CONS
- CHECK YOUR HOURS at the end of the week & screenshot them. One of my coworkers noticed about a month in that her paychecks were reflecting as though she was working 30 hrs and not the 40+ hours she had been. It took them another 2 weeks to get it sorted out but when they finally did they owed her $1000 back pay
- screenshot the hourly rate stated on the application page. two of my coworkers applied for the project when it was posted for $17/hr (for me and my other coworkers it was $16/hr) however they have been getting paid ) $16/hr this whole time even after mentioning the discrepancy early into the project. Neither took screenshots I believe so unfortunately that's probably why their pay has mot been adjusted.
- Each project is different due to different managers and supervisors. From what I hear my current project is the worst and most disorganized project any of the seasoned travelers/trainers have worked. And they come from a variety of states and distances. Also temporary supervisors who have helped on our project (due to our consistently low head count) have also mentioned how disorganized and chaotic our particular project is.
- each one project pays different and because travelers can't choose projects you may be assigned to ones that are normally $18/hr and then suddenly moved to one paying $16/hr
- Because each project is different you may end up with a manager/supervisor team who will throw entry level workers under the bus or straight up lie to avoid being reprimanded by their superiors or try to get rid of employees who ask too many questions.
- my current project has not provided a lot of the PPE described in the trainings. Gloves, hard hats, box cutters etc. And many people on this project have gotten injured due to that or due to management making risky calls on moves (such as putting soapon the floor ro move a heavy gondola instead of using skates) or setting mods without clearly communicating with the people doing the move resulting in an injury. (Of the 25ish of us who started on this project only 6 are left due to the conditions. new ppl don't last long and most of travelers sent to help is reach head count would prefer (and even request) not to come back to our specific project). And there's so much more I could say about this particular project with receipts/witnesses to confirm it. So again I will reiterate....you cannot choose your project as a traveler/trainer and even as a local your options may be limited.
-travelers cannot miss too many days due to having transportation, lodging, and meal vouchers. They also cannot choose their hotel which changes each week or bi monthly dependent upon the distance they travel. Some are decent some are not. One traveler had two men try to break into her hotel room rhe week of 9/19/21 and our manager laughed when he heard it (before realizing the person telling him was talking about it happening to a employee not a random stranger (and even so that's still not funny)
- not a safe job for those part of the deaf community or those hard of hearing if the management if that particular project do not stress communicating before doing something behind you that could hurt you.
- (for this particular project) it's not been a welcoming environment for non-binary or those part of the transgender community. I'm not even out to my coworkers based on comments made throughout the project. Ppl also seem to really like using the "R" word on this project in lieu of cursing.
- favoritism
- no talk of bonuses for those who have worked the project from the beginning with low headcount 90% of the project thus far
- VERY physically demanding (you will have bruises all over your body)
The list goes on
Like I said in the title...it's an emotional/psychological Russian Roulette. Oh and if you get a project with a bleach blonde older white woman as a supervisor whose name rhymes with Sharice...prepare to be gaslighted, lied about, and thrown under the bus. And be told to do things in the most inefficient ways possible bit receive no help with those tasks even if you mentioned at the beginning there was a much more efficient way to do it.