I started with MCI in 1983 wiring on a CO frame. MCI was non-union hence there was no job security/negotiated raises. Advancement was merit based and job security was achieved by doing a good job. A couple of ex Bell/Union employees that worked along side me use to give me grief about working to fast. Their mentality was that I was taking away someones job. I was not restricred to what I was authorized to work on be it switch, mux, frame,etc. I learned quick. After 6 months I was promoted, a year later promoted a year later promoted again so on and so forth. In the early days I was acheving 17% raises. 5 % for the promotion and 12% merit/required amount to get me to the minimum of the next pay scale. I moved up rapidly a soon became a non-exempt engineer and continued to advance rapidly through the engineering ranks. The merit raises have slowed down as I'm topped out in band 6 but that's not a bad place to be. We have had many RIFS over the years but If your good you survive regardless of seniority. Even those that get A RIF typically find another job in a month or two. Having marketable skills helps. I can sympathize with the extreme oversight/GPS tracking the union is forced to endure but how much of that is a result of the "bad apples" that do the very mimimum to get by knowing they have job security?
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If OP started with MCI in '83 he had a pretty big 401K that got ripped by Ebbers. i know cause my SO had about $150K and ended up collecting $6K after bankruptcy. probably the same folks that are tabulating 'first dispatch resolution' metrics.
ngy
You must have went to a grate "collage"
CGX:
The 17% raise was back in 1983 with MCI and was required to bring me to the minimum of the next job classification. The point I was making is in a merit based system you have the opportunity to acchieve much more then a negotiated increase for a group ( 7.5 % over three years).
That's funny, cgx. No one in my group is under 50. The people riffed over the last several years were all younger but less productive. Maybe what you say happens, but I still say that if you are worth keeping and have any or all of the requisite certifications (MBA, CPA, etc.) and are not an overpaid dinosaur who will never get what they make here elsewhere, then you have a very good chance of staying on somewhere if you get riffed. I see high-skilled riffed colleagues all over the place in other jobs. Still if I get riffed, then I take my package and get another job. Life goes on.
That would be Missy and why don't you read Sold Out instead of lecturing me on history.
GPS tracking isn't about about "bad apples", it's about trying to squeeze more juice out of the orange. It's no different than call center answer / completion time or other metrics. Scrutinize the outliers, regardless of cause, quality of work, or customer experience.
Your 17% per yer pay raises is absolute smoke. Merit range was, in the best of years, 0- 5%, with not more than 10% of your VPs org getting the 5%. A 10% bump could only come at moving from one band to the next higher. Btw, you need to watch your back, as VZ HR explicitly, openly targets >49 yr old employees with high penetration in their wage band. Performance rating has zero to do with your retention (unless you're a D...developing or U...unsatisfactory).
I was a Director for many years, left VZ not quite 2 years ago, and kept copies of the "de-selection" reports....age, gender, race, workgroup, years of service, title (no names though). All but 2 out of the identified 34 on the last report I saw that were over 49 were RIF'd. No one under 35. Vz HR is deeply committed to driving down the average salary and benefits for its management workforce.
Union, please keep up the good fight against workforce culling....
I've seen many a good employee riffed and my experience is that there is almost always a way to save the very best, usually by another group picking them up. These riffs seem to be very effective at getting rid of the dead weight. Yes, there is collateral damage and some good ones are lost, but like I said, I've seen many, many of the best get picked up elsewhere in the company.
@HeAOeNN-zai , happens all the time , that why they have age discrimination lawsuits, Verizon lost one a few years bag. Study your history sonny.
It doesn't appear that hard work helped the over 5000 Verizon employees that were laid off last year alone, Money trumps hard work. You can't be that ignorant.
Interesting statement - not understanding why someone expects a job for life. I'm trying to think of a relative, my relatives are all American of course, that didn't retire from the place where they worked. Can't recall any of them getting the boot because they were over 50 and had a lot of vacation and I guess I should add have to pee more than once or twice a day. Get yourself a bag of popcorn and watch Logan's Run.
@HeAOeNN-gju , hahahahaha you got undressed in a public forum, now go take your meds, you have hangers issues,
To the OP: You are quite right, nothing replaces hard work! You are a great example of what hard work brings to the table.
Hard workers have their own job security and get ahead on their own. They don't need a union to protect them and influence them to be mediocre at what they do. Kudos to you!
@HeAOeNN-rxe Get the f--- out of here, you union troll!
thk,
Your are correct, troll post , and answering their own post.
ehs: Bravo! You are exactly right.
The union tends to be almost a pyramid scheme with the young workers used as pawns; the young workers who work hard (like you did) would be bullied and held back by the senior guys who don't want to be made to look bad. Being a top producer and getting ahead in union is impossible.
Unions tend to trade hard work in for long-term job security with minimal opportunity to advance. It's great for people who want to do the bare minimum and keep their job, but terrible for highly motivated people who want to be a CEO some day.
ehs , Please read the post , your answer is off on a tangent. BTW young employees in most business pay the price and are expendable, union or not.
I agree that even good people can be RIF'D. But if your'e good you can find another job. I don't understand why people think that a company owes them a job for life. You get paid for the work you do. I get love and lifelong commitment from my family not my employer. The way the Verizon union is currently structured the younger employees are just cannon fodder when a surplus is declared regardless of how good they are. In my opinion they would better off in a merit based system where the advancement and pay increases are based on performance.
not that old.
I started as a officer in the USAF in 83, after graduating collage.
IN my mid 50's now.
Sonny, it's not always true "if your good you get to stay". Many good employees got RIF'D. You can't be that naïve.
My god your old. Time to retire...