How do I negotiate a raise?
Dear
Annie: I have been working at the same company for 12 years, and
I haven’t gotten a raise in five years. I never got in the habit of asking for them, because they used to give me a small salary bump every other year. But that petered out when a new CEO took over.
A few months ago, I was at lunch with two co-workers when the subject of salaries came up. I asked them if they’d received any pay bumps in the past few years, and they both said that they had. This gave me the guts I needed to ask my supervisor to meet with me.
I presented a list of my accomplishments over the past four years and said that I believed I had earned a raise. He said that pretty much no one was getting raises anymore, at which point I tentatively mentioned (without naming names) that I’d heard some other employees had received raises. He got visibly angry and told me that I should never discuss my salary with another employee at the company and asked me to leave his office immediately.
After that, I dropped the issue. But now I’m wishing I’d pushed back and am considering asking him for another meeting. Am I crazy? -- Taken for Granted
Dear Taken: It’s a violation of the National Labor Relations Act for employers to forbid employees from discussing their wages. Contact the National Labor Relations Board at 1-844-762-6572 for guidance on what recourse you may have.
Whatever comes of that, it might be time to dust off that resume. Because, beyond being illegal, your boss’s behavior is just plain old disrespectful. You’d be better off working for a company that recognizes your worth.
Dear Annie: I am disturbed to still see people leaving their dogs in hot cars. Whenever I see this happening, I go into the nearest businesses and have announcements made over intercoms to try to track down the owners. If I can’t find them, I call 911 — because it truly is an emergency. Here are some relevant data points from Redrover.com.
“Dogs are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness because they can only cool off by panting and through the pads in their feet.
“Even on seemingly mild days, an enclosed car can be deadly. In a Stanford University study, when it was 72 degrees outside, a car’s internal temperature climbed to 116 degrees within one hour.
“A dog can only withstand a high body temperature for a short time before suffering nerve damage, heart problems, liver damage, brain damage or even death.
“Studies show that cracking the windows has little effect on a car’s internal temperature.” — Friend to Fido
Dear Friend: I’m happy to print this reminder, which is always relevant.