Sparky]

focusracer,Apr 2 2008, 07:16 PM Wrote:As far as this goes, it all boils down to one thing. UNION!!!

Some wages are amazing for jobs comparatively. I sit at a desk all day, taking parts calls, dealing with customers, getting greasy and dirty once in a while. Pretty easy job really when I think about it. A friend of mine has been a member of the Vancouver Police Dept. for  about 3 yrs now. I make more money than he does. I don't really have to worry about someone shooting me or going postal on me when I show up for a domestic dispute call or  pulling someone over for a traffic violation.

Kind of messed up.
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You've just contradicted yourself. Police are Unionized. You are not. You make more. So explain how this is the Union's fault?

Bus drivers, truck drivers, dump truck operators, union or not, almost all get paid decently if they are willing to put in the hours. You might think of it as "sitting on your fat ass"; but you need to be licensed, responsible and be able to handle the stresses involved. It's not as easy as you think.

[FocusGuy7476]

they don't make $30/hour if they make 54,000 a year, more along the line of $25.96/hour. So all the figures here seen so far are wrong.

[OAC_Sparky]

NefCanuck,Apr 2 2008, 08:29 PM Wrote:Look, the "Sunshine Law" was a good idea in theory but all it does is create an atmosphere where people just see the magic 100K figure and go freakin' bananas that "their tax dollars" go to pay these salaries.[right][snapback]261103[/snapback][/right]

Agreed.

Public disclosure only looks at the bottom line. Not the hourly pay times hours worked. The magic $100k number wouldn't seem like a hell of a lot of money if you were working 80 hours a week (7 x 12 hour shifts) for a year. Trust me, I've done it.

This week is pay period 15. I've had one week vacation (March Break) and one day off since Christmas Day ie. Christmas Eve night shift. 8 hours a day, M-F and 10 hours Sat, Sun and Stat holidays. So far I've put in about 940 hours already this year. At this rate, I'll be somewhere around 3300 hours worked for the year. That's straight time, not counting overtime or shift premium.

But that's my choice. And I'm fine with that, so long as you're not pointing your finger about what my "gross" income is at the end of the year. I work nearly double the hours in the year than the average person, and probably pay 4X-5X the tax of the average person as well.

[darkpuppet]

OAC_Sparky,Apr 2 2008, 05:54 PM Wrote:I'm not disagreeing that you may deserve more, but unfortunately, you've chosen the career path you have. You went to school (chose to do that) got a job for the company working in your chosen occupation. You have to also weigh the positives to your job over what someone else has.

Compensation "not covering the cost of the schooling" is somewhat moot, as a doctor can't really complain about the cost of med school, a lawyer complaining about law school.

You should have had some idea of the compensation when you chose your career.

Getting into a company like the TTC or a government job is a craps shoot at best. It's hard to get into Ford without a post-secondary education now. Many, many people have degrees that work on the line.
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I'm not complaining about my career path per se... heck, I'm pushing for the promotion that'll lose me money because it's a great long term move. I'd rather get the promotion sooner than later, 'cause it's going to get harder and harder to ween myself off the OT crack... errr income....

And yes, I'm surprised by what some folks in other career paths make (even just base salary) for their jobs. And that's because there are times where I'm amazed at even how much I get paid for the work I do...

Any highschool student can do what I do in my opinion. Then again I'm also surprised how people I work with don't get the work we do... in the end, I really have to convince myself that I deserve more and work dilligently towards that end.

And not to pick on unions, but that's one of the great things about my job. Coporate politics permitting, my compensation is directly tied to my performance. I control my raises year to year... and you can't beat that kind of empowerment.

[naz]

i haven't read through this thread in detail but one thing that really jumped out at me....

"magic 100k mark"... does this imply 100k /yr is a lot of money? its friggin just about the poverty line, bare minimum salary.. i don't get what the big deal is?

[darkpuppet]

naz,Apr 3 2008, 12:44 PM Wrote:i haven't read through this thread in detail but one thing that really jumped out at me....

"magic 100k mark"... does this imply 100k /yr is a lot of money?  its friggin just about the poverty line, bare minimum salary.. i don't get what the big deal is?
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yeah, I can see that being considered poverty line in your neighbourhood.. .filled with mansions that have several gallardo's up on blocks in the front yard...

[OAC_Sparky]

naz,Apr 3 2008, 12:44 PM Wrote:i haven't read through this thread in detail but one thing that really jumped out at me....

"magic 100k mark"... does this imply 100k /yr is a lot of money?  its friggin just about the poverty line, bare minimum salary.. i don't get what the big deal is?
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In the GTA, Vancouver and Montreal that's about true (well, I can't say poverty level, but comfortable). But if you want to own a house in those three areas, it would be almost impossible not making that in combined income.

But in the real world (ie NOT the three cities above), yes, $100K is a lot of money.

[NikiterZTS]

in the real world a regular person (who's got some college or university)makes anywhere from 50 to 75K (thats usually what i see)
100K is alot of money........i guess Naz makes double then that lol

[focusracer]

Quote:You've just contradicted yourself. Police are Unionized. You are not. You make more. So explain how this is the Union's fault?

My apology, I should have said "SOME unions".

Guaranteed, they have a very good contract for full timers, which will have specifics about ot, vacation etc. A friend of mine is a partsperson in a union shop. He makes about 40% more than what I earn, gets a 4 day weekend every month in addition to holidays and vacation. He has so little product knowledge and doesn't care to learn because he knows that it's a big hoopla to get rid of him. If he does any OT, he gets 1.5 time for the first 4 hrs and then double time for the remaining 4 hrs of an 8 hr OT. If he goes over 48 hrs in a week (1 OT shift), he gets double time and a half for those shifts.

Quote:sitting on your fat ass DRIVING for a living must be really nice.

Have you ever been a professional driver? I'm guessing not. Think of how frustrated you get in rush hour traffic, now think if you had a bus full of bitching people (in this case) or a 30 ft long truck with a 53 ft trailer...

[naz]

NikiterZTS,Apr 3 2008, 05:32 PM Wrote:100K is alot of money..

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lets break this down a bit with some #s .. say 4yr out of college some dude is pulling 100k/yr give or take and lives in downtown sf.. figure that person's net income is $60k/yr after taxes, health insurance, 401k, etc etc are subtracted

so 5000/mo cash in hand to play with

rent for a 400sqft studio is around 2000/mo incl parking.. figure about 1000/mo for a cheap economy car like a wrx (350 payment, 100 insurance, 300 in fuel, 250 in random junk like parking, tolls, etc etc)... around 1000/mo in random spending (food, some shopping etc)

that's 4k spent already.. so 1k to save for a rainy day

12k/yr savings.. that's like.. change in the grand scheme of things.. that's not saving for retirement.. and forget about saving the $100k (~20% down) just to think about getting into the real estate game..

100k/yr gross is not a lot of money.. its 'comfortable survival' level of income.. it isn't going to get you out of 'poverty' (i define 'poverty' as living pay cheque to pay cheque)

250k/yr is unfortunately the 'magic number' because that allows you maintain the very modest lifestyle that i outlined above and have $$ left to plow into retirement and downpayment savings

[OAC_Sparky]

naz,Apr 4 2008, 01:44 AM Wrote:

NikiterZTS,Apr 3 2008, 05:32 PM Wrote:100K is alot of money..

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lets break this down a bit ...

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In certain areas of Mexico, I could live like a king on a $50g salary.

If you live in Tokyo, $250g is chump change.

But we don't live in Mexico, Tokyo, or San Francisco.

In the majority of Canada, to average people, $100k is a lot of money.

The numbers you are throwing out bear zero relevance to the topic at hand.

[naz]

OAC_Sparky,Apr 4 2008, 06:12 AM Wrote:In the majority of Canada, to average people, $100k is a lot of money.

The numbers you are throwing out bear zero relevance to the topic at hand.
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hey i'm just trying to give some perspective. ppl should spend less time bitching about what others make and more time making $$ themselves

[OAC_Sparky]

naz,Apr 4 2008, 01:01 PM Wrote:hey i'm just trying to give some perspective.  ppl should spend less time bitching about what others make and more time making $$ themselves
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Agree, 100%