equipment operator

forklift operator

entry level machine operator

shift manager

assistant superintendent

Clearwater Paper

My typical work day started with a team meeting with the on coming shift and my direct supervisor. I would the go over my daily agenda and prioritize with my supervisor and take on more tasks to help out the company that they needed me to do. I would then work on my tasks throughout the building. I helped work with all employees on their job tasks while promoting safety and quality standards. I would have one on one conversations with employees about their strengths, weaknesses, progress with the company and solutions in which I would assist them with. I had to make time to work on office work such as employee records, creating and updating standard operating procedures, making memos and help resolve inventory issues. I would always make time to assist other office personnel with any task they needed help with along with backing up for dispatchers, my supervisor and traffic department. The hardest part of my job there was not getting enough support to complete all of the extra tasks I was given on top of my regular obligations. My favorite thing about my job there was that I was the "go-to guy" and I would always help anyone in need and I liked the satisfaction after.

IVES Certified Forklift Trainer – Can train people on the following equipment that have all purpose box clamps, forks, roll clamp and slip-sheet attachments:
- Sit-down counterbalanced forklifts (electric, gasoline/diesel and propane powered)
- Electric powered walkie lift trucks (pallet trucks)
- Narrow aisle lift trucks

Certified Crane Trainer – Can train people on the following equipment:
- Overhead cranes
- Jib Cranes

Certified for the operation on the following equipment:
- Sit-down counterbalanced forklifts
- Electric powered walkie lift trucks ( pallet trucks)
- Narrow aisle lift trucks
- Scissor lifts
- Bucket lifts

Computer Skills:
- AS300 PRISM systems
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Power Point
- Microsoft Outlook
- JD Edwards
- Forklift G-force systems (Barloworld)

Supervisor Training:
- Frontline Supervision Classes at Joliet Junior College

Responsibilities:
Certify new employees on counterbalanced forklifts, re-certify employees on lift trucks, certify employees on electric walkie forklifts (pallet truck), help supervise warehouse operations, help with safety and quality control, assist and organize good housekeeping practices for the warehouse, create and update SOP’s (standard operating procedures), assist with inventory corrections and control throughout the building, help load and unload trailers with finished product, raw materials and recyclables, back up traffic coordinators, cover dispatch and train employees to dispatch

You will realize quickly that there is a double standard when it comes to hourly and salary employees. Hourly employees have no where near the benefits salary employees do. Not talking about pay, insurance or vacation, thats pretty standard across the board. Hourly employees are given zero sick or personal days, if you need time off it has to be scheduled 2 weeks in advance. You can call in but there is a very strict points system in place that has cost a lot of people their job. 6 incidents (points) and you are on last chance, one more and you're terminated. Salary has no attendance policy in place. Very difficult to come to work everyday and see salary barely working a full week in a month, but they have no consequences. Hourly employees do not receive any kind of bonus but there is one in place for salary, as long as the hourly do their job. They tell you upon being hired you can advance as far as you like as long as you put in the work, this is false. Start out as a level on and as long as you pick things up decently you will move up about one level a year till you hit level 3, after that if you don't suck up to the right people or arent on a priority line you will not have any help moving up past level 3. And the only advancement is the pay. There are a few off the production line jobs available but the people in them have been employed for well close to 10 years. You will be an operator on the production floor your entire time there unless you have some type of degree or get lucky enough to obtain one of the few off the floor jobs, but honestly this is highly unlikely. There is such a high turnaround rate, people who have FMLA, vacations, etc that overtime is available pretty much every week. Its great if you want the extra hours, not so great if you actually want time off. They arent shy about telling everyone which lines are important and which arent, you will see this by how much assistance you get. Most people in the positions that are supposed to assist you have no clue how to run more than one or 2 pieces of equipment so not much help anyway. Management is horrible and constantly changing. Preach safety yet expect you to still make it to work in blizzard conditions or receive a point. Honestly I would not recommend this place unless you can deal with the BS. The pay is good, you get a good amount of vacation after being there for a year, but your outside life will suffer and you will be stressed because of a job that should not be stressing you.

After being unemployed for some time, youll take any decent paying job.
Currently the starting pay is around $17 an hour.

In the 7+ years Ive been there, we have had 5 plant managers. 1 comes in and changes things up, and gets shown the door, only to have someone else come in and change things up again.
A certain manager whos been there less than a year, got a little too "handsy" with the backside of a female temp. worker, who reported him to HR. He only got a verbal warning, whereas an hourly employee would have gotten fired Im pretty positive.

Too many useless little classes, forms to fill out (most employees "pencil whip" those), tests to take, CBS safety stuff to go thru. Hourly forms to fill out, hourly computer checks, hourly production notes..... notice a redundency pattern here??

If you want to advance learn your job, and be a brown-noser... 
Hard working knowledgeable employees get little recognition or opportunities for advancement.

The shift isnt too bad, 2, 12 hour day shifts, 2, 12 hour night shifts, then 4 days off.
If Christmas or Thanksgiving falls on a day you work, your family will enjoy the holiday while you are at work. Sure, youll make time and a half, plus holiday pay, but youll be working the holidays.

VERY HOT in the summer. Over 100+ degrees, some days over 110, and if its humid, its just miserable. If you have to go into the machine to do some work on it, its even hotter! Even if its 5 below outside, its almost never below 75 inside.

Too many problems with equipment needing repairs that dont get done, or get put off ("run till failure" is a popular saying around there). Equipment and parts break down, wearout, electrical issues, etc. occur and then they wonder why production numbers arent being met.

Overtime is available, or even if you dont, sometimes you will be forced (ohh, excuse me "scheduled").
If you dont work it, or call off, you get a point.
They have a nice point system there, if youre late, 1 point, call off sick, 1 point, go home sick, 1 point, gotta leave for a family emergency, 1 point.
4 points in a year, youre on notice. If you get 1 more point in the next 12 months, they show you the door.

All in all the pays pretty good, the 4 on and 4 off schedule is nice, management is so-so (1 rotten apple spoils the whole bunch tho). The micro-management has gotten out of hand tho. Years ago, it used to be a good place to work, but after 7+ years they got you by the short and curlies...... youre making too much money to quit and go somewhere else for less pay....

Clearwater is an okay place to work if  youre looking for a good bit of time off, good benefits, or decent pay. Sounds great right? NO! The job itself while it can be stressful is mostly easy, once you learn your machines. Here begins the problems. The turn over rate is very high, so the person training you may only have only been there a couple months, so youre only learning what this person knows. Its hard to get fired from Clearwater. Most do absolutely ridiclous things like bring weapons, or fail drug test, and another big thing is attendance. Youre allowed to miss 4 days, 5 youre fired, in a year. No sick/personal days. You do have days you can ask for in advance but if your sick or have an emergency it counts against you. In training youre told about your "qual cards" (a book that is marked in as you learn and how you get your raises.) Your told in training youre expected to get them completed by certain times and if you dont it shows them youre not learning as you should and they would ultimately let you go. They give you ample amount of time to learn. The first card takes 90 days, the second 6 months. I doesnt matter if you have been there 3 years, and your daily work shows that you dont know how to succesfully do your job and you dont have your qual started, they will not let you go. While this is great for those who arent learning, it brings the team down. You have to pick up there slack, and it causes issues with the team and the person. A lot of the upper managment came down when the Shelby plant opened, they are most all buddies and while they are approachable, i wouldnt talk to any of them about another if youre having issues. They talk and drama is a big issue in Shelby, sadly its with uppermanagment causing this by talking about your co-workers, or what youve talked to them about,  more than your other co-wokers. Just like high school, there is  "pick of the litters" and they get special treatment while everyone else is treated like dirt. Most of the co-workers are great, and what keeps you going back. I could go on and on with negatives. All in all the headache and stress are not worth the benefits of working here. I always tell everyone if your in need of the money or benefits to apply, make them aware of the negative, and tell them to be sure they keep applying else where, because there not going to want to be stuck here long. If someone has a good job and beneifts i tell them to not even bother applying here.

The day starts off with figuring out who is going to do the quality testing and doing inspections of quality and equipment. You do a hand off with the previous crew and then get as set up as you can to make it through the day. It is 12 hours of changing material out on the machine as it runs out and troubleshooting automated equipment as needed. Other than that it's general housekeeping unless one of the machines stop. I learned a good bit about troubleshooting and learning how things can go wrong. Management is as typical as it can get. Somebody in an office is telling a person on the floor what to do based on what somebody said to do that's not even in the same building (corporate). The employees and management are more often than not on the same page and in the time I've been there. Few ways have been found to make the job easier but usually ways to make it harder. Being forced to work around a bunch of unnecessary all the time. The culture is kind of dark and gloomy. When not actively busy the job can be ridiculously boring but be careful not be on your phone. The job honestly isn't all that difficult but that can vary from person to person. The hardest part in my opinion is knowing that the machines need to be fixed and you're constantly having to work around broken or modified from OEM equipment and it makes it wild to believe that the machines were purchased to make things simple but have been modified or poorly maintained to have work around problems all the time.

I would stay away from working at this place. It is terrible. They preach about safety but dont care when it comes to costs. This is important because they will fire you on the spot no matter what.  But still expect you to do unsafe things if it benifits them. Management (lower) has absolutely no backbone, cant, wont make a decision in fear of making the wrong choice and being fired. Upper management is horrible, they dont care about employees at all, not even a little. They will talk like they do but dont. They lie & cheat the employees and the press.  There is no honor, or loyalty. They will screw you over in a second without a second thought or regret. Management is two faced, do not trust them at all, ever! The supervisor approves our pay but payroll over rides supervisor and you loose pay that was originally comming to you. 
  I dont expect this company ran this way to last long. There is no union contract going on 1000 days now, the company is trying to force the unions out. The work is dangerous because of managements shortcuts. Double standards all over the place. I myself am looking for a different place to work, its complete chaos.
   As long as they are micromanaging  people out here under this horrible management it would be in your best interest to work somewhere else till it turns around. It used to be a great place to work 2 years ago but NOT right now nor in the near future. 
  The company wont work with the Unions. The company wants to break the Unions. Take a look at the stock prices.

A typical day consists of starting off with checking the towmotors for any leaks or problems, followed by checking in with the 2&4 pulper operator to see what they might need me to set on the ramp to make for the first furnish of the day. A walk around to see what is on the railcars and if it's necessary to call in a trailer full of recycled paper to make recycled products with. Cutting down damaged rolls that come off the machines for recycled furnish or virgin furnish. Cleaning and coordinating with coworkers to make sure the floors in my designated area are clean, that there aren't any extra tasks that need completing.
Management personnel are always around. If you need to see or talk to someone you can show up at their office and ask if they have time to talk, or page them if they're not in their office. They're very personable over all, reasonable and genuinely caring.
My coworkers are all pretty nice people. They work hard, but will still make time to talk about any job issues or questions I might have. Still manage to have some fun while keeping on task.
The hardest part was the seven day, rotating swing shift. An example of the schedule is: One week you'd be on first shift, the following on third, then second, then it starts again on first.
The best part of the job was my coworkers. They were always people you could talk to about anything during the downtime between tasks, or during breaks. It was always interesting.

Are you ready to be hired on when you have no manufacturing experience at 18 starting? Well your not. 

This is not the ideal job for someone who is a “single parent” whether it’s with children or pets. They will coax you in the the “8hour shifts” and “ You can only be forced to work 2 days of overtime.” Truth is, its a lie. They put you where they need you no matter the union rules. (More likely then not your working 5-6 straight days of 12 because of extended amount of open positions. I.e there is 22 open slots) These forces are not foreseen usually until 3-4 before the end of your shift. They can ask you to come back or stay later then intended. 

The union for converting is jaded. So even when they know the company is not following regulations, they choose to do nothing. 

During the summer it’s hot, of course, so the serve free ice cold waters/freezes/sodium filled water packets throughout the season....Cool.

At my highest pay: I made 2200-2700 a pay check. After taxes. Double time on Sundays. Triple time on holidays. And if your on Facial or Futura. (Warning) Your working all of them! Easter isn’t a holiday that counts. Your missing out on Grandmas ham for standard work pay

Job culture: Everyone talks and I mean EVERYONE. Hr will talk about your status to the Union Reps who then spread your business to all of the different departments. So it’s hard to establish who’s being sincere and who just wants to find out dirt about the new employee.

The job itself is relatively easy and actually fun if not for the trickle-down of inefficient management.  During my tenure there were 4 Plant Manager changes, 3 Distribution/Warehouse Manager changes and 5 Production Manager changes.  The majority of the managers put in these positions have zero knowledge of what they are doing and make poor choices as far as production coordination and effective employee management.  The HR department has no clue about how to manage employee situations either and rarely assist them with personal/professional issues regarding the workplace.  On the positive side, I did mention the job itself is easy to pickup and can be fun during the work day.  I discovered I have a knack for evaluating the production equipment and troubleshooting problems that develop along the course of a 12 hour shift.  Co-workers are very well mannered and knowledgeable and easy to get along with, so I would say one thing management does well is hire the right people the majority of the time.  The downside of the job is dealing with the managers which I already pointed out.  Many of them apologize for having to constantly chase you down regarding production issues as it usually stems from the higher departments.  Overall I would say the job itself is really good, but dealing with the management team really brings it down and makes it difficult to be a happy employee working at this facility.

This company does nothing but con you during your training period into thinking this is a family orientated workplace and they are happy that you are a member of the team. Once your training is finished you're on your own. They stop caring and start micro managing you. The one on one training you have with a person from the line they assign you to, is an absolute joke. If u feel you're not getting the proper training they tell you it's your fault. A lot of time the people training you only want to teach you the basics so they continue to look smarter and a better worker than you. If you have an accident  you will be on their radar for months. A lot of times after a such accident you will probably go home wondering if you have a job the next day. Lots of people trying to brown nose their way up the ladder by waiting for you to make a mistake and throw you under the bus (company has their favorites) and don't bother going to HR to be the mediator. HR ONLY HAS MANAGMENTS BACK. 

Other wise. The pay is pretty good. The pay scale is nice if you by chance find someone real to train you. Good luck with that. And the food is pretty good in the food court. Oh and the 4 days on 4 days off they give you isn't worth it after a while since your working rotating 12 hr shifts.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Equipment operator 7 salaries reported	$21.20 per hour
Forklift operator 3 salaries reported	$23.35 per hour
Entry level machine operator 4 salaries reported	$21.20 per hour
Shift manager 4 salaries reported	$105,750 per year
Assistant superintendent 10 salaries reported	$134,750 per year

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