production worker

sanitation worker

maintenance mechanic

machine operator

laborer

McCain Foods

Managing 40 sanitors over 4 x 12 hour shifts in a plant that produces up to 2 million lbs of finished product a day seemed a huge step up from where I was 5 years ago. McCain took a chance on me, and I feel I have delivered and then some. I have been given the opportunity to further develop my skill set, as well as build a sanitation program for the facility from scratch.
McCain has great people power with a wealth of knowledge in their field. I also think McCain leads the way in safety improvments and process safety management in their industry. I am always proud to talk about how well we are doing with our TIR, and that is such an important aspect. Probably the hardest part of the job is the constant change. This is a positive attribute, but an enviroment of constant change is hard to get comfortable in. It is definitely not a place for someone who is stuck in their ways, or someone who does not possess a teachable spirit and a flexible demeanor. A usual day for me starts early and ends late. Meetings, emails, calls, training, vendors, plant audits, long term project progress, and new projects or demands developing on an hourly basis that need immediate attention. You are never bored. You also never taste that fleeting moment where you feel accomplishment. There is always more to do, and the low hanging fruit was picked years ago!
The most enjoyable part of my job is the relationships I have made over the years, and the respect I have earned from my colleagues. I also love to see the plant clean and smelling good, and I think I have done a great job at imparting the importance of sanitation, hygiene and food safety to the employees at McCain during my tenure. I hope your experience is half as good as mine.

When I was hired, I was sold a productive and inclusive work environment where I could grow and advance. Three years later and I'm in the same spot with a 401k I can't really do anything with unless I leave, a burning hatred for most of my coworkers, and an unhealthy sleep schedule. Not to mention the breakdown of my body physically. I'm frequently the only person doing any of the difficult and strenuous cleanup work. My latest "yearly appraisal" was the same as the last 2 years: "consistently meets expectations" where in the covid year, just about everybody abused the quarantine protocol, leaving a handful of us to be drafted on our days off to "help" other sites and shifts. I was there almost every day last year. My checks were nice but none of the management really cared that I showed up and actually worked. Oh and the "cool guys" that drink with the management, they get glowing reviews. If you're not related to half the plant, in a special relationship with anybody there, or an enormous brown noser... You're burnt for opportunity. Oh and it's union but they don't really seem to do much. Training is basically at the discretion of whoever they throw you to. If you get a lazy bum, you won't actually learn anything. This place has sapped me of all my motivation. The pay is the only decent thing about it.

If this place had better management, it would be a much better place to work. But as it stands, the management makes poor quality decisions. People that need to be disciplined aren't. If you happen to be a good worker, you'll be expected to do the work of at least 3 people most days. If you don't, you're the one that gets yelled at and not the person that's been "in the bathroom" for an hour. On top of overexhausting yourself every day, it is mandatory 12 days on 2 days off. Then being asked to turn your 8 hours into 12 every day and being asked to work your weekend off constantly because no one wants to work. The office workers and management try to encourage you to give them ideas to make the place better but when you offer suggestions, they always have an excuse as to why it won't work or say they'll look into it and then you never hear anything back. If there is a job you can't do because you have a disability or are just sick, get ready to be told "well, we will see what happens," and then be forgotten about for 8 hours. Again, this job has the potential to be a good job, but the management is an absolute joke right now. Making the workers just incredibly angry most of the time, and just an all around uncomfortable and exhausting environment to work in everyday.

The stress is way too high for what they do. The work place environment is toxic, but if you can keep your head down and work hard, you can suffer enough for a different position. I've seen people get told they were hired for one position, then have to do a totally different job that they didn't want for months, if they last that long. Brag about paid breaks, but the break starts as soon as you step away from the line. Break room being on the opposite side of the factory. It's a Monday through Friday job, but overtime on weekends is mandatory. And that's at least twice a month so far. The pay and benefits are great, but don't sell your soul for an extra buck. The health insurance is expensive. Management is a joke. Overall this would be a fine place to work but they have some real bad seeds in positions of power they need to get rid of before they'll see any change. I will say they are now actively trying to make a better work environment, but this place has a long history of being a bad place to work. There is no incentive to work hard when the guy next to you barely does their job, and you both get paid the same. And better yet, you're forced to pick up their slack. 

In a typical day, we started out with a 10 to 15 minute preshift meeting of what product is being ran and the kind of raw ( potatoes) we were using to make the product, if there were any problems or downtime keeping us from completing our goal successfully or on time such as , equipment, or the raw itself ( defects, sizing, etc.), or if they were short handed on people working to make the day successful, and what other items we were scheduled to run that we were going to change into through out the day . Then, we all would head out on to the floor in our designated areas and check our equipment, and all the settings  and make adjustments where needed to keep product running good and clean and sanitize around our areas throughout the day and attend meetings ( 10 to 15 minutes long) before change overs into a new item we're running so we all know where our settings are going to be to start up successfully. 

A typical day at work is very busy checking current production numbers and comparing to quality specifications, run schedules, and various other production goals. Work closely with Line Techs to help resolve any problems to not only reach company goals but exceed them, Directly supervise up to 50 employees, addressing any concerns and questions they may have. I have learned how to manage different types of people and personalities. My coworkers have an excellent concept being a team. The hardest part of my job is having to make weekend work mandatory due to production needs.
Management at McCains at times seems not to care for employee needs as much as I think they should. I understand the vision and direction of the company. I attend many meeting with management and have good working relationships with all management at my facility. I enjoy working with all the different departments and different personalities.

In my 7 months of experience working in the food science industry, I have learned a vast amount about how microbiology and industry fit together.  I work well independently, as well as part of a team, to help process upwards of 400 samples a day.  My ability to thrive in a fast paced environment without sacrificing quality  has allowed me to succeed as a microbiology technician.  
In addition to preforming a number of microbiological tests, I have also sharpened my record keeping abilities by being responsible for reporting microbiological test results to upper management on a daily basis.  This process has allowed me to become efficient in using a number of computer programs such as Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Access. 
I have honed my aseptic techniques, precision and accuracy, as well as how to maintain organization in a lab setting through my experiences. The knowledge I gained throughout my time spent in the food industry as a microbiology technician has prepared me to be an asset to your laboratory.

I enjoyed working the night shift for 5 years. Pay was good, good benefits, laid back environment to work in. But day shift... that sucked. For one, there was far too many supervisors that didn't have a clue about the work, they just knew it needed to be done. Very tongue in cheek atmosphere in that, policy dictated take your time and be safe, but management would hound you about down time on machines that are poorly maintained and severely overused. It's a very stressful place to work and being made to feel disposable made it worse. The "little people" that actually make the money for the company are little more then employee I.d. numbers to a multinational corporate giant. Very stinky, hot, uncomfortable conditions to work in.

McCain Foods is a really great company as they truly care about their employees. Not just in compensation but also in education. For my position I was given a large deal of training.The Ellio's Plant had around 30 - 60 employees but the company itself is a considerably large. Though despite the size, upper management always gave employees the impression that we were apart of a team. Which can be very empowering and boasts worker morale. My position a "Maintenance Clerk" wasn't as self fulfilling as say a "Mechanic", but did in fact I see that the possibilities or growth were limitless, as they encouraged me to look into the tuition reimbursement. Overall I had a wonderfull experience working for McCain Foods and would definitely recommend working for such a company.

McCain Foods in rice lake is a nightmare. 
Specifically C crew supervisor. If you want to work under the most unprofessional, disrespectful, rude, and disgusting, supervision then this is the job for you! 
But if you wish to be treated professionally, with respect, honor, and gratitude, you have better opportunities than working at McCain foods. The supervision on C crew gets multiple complaints daily. But there isn’t enough effort by management to fix the issues. The supervisor lies about her actions even in the midst of many many witnesses. But the most disgusting part is that she gets away with it. Even more disgusting is the stench of smoke as she cusses and degrades you inches from your face. She is an awful person who should have been fired a long time ago. Harassment and supervisor temper tantrums are the daily activities, and no you will not me trained or equipped to deal with the horrific goeings on. RUN far away, before you wish you had.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Production worker 7 salaries reported	$22.05 per hour
Sanitation worker 1 salary reported	$95,250 per year
Maintenance mechanic 1 salary reported	$32.61 per hour
Machine operator 5 salaries reported	$24.60 per hour
Laborer 29 salaries reported	$18.93 per hour

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