Hi

I am new here.  I stumbled upon this forum while researching a project I am putting together and I think many of you can help.  My post is rather long, so please bear with me.  I could really use some help!

I have been the lead meat cutter of a family owned and operated grocery store for the last five years.  Although the store has been around for approx. 15 years, the full service meat/seafood department is relatively new and has only been in operation for roughly 6 years.

I am one of two meat cutters in the shop and our shop is one of the few that still breaks carcass meat.  I cut all the beef, lamb, pork, goat and fish and my other meat cutter maintains the case on my two days off and helps with misc. tasks on our overlapping days.  I also am responsible for ordering all of the raw meat from the local slaughterhouse as well as performing cut tests and calculating prices for both meat and seafood.  My manager maintains the other aspects of ordering (deli meats and cheeses, seafood, etc), advertising for the department and all other managerial duties (scheduling, discipline, collaboration with other departments, etc).  Clerks are responsible for helping customers (as we are full service), stocking/maintaining the retail deli meat section, grinding meats (burger, sausage) and must have a deep knowledge of cuts and cooking instructions of the meats/seafood we carry.  We are a non-union shop.

I am posting this because our wage scale is pitiful.  Clerks make minimum wage and cutters barely more.  My manager's wages are also pitiful, landing only a dollar or more an hour greater than cutters.  Cashiers in the store make roughly the same as cutters.  Wage increases are also minimal, and our ceiling is low.  As a skilled tradesman (well, actually woman) I feel our skills should be recognized and compensated.  I believe the owners of the store are not educated in the knowledge/skill that is required to operate a profitable full service meat/seafood department.  I plan to educate them by putting together a presentation that, amongst other things, includes a more appropriate wage scale for the work I/we do.  What I am asking from you is some information regarding the wage scale for meat cutters/managers/clerks in California, particularly in Northern California if possible.  I would like to know the range, from lowest to highest, union and non-union, small shops to large chains.  If you feel comfortable revealing your wages/wage scale, it would be incredibly helpful.  If revealing whom you work for is inappropriate, please do not do so but if you feel comfortable with that information, I would be grateful.  If you have any other information/resources regarding wage scales, I am all ears!  I am putting my ass on the line here for both myself and my department and I want my presentation to be flawless.  

Thank you for your time.

Hello Ally,

First I commend you for what you are taking on and wish you success.  I spent 28 years in the trade but left the trade and changed careers in 1995 due to declining wages and benefits.  I worked in a union shop for a major chain as a Chief Journeyman, which was the contractual title for Meat Dept. Manager. These were fairly high volume  operations doing about $100,000/week in fresh meat sales alone, not counting fish, deli, hot dogs, bacon, canned hams, etc. Total store sales were typically $650k to $1 million/week back in the 1980s-90s dollars.

When I left in 1995 I was making about $21/hour plus benefits. While at one time we received triple time on Sundays we were down to time and a half at that time, and double time on holidays.  While I felt the wages sucked I musty admit the medical benefits were excellent.

You should be prepared to leave if your presentation is unsuccessful.  The problem with meatcutting as a trade is that retail is a brutal business and companies have to stay competitive to survive, and the easiest cost to control is labor.

Jim

I keep reading that many jobs for welding, lathe operators, and machinists,go begging because there are not enough trade school graduates

in those fields, and that many companies are offering new trade school graduates starting rates of $30+/hr.

If you are getting less than this as a Journeyman meatcutter, the choice should be obvious.

As a tradesman, you will do best if you go where the demand is.