business systems analyst

transit manager

financial analyst

bus driver

contract administrator

Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities

Pros

Good benefits, great mission. I feel good helping to provide an essential public service. Good work life balance - most non-management people don’t work more than 40 hours. In my experience, folks who developed health problems separate from work were generally treated well. Can take long vacations, i.e. 4, 5, or 6 weeks, if you accrue enough time off. In both cases, management responded well to moving people around to cover the work.
(tip: the union contracts with the salary, PTO, and health care schedules are very easy to google)

Cons

Management is inconsistent throughout the organization, and that helps create pockets that are good to work in and pockets that present certain challenges.

Make sure you have a sense of how your manager knows if things are going poorly or well, and how your manager engages with the people they manage. In my experience management was very removed from day-to-day work, and relied on secondhand input from a subset of the work group. Ask if folks seem to feel equally listened to, and if both issues and successes get attention.

Try to talk with at least 3 folks you would be working with. Ask if your manager can provide specific, actionable feedback. Ask if management sets clear and reasonable expectations, and provides the resources you need to meet these expectations. In my experience, I saw several cases of people needing to spend 3-5 years convincing management to do something that was obviously needed. I also saw straightforward changes get stonewalled by shifting requirements.

Ask about what kind of autonomy you would have to take initiative to improve things and what level of control management exerts. In my experience, taking initiative often ended up with effectively a ‘stay-in-your-lane’ response and made me feel like I would have been better off keeping my head down. In larger government workplaces, work roles are often carefully prescribed, and I think that applies here.

Depending on your manager and role, there can be little allowance for professional development. Ask about 5 types of professional development employees have been allowed to do in the past year or two. It was hard to be allowed to do anything outside of taking the professional development classes offered internally. Learning new job functions is based on what management wanted you to learn, and is based on management saying its ok for someone to spend time training you and its ok for you to spend the time learning it.

I saw a pattern across my department and other departments we worked with of forgetting what had been discussed and decided after hours of meetings discussing that decision.

There is no real way to report work (invalid data being reported) or people issues (ie harassment) without fearing retaliation. 

Salary information is available here : https://metcwages.wixsite.com/metropolitan-council


The mission is great and they love to toot their own horn about all of their great work in every aspect of everything they do.  Stick around long enough and you will begin to see what's beneath that glowing facade.  Do what's right and point out areas where improvement is needed and you will likely find yourself in the crosshairs and the subject of toxic workplace practices.  They have their favorites who can do no wrong and their targets who can do no right.
Coworkers are generally incredible folks who strive to serve the region with excellence. Management in general is functionally unfit at the foundational level, tying the hands of good managers who are trying to do their best. 
From the Union negotiation process through to how they address accident claims in which members of the public are harmed, there is a pervasive attitude that devalues people across the board and does not serve the region in the slightest.  Executive management absolutely drives this unspoken, unwritten organizational position. 
Employees are leaving faster than they can be replaced and unless leadership aligns practice with the praises they sing of themselves, functionality at all levels will be lost. The modern employee will not stick around to discover the source of putrid decay once they get the first whiff that something is Rotten in Denmark, especially in the current job market.
Metropolitan Council - get it together and truly serve the region by serving each and every constituent, including those who opt to serve within the organization. Align practices with the principles you flaunt daily. The people of the region deserve to be valued and respected at the individual level! You cannot be good stewards of the resources within the region without practicing what you preach. 

Work-life balance is good is good. 

What not so good is there is almost no advancement opportunities, the pay is low, you have to use your vacation bank for sick time, they negotiate in bad faith by putting you in or near the "Performance Zone". It sounded like a good thing, but the Performance Zone means you get low or no yearly raises for the remainder of your employment. 

HR treats employees like enemies and denies benefits. Many people must go through the Union’s grievance process to get what they’re entitled to. 

If you ever leave the Council and don’t come back, this job will be bad for your  retirement! The council doesn’t let you take the employer's retirement contribution. And if you’re vested and keep your pension with them, it decreases with inflation! 

Example, if you work for the Council for 5 years at an average of $90K, go to another employer, retire 25 years later, and live for 25 more years, your pension will be worth around $60,000. That same 5 years at an employer who matches 401K at 5% will be worth about $135,000. Assuming historical inflation and 401k returns.

I'd advise not joining the council until they create more competitive compensation and benefits package.  


I worked in HR and the leadership was abysmal. They couldn't communicate, were inconsistent with employees, had zero outside experience so they weren't exactly pushing any boundaries, and there were performance issues all around that were completely ignored. I was always frustrated that I couldn't move anything forward because direction kept changing, there wasn't internal motivation to move something forward, or my projects were enough of a priority to start, but not enough to finish. 

Really just horrible. I left after I had been managing a program and at the actual last second, they cancelled the whole thing my team and I had been working on for months to prepare for. It was the last straw. 

Individual contributors were all outstanding, but there is some kind of disconnect that happens once you rise up levels that makes it impossible, apparently, to get anything done, delegate, or develop talent.

No sick leave is allowed until at least a year of time has been worked. No health insurance is received for the first three months, then Health Partners tries to get you off any/ all medications you are on through offered treatments with surgeries an option.  An employee can earn sick time and vacation for the first year, but is not allowed to use any portion thereof for sick leave.  Typical work day is Union boss centered, for maintenance that means you do what they request, any more or less and suffer the consequences from co-workers. Talking bad about each other and managers, each thinking they know all there is to know, the typical maintenance culture. If you think of moving up, you will be quelled even if you have relevant experience and qualifications. I have been told by Union members that where you start is where you stay (Union Centered). 

You are literally the face of the company. Whenever there is a problem you are the first one to blame. Management doesn't have compassion unless it has something to do with them. Your beliefs doesn't become a reality until it affects someone in upper management. You can put your blood,sweat, and tears into this company and you can be replaced no matter how many years you have in the company.

Wake up very early.  Drive to work. Mingle with fellow employees, not all (clickish) garage atmosphere.  Pre-trip bus, go to first pick ups.  Pick up and greet passengers, for me passenger interactions minimal; because of need to concentrate on driving.  Spend to much time thinking my own thoughts, only visual distractions, need to focus on safe driving.  My biggest negatives of job.  Some drivers really enjoy the job a lot, me, it is boring. I may be considered more introverted than many.  Many people really love the job.  It is great to know some of the drivers there, many are good-natured fun people.  Normally positive atmosphere.

The Metropolitan Council is a great place to work if you don't have aspirations for upward mobility. Most people have the same job as they were hired for throughout their career there. 
The benefits, especially the health care and vacation time are excellent. If you are sick it comes out of vacation time, there is no sick leave. 
It is all union jobs, so there are union fees.
You do get a State of Minnesota pension when you retire.
The employees work very well together and generally get along. Management, however, is under pressure not to promote employees based on their great work.
Cronyism is rampant.

Had a great few years there. Great coworkers, the work is satisfying, the benefits are amazing, would have worked there until I retired if I could have. However, I had to leave after the upper management decided to bring everyone back into the office during the pandemic. We voiced our concerns, basically nobody was happy about it, and they went ahead with it anyways. I told them I wasn't comfortable putting ephemeral things like cross-team camaraderie and team building over health and safety, so if they went ahead with the return to work, I was leaving. They did, so I did. 

This was the most challenging position I had ever held, because of the work.  Did train and bus operators pay analysis and not one was the same. Had to comply to Union rules and regulations as well as State and Local laws.  Had drivers working part-time, weekend and holiday, some work 6 hours a day, 8 hours a day and 9 as well as 10 hours.  Each fit different rules and regs.  Needed every bit of financial knowledge I had ever learned.  Worked long hours to complete duties felt excitement as  each payroll was ready to load for the final run.  Loved this job.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Business systems analyst 15 salaries reported	$51.90 per hour
Transit manager 11 salaries reported	$55.49 per hour
Financial analyst 6 salaries reported	$57.79 per hour
Bus driver 15 salaries reported	$32.25 per hour
Contract administrator 6 salaries reported	$55.60 per hour

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