People working the same job in the same company might get different pay depending on their experience, skills and how long they have been there. It's logical to assume that the one that has remained at the company longer and has more experience and skills is getting paid more.
Turns out, that is not always the case. Redditor Equallyraisin realized she was getting paid less than a newbie that she had to train and came to the internet to vent. People online were really supportive and in less than 12 hours, the post had already been upvoted over 36k times by those as exasperated at the unfairness as the OP herself.
More info: Reddit
Female machinist just found out that a new employee she was supposed to train was earning more at the job, having just entered the company, than her
Image credits: bandita (not the actual photo)
The Original Poster (OP) is a machinist who happens to be a woman and it is known that they are the minority in the profession. According to Zippia, there are over 330k machinists currently employed in the US and only 7.4 percent of them are women.
She recently found out that she was being paid less than a new person coming in that she had to train, which sounds bizarre, because first of all, the OP is the one training the new employee; she is higher in hierarchy, she has experience and knowledge about the job, but her work somehow is valued less.
When Bored Panda got in touch with Equallyraisin she told us that the trainee told her how much he made and that is how she found out. Understandably, she was shocked and infuriated.
She went to her supervisor and he promised to look into it but it has been a few days and the OP decided not to wait any longer
Image credits: Equallyraisin
Equallyraisin wasn’t going to stay silent and confronted her supervisor in a “respectful and objective way,” as she described it. The supervisor promised her to look into it, but after three days, the OP had heard no word about it.
She was not wasting time and after realizing the company didn’t want her to stay enough to give her a raise, the machinist found another job where they offered $5 more per hour. The woman is planning on putting in her two weeks' notice after July 4th.
She has already found a new job with higher pay and is planning to give her two weeks' notice on July 4th
She would have been fine with having the same wage as the trainee, but what bothered her was the company's lack of initiative to solve the issue
That means they will have to find another person to train the new employee who, according to Equallyraisin, can’t tell an Allen wrench and a pipe wrench apart, which is essential knowledge to the job, and is scared of operating a forklift or a crane.
The thing is that if the supervisor had made sure she got her salary increased, she would have stayed. She wouldn’t have even minded getting the same pay as the newbie, which would have been 75 cents more than she gets now.
On top of that, the OP doesn't think the new employee will last long, as he seems quite intimidated by the machines he should operate and lacks knowledge
Image source: Visitor7 (not the actual photo)
The machinist believes that the company won’t stand long without her and will be struggling greatly. In the comments, she said, “They're going to lose an insane amount of money when I leave. I have kept us ahead of schedule since I've been there.”
She is also concerned about the new employee as he doesn’t look like the right person for the job, “Newbie watched me rotate a gearbox yesterday using a 10 ton crane and a jib crane and acted like I was Jesus Christ, said to me, ‘I don't believe I'll ever be able to do that, glad I have you here.’”
People in the comments were sharing their own experiences of not getting a fair wage and were happy that the OP quickly found something new
They also considered giving a notice generous and suggested taking those two weeks off before starting a new job
People in the comments were quite appalled that this woman was underpaid and that the company wasn’t doing anything to fix the situation, although quite a few of them related to her. They were happy that she managed to get a job with a significantly higher salary and were suggesting she not stay in the company any longer.
Redditors considered the OP giving two weeks' notice and staying there for so long as being too generous. Many of them pointed out that she should take care of herself and take some rest before starting a new job.
However, the comments didn't convince Equallyraisin to do it because she needs the money but otherwise she would have taken those two weeks off. Although, the OP isn't convinced that the company will allow to work the full two weeks anyway because when someone handed in their two weeks notices previously, they were told to leave right away.
It's hard to say why the OP was getting paid less, but seeing as she introduced herself as a female machinist, it may have something to do with her gender
It seems the OP is quite an important employee and it’s hard to find an explanation for why a new person coming in would be paid more than her. One of the things that comes to mind is the gender pay gap and women not being recognized in male-dominant professions, as the story starts with the OP introducing herself as a female machinist.
The OP confirmed that she absolutely thinks that she is paid less only because she is a woman. She told us, "Because I am a very hard worker, and I can think of no reason why."
According to Payscale, when a man and a woman have the same job and qualifications, for every dollar that a man earns, a woman is paid 99 cents. In general, women earn 82 cents for every dollar a man does because female-dominated professions are paid less.
It is quite possible as the gender pay gap is still an issue and it is harder for women to acquire recognition in male-dominated industries
The OP and her trainee are in the same industry and she has more qualifications and responsibilities at the job, but is paid less, which contributes to the gender pay gap, but fortunately she was able to find a solution.
Do you think the female machinist was paid less because of her gender? Have you ever realized you were being paid less than your colleagues at the same job or when you had a higher position? Let us know your thoughts and tell us about your experiences in the comments.