maintenance technician

patrol officer

electrician

retail sales associate

police officer

Delaware River and Bay Authority

The culture and climate of the DRBA, mostly driven from the mid-level and upper-level management to include the COO and CFO, make the place deplorable.  There is definitely a separation between "management" and "employees" which is something I have never seen to this extent anywhere else.  The level of performance expected by salaried positions is ridiculous (i.e. working 30+ hours without breaks is not the exception but rather the rule) and you are not expected to have an outside life which is hard on those of us with families.  The mid-level management I worked for were both dishonest in their dealings, and I did not feel I could trust anyone in management because there always appeared to be an ulterior motive to everything they did.  There is no respect for the leadership from the employees, and really to be honest, why should there be with the way employees are treated.  Oh, and because it is an Authority both the Governor of Delaware and New Jersey have to approve pay increases for salaried employees.  We haven't had a raise in years because Christie feels public employees should be paid below the industry standard.  I can honestly say DRBA was one of the worst places to work.

AVOID working for this company if you can. I worked at the Cape May Lewes Ferry for about 5 years. I loved it when I first started working there, but it has really gone down hill. The lack of respect from management/ supervisors is unbelievable. They treat employees like trash. They expect WAY to much for $9 an hour. When we get new employees to train, 75% of them don't show up for their second day of work because it is stressful and they can't handle it. "Another one bites the dust" we would always joke! They will work you to death (45+ hours a week) so say goodbye to your summer because you won't have one. Scheduling is horrible! They call you the morning of your shift and ask you to switch your time. They make CSR's work by themselves in tolls on a sold out boat in the dead of summer. They don't care. They don't send help unless you call inside and most of the time you are to busy to even stop because the boat is about to leave and they expect you to get everyone on. The captains/ dock attendants are rude and talk down to you. The security and police are very sweet and will help you out whenever you need. The only saving grace was the amazing women I worked with. We vented to each other all the time! We kept each other sane!

Casual employment, only permitted to work certain number of hours a year. More scheduled hours during summer than other seasons. Can pick up extra hours if available to go in when called.

NO benefits. In my experience, HR does not follow through when approached if you are a casual employee.

Job advancement:  Rarely hire full time toll collectors, 3 hired in years I worked and only one was casual, 2 were outside hires.

3 breaks per shift. Work in tight booth dealing with exhaust and weather conditions.  Work performance has no effect on pay. Full time are union, casual are not!  

MUST reapply each year for your position if casual and attend  job orientation if rehired. Evaluations are given but it seems average is the best you can do no matter how hard  or well you work.

Schedules completed on a monthly basis which allows one to make plans and appointments without problems.

Can be stressful when traffic is high and lines long. You do not balance your own till. Do not know if you balance unless you get a write up for being short or over days later.

I've worked here for a while now and I'm only part-time, however there's no way I would be able to advance to a better paying position. They have about 9 full-time people and the rest (Maybe 10-15 people) are part-time. I get like 8-24 hours a week if I'm lucky, picking up a shift is pretty easy but you have to be the first person to call back for it. There are no benefits besides a pay check really, we don't even get free toll or covid hazard pay (mind you that we come in contact with hundreds of people on a shift). Management is okay, half of them are pretty laid back and helpful. The job is pretty easy and you get to sit and listen to music, but it's unfulfilling and can be boring at times. 

Wonderful place, good people who carry out an incredibly difficult mission over time,safely. The DMB organization supports all the activities at the Bridge and assist at the Airports and the Cape May Ferry. The police are a stand alone organization that covers all locations in an exemplar manner. The marine maintenance is extraordinary as are the marine crews. The Airports with the exception of one person, leave room for improvement.

The culture of the DRBA is for the company to do all the taking and the employees do all of the giving.  Constant phone calls/texts and having to come in on days off.   Expectations of management are pretty much they own you as you must be available 24-7.  Little appreciation of long work days and not being able to call out sick. The harder you work the more they expect and they have zero respect for their seasonal workforce.  Never any chance of being a permanent employee with benefits.  The few permanents they have at the ferry are worked to death and have no work-life balance.

Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) is not the place you want to work if you are looking for advancement opportunities or job satisfaction especially if you work for the ferry division and even more for the Food and retail Department.  The DRBA makes poor management choices and evidently hires based on who you know not what or how much you know.  Management is condescending, unappreciative, and borderline bullying to their employees.  You will very quickly feel complacent and wonder are the good benefits they offer worth the stress and your mental well being.

I love the work environment.  The people that I worked with was encouraging, helpful and a joy.  For the most part,the customer were interesting and nice. We had a lot of repeat business at this job.  The downside to this job was the fact that it has a shared jurisdiction between Delaware and New Jersey.  Which means any improvement must be approve between both jurisdiction or it is not improve.

What is the best part of working at the company?
hourly rate ok and medical benefits!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
when inclement weather, manatory overtime

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
top managment also having problems with the union workers

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
i was in the carpentry crew always keeping busy doing jobs

Avoid this place at all costs.  Very dishonest ,  crooked employees, management is horrendous and the leadership is laughable.  Sadly,  they don't want anything fixed bc as an authority there is little government oversight, so the wolves are in charge of the hen house. 
Even if you are simply looking for a summer job, avoid this place. Do yourself  a BIG favor.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Maintenance technician 7 salaries reported	$17.71 per hour
Patrol officer 13 salaries reported	$68,252 per year
Electrician 6 salaries reported	$38.89 per hour
Retail sales associate 9 salaries reported	$17.78 per hour
Police officer 17 salaries reported	$66,957 per year

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