# Newly hired salt truck operator



## T.BlueJay (Nov 4, 2021)

Hey guys, glad I found this site and looking for some direction/advice. I’m up in Toronto and got hired on to a decently known landscaping company for the winter as a salt truck operator. Technically I’m hired and an employee until the season ends which is April 1st. My paygrade will be $25 an hour with no standby. I’m kind of worried if I’m getting shafted as I see a lot of employers offering standby pay as well as good wages. Are there any other salters here who could give me a breakdown of how many hours I could expect for the season? I know I could have asked a bunch of questions at the interview but I didn’t want to set off any triggers right away and wanted to land the job. I do have no experience operating snow maintenance vehicles sonIncould understand being at the bottom of the pay scale. 

P.s what other gigs do you guys donto fill in your time? 

Any advice or criticism is appreciated. Thanks guys.


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## Fourteen Contracting Inc. (Jul 5, 2019)

T.BlueJay said:


> Hey guys, glad I found this site and looking for some direction/advice. I'm up in Toronto and got hired on to a decently known landscaping company for the winter as a salt truck operator. Technically I'm hired and an employee until the season ends which is April 1st. My paygrade will be $25 an hour with no standby. I'm kind of worried if I'm getting shafted as I see a lot of employers offering standby pay as well as good wages. Are there any other salters here who could give me a breakdown of how many hours I could expect for the season? I know I could have asked a bunch of questions at the interview but I didn't want to set off any triggers right away and wanted to land the job. I do have no experience operating snow maintenance vehicles sonIncould understand being at the bottom of the pay scale.
> 
> P.s what other gigs do you guys donto fill in your time?
> 
> Any advice or criticism is appreciated. Thanks guys.


Welcome to the site, I'm close by. In terms of how many hours you can expect, you should ask your new employer how long your route is (in hours). Once you've determined that you can multiply it by the average amount of saltings and come up with an answer. 
Are you getting shafted? No, not really. You have no experience and you'll be getting paid for the hours that you work. 
However, from an employer point of view I don't know why they would want to jeopardize you going to a different job with steadier pay. I don't really understand this approach as an employer.
I would say jump on a construction crew as a labourer to fill the hours. Explain to the owner about your situation with the landscaping company. 
Hope that helps. Which landscaping company are you working for?


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## SilverPine (Dec 7, 2018)

Fourteen Contracting Inc. said:


> Hope that helps. Which landscaping company are you working for?


Careful, your employer could be one of us.


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## SilverPine (Dec 7, 2018)

Like I've said many times, hourly sucks for everyone in the winter. There's always a loser.
A type of salary is always best for both the employer and the employee, assuming they aren't getting payed per event.

As for additional income. When I first started as an employee I was on the large commercial route with everything needing to be done overnight. It gave me a chance for a second job during the day doing construction. I was pretty burnt out but made quite a lot during the winter, especially for the age I was. If you do decide on something during off hours, make sure the new employer knows your situation to save some future headaches.

Good luck with your first winter!


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## T.BlueJay (Nov 4, 2021)

Fourteen Contracting Inc. said:


> Welcome to the site, I'm close by. In terms of how many hours you can expect, you should ask your new employer how long your route is (in hours). Once you've determined that you can multiply it by the average amount of saltings and come up with an answer.
> Are you getting shafted? No, not really. You have no experience and you'll be getting paid for the hours that you work.
> However, from an employer point of view I don't know why they would want to jeopardize you going to a different job with steadier pay. I don't really understand this approach as an employer.
> I would say jump on a construction crew as a labourer to fill the hours. Explain to the owner about your situation with the landscaping company.
> Hope that helps. Which landscaping company are you working for?


Hey neighbour haha. Every other posting I see mentions the standby pay and I was u see the impression this job would be the same but when I did mention it, it was shot down. Only plowers recieve it apparently as they get less work. I'm glad I get to join them as I have no experience where as all postings require a year or 2. I have a lengthy driving/courier/dispatching resume which probably helped.

I dont want to doxx myself and say what company but I believe they will have plenty of clients to service. How often does a salting for a location? If there is an inch of snow will that need a salting? I will ask all my questions during training when we that is..


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## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

Now that everyone knows what you're paid all the other ones lookin for guys with insurable licences will be PMing you...


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## Fourteen Contracting Inc. (Jul 5, 2019)

Mr.Markus said:


> Now that everyone knows what you're paid all the other ones lookin for guys with insurable licences will be PMing you...


So I take it he's not working for you MM?


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## Fourteen Contracting Inc. (Jul 5, 2019)

T.BlueJay said:


> Hey neighbour haha. Every other posting I see mentions the standby pay and I was u see the impression this job would be the same but when I did mention it, it was shot down. Only plowers recieve it apparently as they get less work. I'm glad I get to join them as I have no experience where as all postings require a year or 2. I have a lengthy driving/courier/dispatching resume which probably helped.
> 
> I dont want to doxx myself and say what company but I believe they will have plenty of clients to service. How often does a salting for a location? If there is an inch of snow will that need a salting? I will ask all my questions during training when we that is..


Fair enough, suppose that was a silly question to ask on a public forum. 
I suppose I understand the company policy about stand by pay, though I'm in the same line of thinking as @SilverPine. 
In terms of salting, you will be going out after the plow trucks have cleared the lot of snow and sometimes, if there isn't enough snow to call out the plow trucks, you'll be going out as well to ethically apply the salt. 
You'll also be going out for freezing rain events..... especially for freezing rain events.


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## DeVries (Nov 27, 2007)

FWIW we average 47 events for our drivers on their routes. 

Not sure if you know how many hours your route would be.


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## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

Fourteen Contracting Inc. said:


> So I take it he's not working for you MM?


I hear theres a guy in Cobourg thatll give you $50k to start, but you cant be his friend , your children cant be friends, your dogs cant be friends... and you have to show up everyday whether its snowing or not to pick up litter....


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## T.BlueJay (Nov 4, 2021)

DeVries said:


> FWIW we average 47 events for our drivers on their routes.
> 
> Not sure if you know how many hours your route would be.


I'm assuming an event is a shift? What Is the average hours on a route where you are? Seeing all these job postings I'm definitely question why it seems like a high turnover position. I'd assume most of the landscaping guys would just substitute in as snow maintainance. Also thank you and to everyone else for the input. It's much appreciated.


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## DeVries (Nov 27, 2007)

T.BlueJay said:


> I'm assuming an event is a shift? What Is the average hours on a route where you are? Seeing all these job postings I'm definitely question why it seems like a high turnover position. I'd assume most of the landscaping guys would just substitute in as snow maintainance. Also thank you and to everyone else for the input. It's much appreciated.


Our route per truck is approximately 5 hours. That's for a full run. Not a site check where your just spot salting. 
Yes an event is anything your called out for.


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## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

Wow, you don’t know a lot about this job you just took. I’m surprised all these questions weren’t addressed by you and the employer. It’s good you got the job though and are willing to work. Driving a salt truck around is cake. 
I was always against paying snow employees a salary. They almost all got unemployment or another job on the side. Most of the ones with day jobs, weren’t available to go out during day events and night events they were garbage because they were tired from the day job. That wasn’t always the case, a few guys could pull it off, but most couldn’t. I’m not paying you to work for someone else. And really I couldn’t afford to pay salaries because I didn’t know how much snow work I would get. I was a small business though, I suppose the bigger ones doing lots of seasonal contracts know what they got coming in for the most part. 
Just drive carefully and don’t mess up the equipment. Be on time and always available when called out. Once they know they can count on you, you could really get yourself a nice job. There’s money to be made for great employees, but you gotta be low person on the totem pole for a while. 
Good luck to you.


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