Amazon?

[Dftodd]

Why do you suppose union workers are the only ones with pensions?

Might want to research that. They aren't the only ones. There other businesses still out there offering pensions without being unionized.

 

[Dftodd]

How about sick leave? Paid vacations? Paid holidays? What went away with your parents' generation was collective bargaining. You strolled barefoot through hell, and got burned.

I get all of that now. I'm up to 4 weeks vacation a year. Get 5 sick days that are paid out in December if they haven't been used. Paid holidays plus 3 floaters that I can use when I feel like it.

I'm not in a union.

 

[Pixguy]

A pension is not the company's money, it's your money, earned with every hour you put in. The money goes into a shared pension account, and you draw on that according to investment returns and actuarial tables. Employees with no representation are so whipped they don't even ask.

Pensions are monies in addition to your wage the employer has agreed to add into the plan on your behalf

 

[Jstpssng]

I get all of that now. I'm up to 4 weeks vacation a year. Get 5 sick days that are paid out in December if they haven't been used. Paid holidays plus 3 floaters that I can use when I feel like it.

I'm not in a union.

I get all of the above except floaters, and the sick days are "use them or lose them." We also have short and long term disability; you hope not to need it but it was good to have when I was out for two surgeries last year. I could still have done some things on the computer but the HR head said "You have to be out for 5 days to qualify for disability, so I better not see any work charges on your time card."

 

[Dftodd]

I get all of the above except floaters, and the sick days are "use them or lose them." We also have short and long term disability; you hope not to need it but it was good to have when I was out for two surgeries last year. I could still have done some things on the computer but the HR head said "You have to be out for 5 days to qualify for disability, so I better not see any work charges on your time card."

We have all the insurance options plus quite a few health incentives to lower our out of pocket and for the company to kick in more.



They pay out the sick days as an incentive to not use them. I have 4 weeks vacation to use or lose. So I'll use vacation time for any doctors appointments.

We have 6 birthdays in November, 3 grandkids birthdays in december, plus thanksgiving and Christmas. That extra weeks pay for the sick time gets us through the holidays without having to dip into savings.

401k match up to 6%. And randomly give us 5 shares of stock. I think I'm up to 15 or 20 shares.

We have similar requirements for long term and short term disability. 2 eye care policies (eye glasses/contacts, prescription safety glasses) $175 towards work boots, $200 towards prescription safety glasses after run through insurance. So I put the out of pocket for my safety glasses on my company credit card and expense it out.

I've been able to put cold weather gear, muck boots, chest waiders, hi vis winter coat, insulated bibs, and other goodies on the expense account.

They will pay for 6 mental health visits with a shrink. Mental health coverage on insurance. Lawyer help if you need it. Plus a whole slew of other benefits that I can't list off the top of my head. When in doubt, I send an email out to our division HR rep.

The benefits book they send out is about the size of a text book.

And they send out random surveys about benefits to give employees the option to gripe and praise about what they like and what needs to be improved. And they actually do listen.

Companies listed in JB powers top 10 list of best employers regularly. #1 a few different times now.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I went to the company I now work for partially because they offered 10% match to 401k. It’s now reduced to 8%.
Previous company had mixed pension and 401k, then ended the pension. I can collect the pension my time now, but it didn’t grow after they ended it. They did put more in to 401k when they ended pension.
I also have a great leave package.
No union.

 

[JDZ735M]

Might want to research that. They aren't the only ones. There other businesses still out there offering pensions without being unionized.

Ours was a small firm but never unionized. Still we had a decent retirement plan(pension) that was 100% funded by the firm, a 401K, profit sharing plan, Stock ownership plan, and I was getting 6 weeks paid retirement when I retired, plus a company car.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Those returns are considerably less than what can be made investing in 401k plans.

Where did you get that shuck and jive? It's not true.

 

[jyoutz]

You're lucky. The forest products industry, at least in this part of northern New England is nowhere near what it was in the 70s, let alone the 50s. Lots of companies have gone toes up.

I'm not sure the two are related. Even we boomers were nowhere near as likely to stay with one company for years and years as our parents were. Younger generations even less so. Job hopping isn't seen negatively like it once was, and most have learned that it's pretty much a necessity if you want to move up.

The Forest products industry has declined everywhere in this country, with the reduced demand for pulpwood. The digital age has greatly reduced the demand for print media and all paper products (except toilet paper). This is an issue that is hampering forest management everywhere.

 

[PuffyC]

A pension is not the company's money, it's your money, earned with every hour you put in. The money goes into a shared pension account, and you draw on that according to investment returns and actuarial tables. Employees with no representation are so whipped they don't even ask.

My uncle spent his life working at GM and had a great pension. Then they went bankrupt and took most of “his” pension money away. Me, I never had a pension or a union but my employer has a 401k match. I’ll retire with far more wealth than he ever had no matter what may happen to the company and their finances.

 

[Jstpssng]

The Forest products industry has declined everywhere in this country, with the reduced demand for pulpwood. The digital age has greatly reduced the demand for print media and all paper products (except toilet paper). This is an issue that is hampering forest management everywhere.

Right now we can sell everything which gets cut. It may not be at a price we want to get, yet it all adds up. The forests are different here than out west; it's mostly second growth and much of the ground has been cut through several times in the last 100 years. Yet it keeps coming back. Plus, as I mentioned above, mills have expanded recently and are working to use the smaller wood which traditionally fell out of the stand due to competition.

 

[caver]

In southern Missouri all the sawmills appear busy. Pallet wood and RR ties. There's also a hardwood flooring mill I pass that has huge stacks of stickered oak.

 

[Torvy]

Where did you get that shuck and jive? It's not true.

No shuck and jive...how about we remain respectful...

Simple math. Most employers do a match. It can vary, but I have had multiple who gave 50% of the 1st 6%. So, if I invest 6% of my hypothetical 100k salary, that would be $6k. My employer matches that at 50% for a total of $9k. The beauty of compound interest over the course of 30 years. 9000/12=750 per month. Average rate of return in the stock market is 10% annually. That investment will grow to $1.7M in those 30 years. That money continues to produce income forever at 10%. That means over $170k per year and I still have $1.7M of my money to spend for emergencies or whatever...I can pull it out and go fishing, whatever. This is a conservative estimate. My actual rate of return over the past 30 years is closer to 40%. 10% is the average over the last 50 for the S&P.

Compound Interest Calculator | Investor.gov

Determine how much your money can grow using the power of compound interest.

www.investor.gov

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My uncle spent his life working at GM and had a great pension. Then they went bankrupt and took most of “his” pension money away. Me, I never had a pension or a union but my employer has a 401k match. I’ll retire with far more wealth than he ever had no matter what may happen to the company and their finances.

GM got screwed by O.

 

[Oaktree]

How about sick leave? Paid vacations? Paid holidays? What went away with your parents' generation was collective bargaining. You strolled barefoot through hell, and got burned.

Not sure what point you're trying to make. Not everyone in my parents' generation belonged to a union, though more so than today, but it was a different time. Neither of my parents did.
Not sure how I got "burned" by never working for a company with a pension. I've done OK for myself. If someone psssed away every dime and never saved for the future, that's on them.

 

[Pixguy]

The union benefits of the boomer generation were unsustainable and the main reason companies fled to SE Asia.

I could not raise my prices high enough and still attract customers if i offered half of the benefits some received.

 

[Oaktree]

Right now we can sell everything which gets cut. It may not be at a price we want to get, yet it all adds up. The forests are different here than out west; it's mostly second growth and much of the ground has been cut through several times in the last 100 years. Yet it keeps coming back. Plus, as I mentioned above, mills have expanded recently and are working to use the smaller wood which traditionally fell out of the stand due to competition.

Logging activity around here has picked up a lot in the past 3-4 years, not sure where it's all going. The paper mills are all gone, and most of the biomass power plants were shut down due to pricing disputes with Eversource (electric company). Still a few furniture makers around, but even they're not what they once were. Local firewood dealer seems to be doing quite the business, but I doubt they're accounting for even half the increased cutting.

 

[Pixguy]

 

[Dftodd]

Logging activity around here has picked up a lot in the past 3-4 years, not sure where it's all going. The paper mills are all gone, and most of the biomass power plants were shut down due to pricing disputes with Eversource (electric company). Still a few furniture makers around, but even they're not what they once were. Local firewood dealer seems to be doing quite the business, but I doubt they're accounting for even half the increased cutting.

Maybe to make up for that TP shortage last year

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Why do you suppose union workers are the only ones with pensions?

I don't recall saying that.