forklift operator

manufacturing technician

maintenance technician

quality assurance technician

production worker

Monogram Food Solutions

If you're looking for a job that offers decent money, good benefits, a very protective labor union, and a relatively easy 8-hour job, then Monogram might be a good fit for you. In Plover, Monogram operates two factories, Post Road and Moore Road- I've worked at both, and they're run like two completely different companies. 

I'll start with the older facility at Post Road. As of his writing, Post only operates 1st and 2nd shift, and has fewer production lines than Moore does. Post, and it's predominantly "veteran" employees has a reputation for being a rather rude and even unpleasant place to work in terms of coworkers. The production areas (excluding the oven area) are generally much colder than those at Moore.

Moore road runs three shifts around the clock. Third shift offers a sizable differential, but due to staff issues, is forced to run the slowest to compensate. If you want to make the most money for the least amount of work, 3rd shift at Moore road is the way to go. Most of their operations are feeding materials into packaging machines- if you can stand for eight hours and push small boxes around on a conveyor belt, it's very easy money. One line produces onion-based products, the smell of which can be rough for some people- if it's not for you, transferring to the other section of the building is very easy though.

That said, turnover is still very high. Days on and off can change with a few hours notice (including weekends), and management will routinely press workers to stay late or come early. If you want overtime, they'll give you all you want and then some. Workload varies by product, production quota, and workforce levels; management will stress getting things done "no matter the cost" so to speak.

"Promotions" are handed out like candy on Halloween. If you stay on for more than a month without calling in, you can easily advance up the ladder into various machine operator roles and beyond- if one isn't randomly offered to you by your supervisor outright. Though be forewarned that the bump in pay for these positions may not make up for the increase in work load and time commitment, as operators are always required to work longer than the line workers. The VCS system is the most physically demanding of these jobs that I am aware of, while the bagger system typically pays the most. If I had to pick the "easiest" operator position, it would probably be the slicer or the fryer.

Safety culture is mixed. Their "on the books" safety plan is one of the best in the region, but adherence to that plan varies wildly depending on the supervisor. Though this goes for any job, any prospective employee here should be alert to their own safety first and foremost, and refuse any task that could place them in harms way.

The crew at Moore were some of the best people I ever worked with. Even the most bumbling in management weren't malicious about it, and are generally pretty good folks. That said, no one was ever under the illusion that anyone was in the building for any other reason than to get paid- if you're not interested in being social, no one will care.

The production areas vary from kinda noisy to extremely loud, depending on what machinery is running. Hearing protection is required and provided, including specialty solutions for those that want/need them. There are places in there where I could yell at full volume and not be heard.

Finally, the break schedule each day includes two paid 15 minute breaks and an unpaid 30 minute lunch period in an 8 hour shift. They pay every Friday.

I don't think it's the sort of place most people would want to "retire" from, nor is it a glamorous place to work in any sense. It is, however, a great place to make some reliable, relatively easy money if you need it for as long as that may be. There are certainly worse places to work for less money in the area.

My time at Monogram Foods worked out well.  As the 2nd shift QA Supervisor, a typical day entailed gathering information from the preceding supervisor on the events of the day, making sure my employees understood their responsibilities and the reviewing of documentation for accuracy and thoroughness.  This experience has enhanced my knowledge of production of hot dogs and the food safety concerns that  are associated, especially in control of cross contamination of raw and cooked.  It has also enhanced my experience in working with regulatory and the USDA/FSIS.  The culture an open door work environment.  I had a chance to work with a variety of coworkers from the plant manager to sales and to R&D.  This positions has also given me the opportunity to enhance my validation skills and often worked with the HACCP coordinator to validate the HACCP plans and pre-requisite programs.  The hardest part of the jobs was the training programs and the language barrier.  The plant need to have a dedicated training room that focuses on training.  Also the majority of the employees spoke English as a second language making it difficult to ensure the training was effective.  The most enjoyable were the people.  There is always a welcoming environment and all employees felt welcome.

This is probably one of the worst jobs i’ve ever worked. 2nd shift management has some of the poorest organizational skills i’ve ever seen, and they’re constantly moving employees around without a clear sense of what they’re trying to achieve. Lines constantly break down because they overrun the machines, to a point where it’s difficult for employees to keep up. Management is highly biased and poor at best, and they only get on certain people, so if you’re not a favorite expect to have them up your bum. The work, in theory, is easy, but they do things in the most complicated way possible that ends up shafting the whole thing over and causes more problems than it solves. Pay is decent, but in comparison to what they put you through and the drama from coworkers that act like they’re still in high school, it’s not worth it. Only work here if you’re desperate, seriously. They’re always hiring, but that’s because they treat their workers so poorly they can’t keep people around. This only goes for MV1 pack, the main portion of the plant and the only part that is hired externally. Every other area in the plant is treated fairly well, but MV1 pack second shift is overworked and highly under appreciated. 

Very stressful  to work at, have to hit daily metrics in order to keep your job - no matter what level you work at. The problem with that is all the work is done mostly by hand not my by machines, and to complicate the matter, you have a high turnover rate and there is no room for adequate training, its either sink or swim. Metrics is accounted for by how much product (in this case jerky) a team member can create, but not only does the team member have to cover their labor, but the labor of the team members who are not working the line as well, for example a lead or material handler. Upper management will drive middle management  to do whatever it takes to win on labor, yeilds, etc., even if it means, tweaking the numbers.
Upper management has its picks and chooses throughout the facility. If your liked by upper management you can get away with murder-if not your off the bus or on your own. Training poor, a week at best. Poor communication. If you're in middle management you will be working 7 days, because on your only day off, you will be checking everyone's time on your shift which totals approximately a 100 employees, which over half are temps.
In my opinion they only care about the numbers to get more money from investors.

This was one of the worst jobs I have ever worked. They have a point system that is really cruel. They will point you for picking up your sick kids from school, going to the emergency room, going to a funeral outside of bereavement people, point you for leaving a group meeting, point you for being one minutes late, point you if something tragic happens to your car, point you for almost anything. Monogram plays favorites and cuts hours if the technology fails or product does not need to be made, will make you stay home if there is no work, make you work even if your throwing up or running a fever. It was embarrassing working for a company like this! They train you for one day and respect you to know everything that goes on there in less than a week and there is always someone yelling at something. They turn a blind eye to yelling and management does not talk to people because they have this attitude that well why should I talk to everyday people it’s not my job. Consider fast food or cleaning hotel rooms. Also their insurance doesn’t cover major diabetes medicine and is well below average insurance! Their motto is people first but their actions literally say otherwise! 

Uppermangement does not give regards to the employees unless they are Hispanic. The superintendent shows favoritism without hiding it, he try’s to change the things that actually okay but doesn’t do a thing about the important matters at hand. They do not supply proper PPE for the 3rd shift crew. I worked there for a year it took me months before I received my protection suit to protect my body from harmful and even deadly chemicals that are used during the sanitation. Majority of the employees on ALL shifts DO NOT follow the GMPs. The 3rd shift sanitation supervisor doesn’t wear a hairnet when walking on the floor sometimes. He fails to wear the provided blue frocks. During my interview and orientation process, everything I was told ended up being all of the wrong information for my position, it’s almost as if they’ve never seen or heard what 3rd shift does. Over time, new employees would explain there experience in orientation and it’d be revealed that not every person received the same information during there new hire phase. At my interview I was told it’s a minimum of 42.5 hours a week. Once I started, I averaged roughly 34 hours a week.

Run away!!!...this company is full of backstabbers. worked there for just shy of a year in maintenance. Production will do whatever they can to blame maintenance for whatever reason they can fathom. If you do decide to take the chance, do not let any of the other guys figure out how much you make, because if you make just a .25 more they will stab you in the back, every turn they can. Its a you against me mentality and often time you are out on your own to survive. Its full of clicks and every shift is doing whatever they can to screw over the other shifts. Its horrible, which is sad, because there are some really good people there. QA is your biggest enemy, they are like 12 year old children and nit pick anything for the dumbest reason. They do this to score brownie points, even if it shooting the company in the foot. 2nd shift QA manager is a joke and has a hard on for minor infractions that he will blow out of proportions to make himself look good at your expense. HEED MY WARNING STAY AWAY!!! there is a reason they are "ALWAYS" hiring.

*A typical work day on 2nd shift requires weathering the storm of every disadvantage first shift put you in.
*I learned management does not care about your growth in the least. Never have I believed I'd see such a gaslighting disrespectful, favorite picking nightmare of a company. You can learn every job, show up every day, but managers will still hold you back from every opportunity if you aren't a role playing favorite.
*The culture of the workplace is promote family even if they dont deserve it, while snuffing and working the brakes off the rest. 
*The hardest part of the job is knowing/realizing managers will conspire against you if they view you as an "asset" to production. Thus reducing your potential for growth in finances.
*The most enjoyable part of the job is meeting so many people. The turnover ratio is surreal! But yet management fails to recognize as to WHY.
*To be honest Id not recommend working beyond six months at this company. Its not worth the sacrifice of emotional well being.

Communication isn't their strong suit.  Have learned a lot and grown a lot in my department. Management Doesn't care about short notice schedule changes and things like that because they're not the ones effected by the change. Pay is very very low compared to local competitors. Management goes on power trips and will write you up, but not someone else for doing the same thing. Refusal to spend money on necessities like New holding freezer. Not allowed to do preform any work above due to due possible collapsing. Maint. Department requires safety glasses but doesn't cover the cost of them or have any reimbursement for them. Management will con you into stuff/positions that you may or may not want. Always doing duties that aren't part of your job/doing others jobs. Always short staffed. 

I worked at this place for 3+ years as a hard worker with perfect attendance and loved the technical side of jerky making however I did not like the culture of screwing others to make one's self look good. Favoritism is rampant everywhere but especially with the smokehouse supervisor. He will let his subordinate friend(outside work buddy) slack off and you have to pick up his slack. The guy delegates one favored pet that decides which of the other chosen pets will work weekend overtime. Now don't get me wrong the Company is actually good, It's most of the people that work there that are not. Some good, most bad. Human Resources tried to lie to the Virginia Employment Commission as to why I was fired and was caught lying, so I was granted my unemployment compensation. For me I take the firing as a blessing and found a job with better people.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Forklift operator 5 salaries reported	$19.61 per hour
Manufacturing technician 7 salaries reported	$30.00 per hour
Maintenance technician 2 salaries reported	$26.78 per hour
Quality assurance technician 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Production worker 1 salary reported	$18.25 per hour

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