Hourly vs Salary?

[ultrarunner]

I think WoodChuckDad is right. This will be a whole new world with nothing prior relevant now. Worst case, you agree in writing to do all the same work in 40 hours. Then a new manager promoted from one of their other facilities will write you up when it takes too long to come in from that sailboat on Sunday.

I've had some incredible a***oles rotate through a temporary one year tryout as manager that they didn't succeed at. Worst case was a co-worker's wife bore a seriously defective baby and the co-worker was told that was no excuse to not travel out of town that week. Employee tried to explain the situation, manager told the employee in front of us if the baby is that bad take it back to the hospital and abandon it. (Baby died after a week). That 'manager' was the worst, but we saw a few others that made everyone miserable for a while. Another example two different novice managers didn't anticipate earned vacation time in their planning then went nuts when we used it by year-end, facing 'take it or lose it' rules.

Hopefully what's coming in Oakland is a lot better than worst case, but you mentioned a reputation for 'labor problems' so anything is possible. Maybe scout around a little?

I actually kept a 28' Pearson at Alameda Marina for a few years... it never failed when I was out on a great sail day for a problem to happen after hours... one time, back in the days of pagers it just about did it for me... some kids broke two soda bottles at patient discharge and I was paged in on a Sunday out on the Bay sailing to sweep it up...

This is why getting a clear understanding of the after hours call-out is critical to me.

Ended up selling the boat as I couldn't enjoy it.

That is a shame when a family experiences a personal tragedy... and the death of a child would have to be right there at the top.

 

[California]

A nurse making 100k contributing 6% to the 401k/403B would contribute $6,000 so a 50% match would be 3k

That sounds a lot better!

Sounds like you presently have a dream job. I hope the new circumstances are as good.

 

[LD1]

The on call would concern me to unless your compensated. I have friend who is a lineman for the power company. They rotate on-call weeks. How can a company honestly expect you to be in call 24/7/365 is beyond me. What if you want to have an occasional drink? Or be out of town?

I work to pay my bills. Nothing more. It's just a job that is a means to an end. Too many companies think you should be married to them. For me, there is nothing more important than enjoying life and spending time with my wife and kids. If my job no longer allows me to do that, then it will no longer be my job.

 

[California]

I work to pay my bills. Nothing more. It's just a job that is a means to an end. Too many companies think you should be married to them. For me, there is nothing more important than enjoying life and spending time with my wife and kids. If my job no longer allows me to do that, then it will no longer be my job.

Amen bro. After the mid-90's market run-up I realized the money I had been salting away for retirement had reached my target years sooner than I expected. I took early retirement at 54. It's the best decision I've ever made.

Life is for living. My best friend had died of work stress before 40 and that made a profound impression on me - work is to provide, it's not an end in itself. 18 years after retiring I've put two kids through college with no debt, and savings still equal the day I retired. I'm certain our living inexpensively in the first couple of decades married, working hard and saving like mad, was well worth the result.

 

[riptides]

One requirement in bold is that I must be available to respond to the Hospital 24/365 days per year unless on approved PTO or approved sick leave.

So let's say I've put in a 40 hour week and I'm sailing with friends on the San Francisco Bay and get the call to come into work ASAP... and the alarm or remedy takes 10 minutes... am I paid for 10 minutes or am I paid from when the call went out?

Another question is who exactly can approve or cause a call out?

One would think your questions should have answers that are readily available as the corporation has done this type of acquisition before. Farther down in your post, the HR person again gives a nebulous answer to your position on dealing with your Mom. These, to me, seem like basic policy-managerial-employee relationships that should already be known.

One of the HR people said not to take everything verbatim as there will be a phase in for all employees with adjustments.

But everything must have a written content to it. That is where the questions will arise from. This is a control point for the corporation - they can make adjustments, accordingly. One cannot agree to words and what is said anymore when it comes to a work relationship.

About a third of the staff have approached me asking for my advice... not a single one was pleased... maybe the other two thirds are pleased?

The change process is a highly emotional and stressful time. People will invariably play the negative card as it is easier to identify and creates a conversation point. Look for the positive. Be positive. At the very least, the corporation has extended you a job offer. That is something.

I'm more than willing to commit to fixed hours if it means my time is my time.

A great position to have. Your time. Base your decisions on that as a core, it is a most positive leverage point.

FWIW, it cannot hurt you to get a backup/back-out plan going. Get your resume together and start inquiring around. Perhaps find a good head-hunter to assist. That way you are prepared ever so slightly no matter your ultimate decision.

Best of luck.

 

[ultrarunner]

You guys have provided a lot of food for thought... and I do appreciate the sounding board.

Most in my family have been self employed... either farming or small independant business owners so there is little "In House" resource wise to pull from... especially in the corporate world. I was really the first in my family to have a corp job with at the time of hire all the big corp benefits... I think Dad was the happiest of all as him being self employed he was always working and paying his own way to support the family.

We had been told leading up to this week that little would be different workwise other than restoration of some benefits and a being part of a large entity instead of what had basically become a stand alone which is precarious position in Healthcare today.

I lot of my closests friends choose Law Enforcement and that goes for 12 of my High School friends... all have long been retired with retirements far greater than what is on the table at work so I'm no Spring Chicken as I continue to work.

The RN's have so far been the least affected group... for some Nurses it has meant raises tied to the acquisition and many have said greater opportunity for movement in a larger system.

For the rest... not so good.

Maybe I just need to learn how to maximize the system... Family Leave is clearly spelled out and I anticipate having a Mom with Alzheimer's this might be an avenue that would work.

Many, including those that have retired took advantage of the max 480 hours of accumulated sick leave... use it or lose it... thankfully I have never taken a "Sick" day as our Extended Sick time kicks in after 3 days... still, it took decades to accumulate and it is being wiped out.

I think what I need is to go the farm and do some Dozer work to clear my head... nothing like a few hours seat time to bring it all into focus.

 

[tcreeley]

Salary to hourly - main change will be that you no-longer have control over your hours and work done. They may limit your hours per week, no OT. And if you can't fulfill your job duties in that time period- they suggest you move on. That is the dismal outlook - that is the impersonal side of business.

We had an electrician full time on staff at my old school. He did many different things- from boilers, ventilation, new wiring, plumbing repairs. He did all of the things that no one knew how to do. He saved the district money with his fine tuning of the heat/ventilation system. After a new superintendent came on board - the need of "a full time electrician" was raised and this man was let go. No one was hired to pick up the slack. Quality slipped, things never ran as well again. - That's new management for you. The unspoken rule is "enough to get by" because that is "quality enough" if done right.

Good luck. - Keep the job, less stress, you already know your way around. -New job- same politics, just in a different location.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm taking what he said literally, they will match the first 6% of the employee's contribution.

I look at employee contributions from the opposite direction. Any time an employer matches any amount it's value to the employee to take advantage of it.

If he contributes 6% into his own retirement, he gets a 3% pay increase (their match).

 

[ovrszd]

I work to pay my bills. Nothing more. It's just a job that is a means to an end. Too many companies think you should be married to them. For me, there is nothing more important than enjoying life and spending time with my wife and kids. If my job no longer allows me to do that, then it will no longer be my job.

I was very good at my job. Known and respected worldwide. That caused my unit to be Deployed more than average. But it was honorable.

With all that said, my motto always was "My job is not my life, my job is how I pay for my life".

 

[PJSprog]

I think what I need is to go the farm and do some Dozer work to clear my head... nothing like a few hours seat time to bring it all into focus.

That's always good therapy, at least for me. One reason I never minded cutting grass; good alone time with your brain.