Senior Systems Analyst | Atlanta, GA | Jan 15, 2018
Excellent Guiding Principles, but Perversely Practiced
All Koch Industries companies operate under a set of guiding principles, the MBM Guiding Principles, which at first glance appear to be how most people would claim to live their daily lives. The first two principles, Integrity and Compliance, are the most important. Violation of these will cost one his/her job. Being honest and upright, while obeying all laws and policies, and one is certain to succeed. Principle 3 is to Create Value, which any business will claim is what they strive to do - value for their customers, their shareholders, their employees, etc. However, the only value that counts for anything in the Koch Industries world is that which can be physically quantified in the form of dollars. They pride themselves on the idea of "Creative Destruction", which translates into the idea of making a profit at all costs. Close the facility, eliminate jobs, walk away from anything or sell to another if there is money to be made by doing so. The business is 100% focused on chasing profits at all costs. Human capital is highly expendable. Knowledge and Experience capital have no value. Employment preference is to hire young, eager college graduates at a minimal wage, work them until they burn-out and leave, then replace them with more eager college graduates to repeat the process. They'd rather not have to "retrain" a seasoned employee into their interpretation of their MBM way of thinking. The truth is that while the principles are noble on paper, the actual practi
ProsVery little chance the company will go bankrupt
A typical day at work consist of my arrival to work at 6:00 (a.m. or p.m), checking emails and conversing with my fellow crew leader who is making a shift change with me. We converse on information as it relates to the job while on duty. In other words, we exchange pertinent updated information from each other's shift. We go into shift overlap where safety information, quality, production and information from management is given to the machine operators.
After which, I have a crew lead overlap where an exchange of communication from crew leaders from various departments is shared. Again, a review of safety, quality, production and a check of staffing is done to see if any adjustment is needed for staffing to the priority machines. Then, I check on operators to see if they are in need of any resources. Upon which resources are made available if needed for safety. mechanical, and electrical issues. After which, I check attendance and document absentees and or late arrivals. Kronos is a type of informational system I used to input codes for the machines where machine operators are working that day/night, vacation time and also family medical and emergency leave recorded.
The hardest part of my job is identifying the gaps of skills needed to perform proficiently on the machine assigned. I must take into consideration if the person has been trained on the machine, or more training on that particular machine is needed to enhance performance while keeping safety, quality and pro
ProsIncentive for safety milestones, incentive for improvement ideas and annual performance pay
Before applying ask yourself "How desperate am I?"
At GP you are not a person, but a number. Local management's hands are tied and all the shots are called by someone half a continent away who has never set foot in the shop. This includes hiring and firing, so expect to be surrounded by incompetent people who have no business working around dangerous machinery because local management has no power to do anything. Also expect to be worked like a dog for 12 hours a day and at least 6 days a week for management who can do absolutely nothing to ease your suffering. Everyone on the production floor is divorced at least once. It's impossible to hold a family together if you never see them.
Your concerns are ignored, your ideas are ignored, you are ignored... until you make a mistake then they come down on you like a ton of bricks, which will happen because you will be so overworked and exhausted you can hardly walk at the end of the day let alone operate machinery.
No lunch. That's right, only 15 minute breaks every four hours and that's it, even during a 12 hour shift (which you will be doing every day). You won't have time to eat anything but sandwiches and potato chips so I hope you don't care about your health. Just about everything is the bare minimum that the law allows. No candy, no gum, no mints, no phone (and no way for family to contact you during work), no medicine. You are not allowed anything on the production floor. It's essentially prison with pay.
No leave aside from a week of vacation after your first year, an
ProsDecent wage, average benefits
ConsRock bottom work-life balance, almost zero advancement potential for hourlies, detached management, every man for himself attitude by employees out of necessity
Poor work/life balance. 12 hour rotating shifts, with a 30 minute pre-shift meeting everyday. And sometimes they'll keep you late if there's a mess to clean up. (12.5+ hour shifts.. not even sure if that's legal, but they do it). At one point my work schedule was changed 4-5 times in less than 6 months.
The pay isn't good enough when considering the knowledge, fast pace, stress and danger involved with the job. The pay scale is also very vague, unfair, and political. This is the type of company that will pay 2 different employees doing the EXACT same job two different wages; thus creating an atmosphere of competitiveness and resentment. I mean, can you imagine working next to somebody who is doing the same task as you but you're making a dollar less than them? Holidays and personal days are paid out at 8 hours, even though employees work 12 hours.
Acquiring a raise is difficult. It consists of a lengthy review process which can take months to complete. But to even get the process started an employee has to constantly 'remind' management or even threaten to quit. I, myself, was with the company for over 6 months before they started my '90-day review'.
It's a very thankless and unsatisfying place to work. If you've done a good job, you won't hear anything. But, if you've made a mistake, expect to be criticized, critiqued, and spoken to by management. You'll also hear gossip and 'he said/she said' from other employees.
There isn't much job security or advanceme
ProsOkay hourly wage
ConsCompany policies, Pay scale, Pay discrepancies, Pay raises, Long work hours, Fiberglass, Management personnel
After seeing the strictness in safety and extra steps they go to make things as safe as possible I thought they must truly care about employees. Sadly I was mistaken. After being there I soon realized there is no management. The “managers” solution to fixing on the job issues with other employees is letting it work itself out. If you file any complaints through the HR department, it just trickles back down to the same management you were trying to avoid. Also, employees home life and personal time means nothing compared to their business needs. They carelessly let you know you cannot schedule plans for the weekend because at any given time they can post weekends to work last minute. The contract you sign when getting hired in states they are allowed to keep you over your natural shift by 6-8 hours and can write you up as well as point you if you do not stay. (Even if they tell you 1 min. Before clocking out... which happens often)
It is union and everything is based on job bidding and seniority. So even if you apply and get a job, someone with more seniority than you can bid for your job and bump you out of the position you got hired into. Decent benefits, but if you like having a life and enjoy family and personal time, I’d stay away. They do not care. Most employees have been there for over 10 years so if you’re newer or lower on the totem pole, expect to be doing your job and someone else’s as they are very lazy and do what they want to without Any consequences. All the
Summer internship, made me never want to work again in pulp and paper industry ever again
Oh boy, where do I start with this. This was a summer job/internship while I was going to college, studying pulp and paper technology. I worked with a few other people I was going to college. My boss was a bit rude to be honest, and despite being an internship I spent all my time weed eating (about 90 percent of it), and maintaining the grounds. I had the pleasure of working with one of the weirdest people I have ever met. I seriously wanted to punch him in the face every time I worked with him. He was someone I had gone to college for some time, and was really weird and really annoying.
I had to get up at 4:00 am for 5 days a week and drive nearly two hours to get here as well. We did occasionally get pizza, or donuts or food for us. By the end of the summer internship our boss did say we did a good job. Some of the other people we worked with were a bit weird as well, also worked with this really negative, old lesbian chick who i absolutely hated.
For a time I was working full time here and part time somewhere else. On friday I would work 16 hours, I would work at Georgia Pacific for 8 hours, then change and work at my other job for 8 hours. Then work two more days at my other job, not get enough sleep for my monday shift and start all over again.
There was a nearby restaurant that had a big huge burger, I forgot what it was called and it was delicious, that we would sometimes get.
I'm not sure if that locations is still around or not though..
The pay was
Prosthe pay and thats it
Consweird coworkers, commute, early hours, soul crushing internship, made me never want to go to college or work in pulp and paper industry ever
4.0
Shipping and Receiving Clerk | Batavia, NY | Nov 11, 2014
Company with opportunity
My typical workday starts out with coming in and checking my company emails. Afterwards, I go over all orders that our customers request for the next day for delivery. The report I run shows if the product has been produced or not. And if it has been ran, if the order has ran complete or has been shortened due to production error. From there, I make sure the shortages are put back in the production que. From there, I map out when the last of each customers product will be done running and if it will be done running at a timely fashion to insure that the product will be delivered out on time. As a lead person, I direct and supervise team members as to what to load and what trailer need to be closed at certain times. I am in charge of giving them orders of certain task at hand that need to be completed. I am also in charge of generating shipping document and Canadian paperwork for loads to clear the boarder when crossing. I am also forklift certified to perform their tasks also when needed. My position was a management position. But for customer demand for the desire to only deal with and speak to one superior person in charge of the department instead of dealing with three different managers on different shifts, my position then became titled shipping clerk which consist of one on every three shifts. My co-workers look up to me for guidance and leadership throughout the night to get the task at hand done. I would say the hardest part of the job would be getting the product out
ProsMonthly Banquets for being safe
Consmanditory overtime on very short notice depending on call ins
Typical day: operated tissue manufacturing machines 12 hours a day on a 2 days on 2 days off swing schedule with every other weekend working 3 days or having 3 days off. Swinging from nights to days was difficult on the body, I had a hard time remembering what day of the week it was. The company used to compensate employees for the shift, weekend and holiday hours worked with overtime and double time pay which made employees not mind so much sacrificing time away from family. When the Company was bought out for the last time we went through different management styles (i.e. Rapid Transformation and Adaptive Work Systems). The thought process was to improve production and reduce waste and most importantly stay in business. It hurt employees by eliminating most time and a half on the weekends which reduced gross pay by a significant amount (not possible to make up). They also went to lean manufacturing which meant they're were no extra employees; people had to come in on their days off when employees called in or on leave - very hard on family life and planning appointments. The new management style also pitted employees against each other where at one time comradeship was great and everyone was willing to help each other out. Now everyone is out for themselves to be able to hold onto a position. I don't see increased profitability as a win for company and a win for employees who perform the work, I find it sad that something profound was lost in the process of staying meaning
ProsGood health benefits.
ConsHot dusty environment, long hours, physically taxing on the body.
Digester Chip Operator: Keeping in communications with the digester cook I monitored the flow of wood chips filling the digesters from conveyor systems. Bolting down digester lids using 1 1/2" air powered guns. Opened chutes from the control panel to the new digester to be filled. I cleaned up the area around the digester floor and made sure it was clean and free of hazards.
Assistant acid plant operator: Loaded rock in Jensen towers by front end loader. I assisted the control room operator with unloading sculpture trucks, and monitored control panels for high SO2 gas release. I did daily routine checking pumps, valves and flow processes.
Lignin operator: Bagged lignin powder into bags with manual and automatic feed systems. Communicated with the lignin team leader, lignin cook and warehouse lead personnel at morning safety meetings to discuss any safety concerns, orders or maintenance issues. I loaded outside bulk rail cars with vacuum system. I also loaded 1000 LB. bulk bags with slide system. I operated forklifts for loading railcars and a track mobile for moving rail cars.
Chlorine plant assistant operator. Responsibilities included chart and graph amounts of mercury levels permissible by the EPA. I monitored the flow of water, through the filtration process and would monitor and record at the control panel the mercury systems to keep the proper ratio in the closed loop system. I would flush out dirty caustic filters to obtain any mercury that would go into the caustic
I do not understand how a company has a turnover rate like this one and still allow the management to be there, they are very bad at their jobs. the management wants you to perform your work on machinery they refuse to fix. the only time they are willing to fix anything is after it breaks regardless if it affects your ability to operate it efficiently.. the management expects employees to abide by the MBM guiding principles but do not adhere to this themselves, it is only about production regardless of anything else, they try to sell you a hog and say other things matter but in the end, I had to repeatedly go above glue line manager head because he refused to fix our equipment, the supervisors will allow you to take the rap for something they do themselves and do not have the integrity or courage to speak up on behalf of the employees, this is a quagmire that is about what they can do to get the most production in order for the Performance pay to rise, they work you 7 days on 2 days off, 7 days on 2 days off, 7 days on 3 days off and refuse to work with you if you have situations when you can not do this, they do not allow you to go to school, I applied for different positions only to be told if I had been originally assigned that job, I would receive it, glue line manager, production are only out to get what they can for themselves and do not assist the employees at all, they say they do not have decision rights on safety but when you report unsafe working conditions it i
Prosgood pay
Consmanagement stinks, high turnover rate, very long work hours
Questions And Answers about Georgia-Pacific
What is the normal starting pay for operator?
Asked Dec 6, 2016
A normal starting pay is $13
Answered Sep 3, 2019
$24.12 in the Bay area
Answered Aug 25, 2019
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at Georgia-Pacific?
Asked Aug 17, 2017
They ask behavioral based questions. So really know how your past work experience developed your current skills and be able to talk about it.
Answered Mar 19, 2020
Honesty. Just be yourself. Positive.
Answered Feb 7, 2020
How do you feel about the future of Georgia-Pacific?
Asked Apr 14, 2017
Our future is focused on providing customers with products that enhance and help fulfill their everyday lives and work to continually exceed their expectations and future demands. We achieve this by continually striving for new innovations and transforming the way we think and work. Our employees are our most valuable asset and key drivers in these goals and future business successes.
Answered Sep 16, 2019
Downward spiral
Answered Jan 9, 2019
After leaving your job at Georgia Pacific, are they suppose to pay you for your unused vacation time?
Asked Aug 3, 2016
It depends on state law and company policy
Answered Feb 15, 2019
Contact your state’s bureau of wage and labor. They are required to pay accrued hours. Wage and labor will investigate and get A check for you, and anyone else they find during their investigation who was not properly paid out at termination.
Answered Oct 29, 2018
How do you feel about going to work each day at Georgia-Pacific?
Asked Jun 11, 2017
There were many times I stayed awake for hours dreading to go in. I was there for over twenty years. It was a awesome place to work when I started. It turned dreadful after being bought by Charles Koch. It was fun when I started and turned into a micromanaged nightmare.
Answered Sep 12, 2019
Hard work and barely make much been with company for over 20 years only make $13 and hour but probably because minimum here is $12 and soon will be $15 in a year or 2
