• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

$6 an hour?

Did I read that wrong, or is there actually an ad on All Access for Traffic Reporters in Houston paying $6 an hour?

How in the world could that be right? What's minimum wage?<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Oscar on 09/28/05 01:11 AM.</FONT></P>
 
> Did I read that wrong, or is there actually an ad on All
> Access for Traffic Reporters in Houston paying $6 an hour?
>
> How in the world could that be right? What's minimum wage?
>
Minimum wage is currently $5.15 in Texas. According to wikipedia minimum wage in the state of kansas is a pitiful $2.65 an hour (applies only when the federal fair labor standards act does not). Washington State has the highest state wide Minimum wage at $7.35 an hour. San Fransico has the highest just as a city at $8.50 an hour.
 
Wouldn't doubt it...but if someone takes the job they don't have to offer more.<P ID="signature">______________
Greetings from Ohio-where the governor wants everyone to know he's sorry.</P>
 
> Wouldn't doubt it...but if someone takes the job they don't
> have to offer more.
>
You can make 2 to 3 times that delivering pizza. So if you do traffic reports while delivering pizza, maybe 20 bucks an hour! Might almost pay for your gas!
 
> > Did I read that wrong, or is there actually an ad on All
> > Access for Traffic Reporters in Houston paying $6 an hour?
>
> >
> > How in the world could that be right? What's minimum
> wage?
> >
> Minimum wage is currently $5.15 in Texas. According to
> wikipedia minimum wage in the state of kansas is a pitiful
> $2.65 an hour (applies only when the federal fair labor
> standards act does not). Washington State has the highest
> state wide Minimum wage at $7.35 an hour. San Fransico has
> the highest just as a city at $8.50 an hour.
>
Minimum wage in Ohio is also below the Federal wage. I'm personally for ending minimum wage and letting the market decide rates. However, radio wages may be less than prison wages as there would always be someone willing to do a shift for free.
 
> > > Did I read that wrong, or is there actually an ad on All
>
> > > Access for Traffic Reporters in Houston paying $6 an
> hour?
> >
> > >
> > > How in the world could that be right? What's minimum
> > wage?
> > >
> > Minimum wage is currently $5.15 in Texas. According to
> > wikipedia minimum wage in the state of kansas is a pitiful
>
> > $2.65 an hour (applies only when the federal fair labor
> > standards act does not). Washington State has the highest
> > state wide Minimum wage at $7.35 an hour. San Fransico has
>
> > the highest just as a city at $8.50 an hour.
> >
> Minimum wage in Ohio is also below the Federal wage. I'm
> personally for ending minimum wage and letting the market
> decide rates. However, radio wages may be less than prison
> wages as there would always be someone willing to do a shift
> for free.
>
Traffic is one of those gigs that unless your John Phillips, the money ain't there. If someone is willing to put up with the years of thankless work for little money to make it to that point, that's one thing, but who can afford to do that now?
 
On top of that, if you work for Metro they make you sign a non-compete for the pittance and when Channel Five decides they don't want you anymore, you can't get a job anywhere else in town.
 
> On top of that, if you work for Metro they make you sign a
> non-compete for the pittance and when Channel Five decides
> they don't want you anymore, you can't get a job anywhere
> else in town.
>

Speaking as someone let go from Metro...Amen! I will say that they left me elligible for re-hire and I am back with them again. However, just a few months in and I remember why I was looking for a new job before they canned me!
 
Metro's non-compete only means you can't work for another traffic service. You're free to work for another radio or TV station, even as a traffic reporter.<P ID="signature">______________
Greetings from Ohio-where the governor wants everyone to know he's sorry.</P>
 
> > Wouldn't doubt it...but if someone takes the job they
> don't
> > have to offer more.
> >
> You can make 2 to 3 times that delivering pizza. So if you
> do traffic reports while delivering pizza, maybe 20 bucks an
> hour! Might almost pay for your gas!
>
Part of this may be Katrina influenced. I am in the hotel business and am was looking to relocate someplace warm. So I was looking in Texas. With the tens of thousands of people out of work they are really dropping wages.

I have seen ads in Houston for Front Office Manager $5.50/hr Plus a room. Now before Katrina the FOM was around 40K a year.

And I've seen the same thing in Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City too.

Remember you have hundreds of thousands not working right now. And how many of those are in Texas<P ID="signature">______________
Once I figured out the meaning of life....Then I forgot to write it down.</P>
 
> > Wouldn't doubt it...but if someone takes the job they
> don't
> > have to offer more.
> >
> You can make 2 to 3 times that delivering pizza. So if you
> do traffic reports while delivering pizza, maybe 20 bucks an
> hour! Might almost pay for your gas!



YES YES!
>
<P ID="signature">______________
If you can deliver pizza, you can deliver the traffic :)</P>
 
> On top of that, if you work for Metro they make you sign a
> non-compete for the pittance and when Channel Five decides
> they don't want you anymore, you can't get a job anywhere
> else in town.
>


Wow...that statement is so completely wrong. You must not work in this industry or you would check your facts better. Or if you do work in the industry, I would not be placing any bets on your future.
 
Just going by what several who've been approached by and/or hired by Metro have told me.

Take the case I referred to with Diane Lara. She worked for Metro. Channel Five dropped the copter and she was outa work. They felt they could get someone even cheaper by hiring someone off the street, but Diane is still bound to the non-compete. We'll see what a bargain that person is when they finish with the dartboard at Channel Five.

Diane's contract with Metro says she can't work in this market for 6 months and that's typical of Metro contracts. That's why I said you can't get a job anywhere else in town. I guess you can if you want to wait half a year, but most of us don't have the luxury of living out of the checking account that long.

Working in this industry doesn't guarantee the facts have been checked. Look at yours, for example. I've been working in this town, on the air, for over 30 years. My future is about as safe as any in this business.
 
> Unless things have change, Metro's non-compete only applies
> to working for a competing traffic service.
>

You are absolutely right,and nothing has changed. I'm attempting to correct
a misconception that Arbitorn is propagating. In the example he/she used, that person lost the spot at a TV station through no fault of their own, thus she is not bound to the non-compete. In fact, Metro would retain that person or place them in another market if there is an opening. If someone loses their position because the station can no longer afford that level of service, it would take a very insensitive company to enforce a non-compete. I'd even say it would be illegal and probably get thrown out of court if Metro even tried to enforce it.

So, if anyone has heard that she cannot be hired elsewhere in the market because of Metro's non-compete, that is completely false. In fact, it might be said that Arbitorn citing that example only hurts her chances. Someone that might want to hire her might shy away from it after reading that post. Being in management with Metro in this market puts me as close to that situation as you can get, so trust me on this.

I normally don't participate in these boards, but a misconception that could hurt a good reporters' ability to be hired needed to be corrected. And two more things...1)I would never insult anyone by trying to hire them at $6 hour, and 2)Metro is not responsible for the on-air talent search. That is all theirs, thankfully.
 
I stand humbly corrected on the non-compete. The service Channel Five is going to use isn't going to pay nearly as much for talent as Metro. Don't know how closely it approaches six bucks an hour.

I have no ax to grind with Metro. My contacts with them have always been very cordial.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom