crane operator

quality manager

production associate

maintenance technician

machine operator

Olympic Steel

-Safety is only an issue when corporate is pushing it, or is around to see it. If safety is affecting productivity negatively, safety will take a back seat.
-Management is adept at best, often unaware of recurring issues causing loss of money/productivity. As well as playing "favorites", toward family members of current managers.
-When asking the HR rep about the details of the dental insurance program, I was told "no dental insurance is good dental insurance." This speaks for itself, I hope.
-Benefit deductibles have been increased steadily over the past 5 years, while providing less and less doctors who provide coverage.
-Health initiatives have been taken to increase health awareness for Olympic Steel's employees. Which is good when applied correctly, but here it is being forced on employees. Penalizing smokers $5/week extra for insurance, forcing physical exams (including detailed blood screens and BMI readings) in order to be insured through the company, while continuing to sell nothing but fatty snack foods to it's employees in the lunch rooms. 
-Bonuses are given out as "sick-pay" at the end of the year, so employees pay taxes on them rather than the employing company paying those taxes. There is no way to earn pay when calling off sick.
-When calling off sick, there is no avenue for having sick days without accruing "points" toward their attendance/tardiness system. 
-"Point" system offers several avenues for building up points, with almost no way to reduce them, short of absolute perfect attendance. 
-Mandatory weekend overtime is often given out on short notice, leaving little time to plan around it. Missed overtime days accrue "points".
-Advancement is possible within Olympic Steel, but there is a very low cap as to how high up the "ladder" you can climb without a degree. They do not base advancement opportunities on work performance whatsoever. 
-Some supervisors have had title changes without their knowledge or consent because they did not meet the job requirements that were adjusted after they had gotten the positions. (Years after in
 one case that I know of.)

What is the best part of working at the company?
A former boss who was very in favor of emps growing within the company, the job itself, interaction with supervisors and emps in the company’s various divisions

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of flexibility about working from home other than during Covid, too much emphasis on DEI - how about hiring emphasis being based on experience and knowledge instead of ethnicity and other personal preferences, favoritism, age discrimination 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Lack of respect for emps who are quiet by nature and the sense that they are not team players, being put into uncomfortable situations such as team building events, all personality types should be equally respected 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Read and answer emails as soon as possible, letting a caller know that the question is being looked into, keeping them updated if answer needs more research, taking all calls while on the clock, not letting anything, if possible, go to voicemail, setting goals for weekly deadlines, getting what needs to get done or work overtime if necessary and not running out at closing time 5p on the dot and leaving things undone

This company is corrupt from top to bottom. Hostile work environment, poor morale, rules are made up as they go depending on who you are and whether or not you go out drinking and golfing with the management. Hire you in for one position and then because management does not have any backbone you are changed to something else a year later when they don't like that you actually want the employees under you to do their jobs instead of sitting in the General Managers office with their feet up. 

People hired from the local bar to perform positions that they are not qualified for and are allowed to treat their co-workers, customers and management with disrespect and hostility and nothing is ever done to fix the situation even with the corporate office is involved.  Instead of solving the issue they just push out the employees who actually care. 

I have worked some pretty horrible jobs in my life but this was the worst place I have ever worked. Don't listen to the line of bull management spews because it is all lies to get you in the door. I thought I was going in for a great job where I could make a difference and it turned out to be a toxic dump. 

 All of the negative reviews on this company are completely true.

Action Stainless has significant safety and operational issues that need to be addressed. During my time there, I observed unsafe practices, including welding being performed inside the building without proper oversight and a lack of consistent daily forklift inspections. Safety procedures did not appear to be enforced consistently.

The organization is also very disorganized operationally. In some cases, company drivers were responsible for unloading and checking in materials, which created inefficiencies and confusion regarding responsibilities.

I also witnessed unprofessional behavior during meetings, such as an employee doing her makeup while participating in a meeting, with no response or correction from management. This reflected a broader lack of accountability and leadership.

Since the company was acquired by Olympic Steel, it appears to be transitioning from a small family-run business to a larger corporate structure. However, substantial improvements are needed in safety, organization, professionalism, and management practices to support that transition successfully.


This company has the unlimited potential to become one of the most productive companies in the area, however, poor employee relations and over-commitment has them reeling back on their heels constantly.
They have trouble training and keeping full staff which cripples them as a company and is a huge frustration to it's employees that do want the company to succeed. 
Low compensation and the inability to follow and achieve their business plan, leaves many questions whether its the management selection, or the business plan itself that is the problem.
Five Operation Managers and Five General managers in five years would indicate the problem is deeper than front line supervision and their employees.
High turnover rate.

I’m proud to work for a company that genuinely lives its core values. This is a place where employees are treated with respect and dignity, and where people at all levels are valued for their contributions. The culture promotes collaboration, trust, and transparency, making it a supportive and engaging place to grow your career.

There are clear opportunities for advancement, and leadership is truly invested in employee development. It’s refreshing to be part of an organization that not only talks about culture but consistently backs it up through action. Overall, it’s a great place to work and build a meaningful career.

Unfortunately, my experience in this role did not meet expectations. While I appreciated the opportunity and learned a few transferable skills, several key issues made it difficult to thrive. Communication across teams was inconsistent, leading to confusion and duplicated efforts. Leadership often lacked transparency, and decisions were made without input from those directly affected. The workload was frequently overwhelming, with little regard for worklife balance or long term sustainability. Additionally, opportunities for growth and development were limited, and feedback was rarely constructive or actionable. Overall, while I value the lessons learned, I would not recommend this position to others seeking a supportive or forward-thinking work environment.


An absolutely terrible place to work. Was hired and told that overtime is voluntary and might be required once or twice a year. I was on forced overtime for 4 months straight and this consisted of 7days a week or 12 hour shifts 6 days a week. The company does not care about your safety, as identified by forcing uncertified non- maintenance employees to do work they are not properly trained in. The company does not care if you present ideas to them to increase productivity and whereby create more money for this company. The only thing that matters is you suck up to your foreman, everything they say is right (no matter what) and hopefully they favor you. If not you are in trouble, start counting your days.


Great company. I've worked for them twice. They're the perfect size and structure to be able to have a real impact and make a difference - very entrepreneurial and quick to reward people who work hard and approach things with a positive attitude. The Executive team changed in the past few years, and the new CEO is focused on safety, strengthening company performance and the culture. It's a great time to be at the company. Lots of good things happening and the management team is really interested in employee feedback. I've worked at other companies of different sizes and in different industries, and Olympic Steel has been my best experience. I really believe that the company values mean something to the people running the company.

Working at Olympic Steel I learned a lot.  I was able to learn from other coworkers there.  Multi-tasking is a must and being a team player is key in order to have a successful working environment.  The hardest part of the job would be dealing with other's unequal level of commitment to the job to what mine was.  I am very committed to my job and everything that I put into it so seeing others not reach their full potential was hard. I lead by example in hope that others can learn from me as I learn from them.  The most enjoyable part of the job was working with others and learning from their experiences and advancing my skill base through the help of others.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Crane operator 2 salaries reported	$23.03 per hour
Quality manager 4 salaries reported	$110,000 per year
Production associate 2 salaries reported	$20.88 per hour
Maintenance technician 2 salaries reported	$32.50 per hour
Machine operator 1 salary reported	$23.00 per hour

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