Maxwell PMEL

[Donaldr1955]

SMR, Inc.  has an immediate opening for key people at our Maxwell AFB PMEL.  We are currently seeking a Lab Chief, a Quality Control Technician and Metrology Technicians.   

Lab Chiefs shall have six (6) years minimum experience as equipment technician in PMEL and at least six (6) months experience as a general supervisor.  The supervisors must have knowledge of equipment calibration, repair and certification.  Knowledge may be from hands-on working experience, supervision management of these operations or from courses of instructions.  Supervisors shall have a least six (6) months experience directing functions such as electronic installation, testing, modification, repair, calibration and certification standards, working standards or precision measuring equipment.

Lab Chief is a Metrology Technicians III position, paying $21. 26 per hour, plus a Supervisor differential ($5. 00).   The Health &Welfare is $3. 24 per hour. 

Quality Control Technician will have to perform Quality Reviews, Process Reviews and 100% outgoing quality verification inspections.   He/she will participate in Root Cause Analysis.   The Quality Control Technician will maintain lab quality records. 

Quality Control Technician is a Metrology Technicians III position, paying $21. 26 per hour, plus a QA differential ($4. 00).   The Health &Welfare is $3. 24 per hour. 

Technicians shall have four years experience with precision measuring equipment including experience in performing functions such as operation, troubleshooting, maintenance, repair, calibration on frequency, microwave, temperature, mechanical and optical precision measurement equipment.
Technicians are Metrology Technicians II position, paying $20. 41 per hour, plus Technician differential ($3. 00).  The Health &Welfare is $3. 24 per hour.   

Contractor employees who, install, test, modify, repair, align, calibrate and certify base reference standards, working standards and common TMDE shall have graduated from a DOD accredited basic PMEL School or have an Associate's Degree in Metrology. 

Please contact Donald Robertson (PMEL Program Manager) at 405-250-8459 (please leave message if no answer) and/or send resume to donaldr1955@aol. com.

[USMCPMEL]

What is the "health and welfare pay"?

[Donaldr1955]

The Health and Welfare pay is the money that is paid on the Wage Determination for the health insurance and other benefits.  The $3. 24 will be paid to the employees instead of getting the benefits. 

[OlDave]

OK, help me out here. I've never worked as a contractor so what exactly is "Health & Welfare"? Is this in lieu of medical, dental, vision coverage?

Is there any kind of 401(k) offered? Any company match with it?

Hell, do you even get vacation or sick days?

Union? Non-union? Just glad to get a check on Friday?

[USMCPMEL]

This would be a good job for a vet who is covered by the VA. The pay would be 6739.20 on that health and welfare diferential. I am sure if you had to you could buy insurance for that price. The best thing would be if your wife's company had good insurance.

[Zephyer]

What if you aren't covered by the VA?  What if your spouse doesn't work and have insurance? What if you are single?  What if you are over 55 and health insurance costs you $1000 a month?

I can see why unions are succeeding.

[Donaldr1955]

This is a non-union lab and they get the vacation based on the Wage Determination.

VACATION: 2 weeks paid vacation after 1 year of service with a contractor or
successor; 3 weeks after 10 years, and 4 after 20 years.

At this time there is no 401K or sick time. 

[OlDave]

Thanks for the clarification Donald.

It sure seems sad to me though that the same government that you hear moaning about the low percentage of people with decent health insurance, and the same government that is pushing hard for universal health care, would allow ANY government contractor to NOT provide group health insurance. I would think that the pool of available people that can bring their own health care to the table would be shrinking and that more and more of your people are using that pay to help live on and to gamble with their health by not having coverage.

USMCPMEL, maybe I am wrong, but I thought that VA benefits were supposed to only cover service related ailments. I didn't know that my high blood pressure and high cholesterol is covered. How about last summer when I ripped my arm open stringing barb wire and went for a tetanus shot? I seriously doubt that the amount that is allowed for Health and Welfare would be able to purchase a decent health plan that would cover your family, much less anything for dental or vision coverage? And we haven't even gotten to the life insurance or disability insurance yet.

What is it with the current trend to try and treat all employees almost as if they were independent contractors and provide nothing except a paycheck on Friday, including job security?

Actually seeing help wanted ads like this really makes one appreciate a company that values their employee's well being and provides reasonably priced medical coverage (including dental and vision). Not to mention their 401(k) with match, a good old fashioned employer funded defined benefit pension plan and vacation (3 weeks) starting from Day 1. Yes, I have pretty damn good benefits here.

Does anyone else see the problems with the pay and benefit structure of government contract labs like I do, or am I just old fashioned, out of touch and full of it?

[Hawaii596]

That is such a good point

"...the same government that you hear moaning about the low percentage of people with decent health insurance, and the same government that is pushing hard for universal health care, would allow ANY government contractor to NOT provide group health insurance..."

I wonder if it would be worthwhile contacting a U.S. Senator to highlight this detail?  I would think they might like to hear about it.

[USMCPMEL]

Obviously after reading the next couple posts after mine I realize that is a very small amount. I did not know that the job offered no sick time no 401k no disability. As stated the government wants universal health care and yet they are not offering health care for thier own jobs??

[metrologygeek]

Hearing about jobs like this make me unusually happy to be in the position I'm in.    

[dminesinger]

metrologygeek

Priceless. Had to steal it. i'm sorry borrow with no plans to return it.

Anyone got any leads in the Dallas, Texas area.

25 yrs calibration, 10 yrs in computer. Running MetCal and SureCal at current position. Starting to program in MetCal.

PapaBear

[CalibratorJ]

Wow, this sounds almost exactly like my current position, except I have no technician pay and the H&W benefit goes into a NONMATCHING 401k unless I get the severely overpriced company insurance. And you MUST take the insurance if you are not on any other GROUP plan, ie through the wife's work etc etc etc.

Did ALL of Maxwell go contract? Or are the labs a % gvt employees and a % of contractors? Just curious, as I know a certain "high level lab" is hurting from the "loss" of knowledge.

[Hoopty]

This topic has been split.  The discussion about benefits can be found here:

http://www.pmelforum.com/index.php?topic=1258.0