What About Employers’ Obligations to Work-Campers?

We are constantly reminded of the “do’s and don’ts” as work-campers.  We should always honor our contractual agreements with employers by showing up for our work commitments and never leaving before the designated contract period ends.  We should always be willing to complete any work assignment, even those not specified in job descriptions.  We should not question management decisions, instead we should do exactly as we are told.  We should be willing to work as many or as few hours at the determination of our employers.  We should be adaptable to changing conditions.  My family always abides by these work-camper rules. But what about the “do’s and don’ts” for employers?  Don’t they have some obligations as well?

After 10 glorious, exhilarating days touring and hiking National and State Parks/Monuments in Southeast Utah (which I’ll tell you all about in upcoming blogs), we headed with anticipation to wonderful Jackson, Wyoming for our gig with the Grand Teton Association, the nonprofit fundraising partner for the National Park.  We were interviewed, offered positions, and executed commitment letters in November 2017 for an arrival date of May 1 and a start date of May 4, 2018.   Having worked for 6 months at the Grand Canyon Association (the fundraising partner to that National Park) the prior year, we are well versed in the realm of retail sales and in the nuances of the world of non-profit organizations.  We came highly recommended by the management team at Grand Canyon Association, and were instrumental in adding store guests to the organization's list of sustaining members.

What transpired upon arrival to the Grand Teton Association was a true cluster of confusion, mis- or non-communication by the employer, and complete disregard, disrespect, and absolutely no understanding of the full-time RV lifestyle.

Before I go into my narrative, you need to understand my Mom.   She is a scheduler and organizer.  We line up our jobs 6-8 months in advance.  She is always looking for a practical, logical solution. She analyzes ALL aspects and facets of a situation, leaving no stone unturned.  She asks 101 questions to be sure we have a full understanding of all issues. (As an example, Mom learned of a Wyoming statute that mandated registering any vehicle that is in the state 120 days or more.  This would amount to $600 for us, so it was important to ascertain facts. She inquired about it to our employer.   Interestingly, the Human Resources (H.R.) rep knew nothing about it despite the law being on the books for many years and H.R. hiring seasonal employees year after year.   Upon Mom sending her various links and documents, H.R. did research the issue, after which she advised us not to worry about it—she claimed it is not enforceable).  Dad calls Mom a pessimist, always expecting the worst.  Me, however, classify her as a realist.  She is a good communicator, is always proactive, striving to head off any potential problems at the pass.  She may be anal and quirky, but she’s done good for me, Dad, and past employers.  OK, now back to the story.

 

In January 2018, an email was sent by H.R. to all employees requesting information on the size of our rigs.  The email stated that construction would be undertaken in Gross Ventre campground, so construction workers would be utilizing sites within the employee designated loop of this open-to-the public campground.  We know that we are VERY long (43’ 5^th wheel, 28’ medium duty truck, plus our “toys”).  Therefore, we always include this information in our initial email correspondence requesting consideration of hire, and we always send photos.  We also discuss it verbally during all our interviews.  We complied with the H.R. request and provided the information again, reiterating our toys, and re-submitting photos.

Now it’s March 23 and we have heard no further information regarding our employment.  We had learned that a new Executive Director has come on-board.  Perhaps there are other new employees, including H.R., which is why we didn’t hear anything?  Mom sent a greeting to H.R. and our store manager expressing our eagerness to arrive May 1 and begin work May 4, which was received and acknowledged by both parties.

On April 2, 2018, we received an email from H.R. giving us our campground assignment of site 245.  Because of the ongoing construction within the campground, she notes there are limited sites available to accommodate everyone’s rig sizes.  Therefore, many assignments have changed (presumably this notation is for returning seasonals since we received no prior communication regarding sites).   We asked for a campground site map since Dad’s efforts to pull anything off Google Earth were fruitless.  H.R. said the map she had was “crummy”, but she’d get one to us.  There was no specific information about construction and we never received the site map.

Fast forward to April 24, 2018, one week before we are due to arrive.  You would think by now we would receive some information from H.R.    But we don’t hear a peep.

So Mom sends an email on April 26.  Hey, we are en route, scheduled to arrive per our contract on May 1.   Do we go right to our assigned Site 245 at the campground and settle in or do we need to check in with someone? When and where do we fill out new hire paperwork?  What time do we need to show up for work on May 4? What is our first week's schedule? All very important, logical questions that a planner would want to know.  After all, we wanted to set up our site, get acquainted with the area, go to our workplace and learn the store layout, etc.

We get a reply from H.R. that our store manager will meet us on arrival.  She provides no answers to the other questions.  She copies the manager on the email.  Mom replies to both that we will send a status update as the date and time of arrival approach.

Between April 26 and May 1, we never receive any acknowledgement from the store manager.  On May 1 at 7:30 a.m., we try to email/phone the store manager to give an ETA, but by now, we are in a bad cell area and undergoing a snow storm in the Pass.  We finally get through at 10 a.m.,  an hour before our arrival, and she meets us at the locked gate. 

The store manager escorts us to our site, but she is bringing us to Site 249, which cannot possibly fit us.  Before saying anything, Mom double checks the email from April 2.  It clearly reflects we are assigned to Site 245.  After the manager completes several phone calls, we learn one of the construction crew was on site 245 by mistake.  He was instructed he could be there until we arrived, but he got bad info that we weren’t due in until May 4 (that’s our start work date, not our arrival date).  They make him move since there are no other available sites in the loop assigned to our employer to fit a set-up of our size.  We wait 1.5 hours waiting for him to vacate, and now we must circle round so he can get through the road.  Easy, peasy, right?  WRONG!  There are a series of curves, trucks, trees, dumpsters, and ditches, acting as an obstacle course for Dad to get around.  After several attempts, he realizes he cannot negotiate the turn around the final curve without damaging our vehicle.  So instead, he must back-up for nearly 1/4 of a mile, again around curves, trucks, trees, dumpsters, and ditches.  After much nail-biting and stress, we get into Site 245 and begin to set up camp.  It took 6 hours to de-garage the motorcycles, lift the ATV off the truck and reassemble it, set up our electric/water/sewer/TV antenna connections, clean inside thoroughly, polish furniture, hang pictures, display ceramics and other “breakables” that we put in storage during transport, set up the grill, rug, birdfeeder, and assorted other tasks to make this “home”.  After all, we are here for the next 5 months.  

Our first houseguest!

Upon completion, we were exhausted.  About 8 p.m., while just sitting down for a very late dinner, we get a knock at the door.  An irate gentleman greets us with, “You are on my site.”  Apparently, he is a volunteer (rather than employee), and he claims his returning to his position for a second year was predicated on getting Site 245.  Dad provides the memo issued by H.R. which shows us assigned to 245, while the volunteer is assigned to Site 242 (which is the site he was on last year).  He claims he never received that memo (which Mom later realizes is true—H.R. left him off the distribution list, one in a litany of blunders H.R. makes.  If he were on the distribution list, the whole issue could have been addressed before our arrival).

H.R. comes out the next morning to try to find a solution.  But as stated earlier, there is construction going on in the campground, and many alternate spots are taken by contractors.   There is talk about getting the Park Service to move barriers to enlarge sites.   But bottom line, they now expect us to dismantle everything we assembled and move to acquiesce to this volunteer’s mandate that he get Site 245.   It should be noted that while the volunteer gets a free site as his compensation, we must pay for our site.  (Interestingly, Despite Mom inquiring about it in January, H.R. failed to convey to us that the daily site rate increased as well, from $12.50 in 2017, which was quoted during our interview, to $14 for 2018.)

Mom and Dad pleaded their case.  Is it fair to determine that a volunteer's requirement trumps that of an employee?  We made no demands for specific sites, we did what we were told and went to our assigned site 245.  Should we be penalized for errors and oversights on H.R.’s part?  Does it make sense to displace us now when we are all set up and the volunteer is on a site that fits his set-up and which he actually stayed on last year? 

 

This is when the bombshell hit:  HR replies, what’s the difference about moving.   She says we all have to move anyway in July when the construction contractors renovate the sites we are on.  Furthermore, we would have to move back to our original sites after the renovations occur.  What you talking about, Willis?  This piece of information was NEVER communicated to us! While she referenced campground construction on two prior e-mails, she never stated factually nor even inferred that it would involve the employee loop of this huge, open-to-the-public campground! She simply stated that there would be construction workers living on the employee loop, making it more difficult to assign spots.   Are we being unrealistic in thinking this is important information to convey to employees!  Even the volunteer, who knew of the campground construction from his prior year’s seasonal gig here, agreed he saw no communication issued by H.R. apprising of this need to move sites.

Mom starts interrogating H.R. about the issue (Dad’s so peeved, he walks away to regroup).  H.R. starts the backpedaling, claiming she just learned this musical-chairs requirement within the last couple of weeks.  So what!  You had at least these 2 weeks to give employees a heads-up!  If this had been communicated to us, we NEVER would have accepted the job, for we would never want the inconvenience of moving multiple times within a 5 month period when work-camping.  Mom, trying to make sense of this whole situation asks what sites are they going to move us on temporarily when they renovate our current sites?  Isn’t it logical to put us there to start with?  If we have to move to appease the volunteer, at least put us where it will minimize further moves.  And if we were agreeable to moving multiple times, where would we go now?  We checked through the employee lot, and the only other site we could possibly squish into (putting the truck elsewhere) was 248, and it's already taken by another employee.  Why displace two sets of workers for one?  We wouldn’t want to do to someone else what was being done to us.  Then we looked into the public section of the campground.  There were only 1 or 2 sites we could get into and they had no hookups, but we are no strangers to boondocking.  Could we go there? Nope, H.R. advises Mom that going to a concessionaire’s site is not permitted.

H.R. can provide absolutely no answers to Mom’s barrage of questions and has ruled against all our suggestions and solutions.   But H.R. does state she will go back immediately to the new Director and Park Service to get answers.   She promises to get back to us with the results of her queries before the end of day.  The volunteer is willing to stay on his assigned Site 242 until she gets back to us.  Everything is status quo.  We are all working for an amicable compromise.

It wasn’t a half hour later that the new Director phones Mom and says they simply cannot accommodate our “expectations” for a site.  Expectations?  Is it unrealistic to believe that an employer would fulfill their contractual obligation and provide a site suitable to the employee’s set-up size?  If there were ANY question about fitting, especially since there are extenuating circumstances at the campground this year, don’t you think it only ethical to bring it up BEFORE an employee arrives and incurs time and travel costs?    She states that we are an anomaly in size, and we “brought so much” with us.  (Of course we did, we are full-timers!  This is our home!  And we disclosed the extent of our set up with H.R. and our store manager in emails and during the interview process.)

She further states she understands we are frustrated (who wouldn’t be!), but that we are not exhibiting the flexibility required for the situation.  (If she finds us inflexible, what about the returning volunteer?  At the very least, he could have stayed on Site 242, where he survived all last year, until we had to move out for the renovations).  She continued that if we are not happy with the site situation, this will translate to unhappiness in the workplace.  Without saying the words, in essence, she dismissed us!  And this is before we even signed our new hire paperwork or stepped foot into the retail store!

Of everything that occurred, this was the most upsetting.  Mom and Dad are reliable, honest, hard-working, old school, “can do”, “will do” team players who take pride in their work.  They are professionals who know how to act in the work place.   How dare Ms. Director pre-judge our work ethics!  My parents have worked many jobs through the years, both in their professional lives and in the work-camping arena.  There is not an employer among them who would agree with Ms. Director’s assessment.  They have always received stellar performance reviews, as evidenced by their references from each employer.  Every work-camping employer has invited us back.  It is our choice to go to new places every year.  Truthfully, we are flabbergasted by the behavior exhibited by the Director.  Through errors on the part of H.R, they now have no where for us to fit, so spin it so we become the cause of the problem. We have never, ever, ever been treated so badly before by an employer!  To make matters worse, Ms. Director would not even come off her office tuffet for 20 minutes to have this discussion in person.  We were not worthy of her wasting her valuable time.  To say we are disenchanted and disappointed is an understatement.  We spent the rest of yesterday breaking down our set up for us to leave this morning.

So back to the subject of this blog:  What are an employer’s obligations?

1)COMMUNICATE!  This rat finds it so ironic that despite the many communication tools we have available to us in this decade, business still fails miserably in corresponding and sharing information.  Keep employees informed, send out periodic updates to engage and ensure everyone is still on-board.  If ANY parameter of the contractual agreement changes, it is IMPERATIVE to disclose it.  Obviously, our employer failed miserably in this department!

    2)BE HONEST!    Give accurate descriptions of job requirements.  For example, don’t say you may need to clean the bathroom once or twice a week and it becomes a daily function.   Don’t say the job entails 25-30 hours and work someone 40.  Similarly, don’t promise 35-40 hours and give only 25.  Work-campers rely on honest information to compare job offers and make informative decisions on employment.   Most importantly, if you do have RV site size limitations, include that in you advertisement!  You will save yourself and a potential employee some valuable time and headaches.

3)UNDERSTAND THE FULL-TIME RV LIFESTYLE!  Especially since you rely upon our community to fulfill your operational needs.  We have homes on wheels.  Set-ups are getting larger and larger.  Getting into a site is not just about its depth and the length of the rig.  Maneuvering around obstacles, height clearances of trees, angles, etc. are also important and vital factors.  Don’t hire us if you cannot accommodate us.  We incur time and travel costs to come for jobs.  We don’t want to learn after the fact that you could never fit us.

   4)DO NOT ESTABLISH COVENANTS OR MAKE PROMISES YOU CANNOT KEEP.  Nothing is more disappointing than having an unequivocal agreement and having it broken.  Don’t make job offers contingent on getting specific sites.  At least always include a caveat, like “barring any unforeseen circumstances” to cover your tracks.

   5)TREAT EMPLOYEES EQUALLY, FAIRLY, AND WITH RESPECT.  Do not pander to one employee's requests at the detriment of another employee.  One employee’s needs should not stomp on another employee’s.  Similarly, all employees should be responsible for all tasks associated with their jobs.  One cannot be exempt from performing more menial tasks of their job description while another must pick up the slack.  When there are more delicate issues to be discussed, don’t hide behind a phone or email.  Extend the professional courtesy of meeting with us in person if you are on site.   

Ironically, we had an issue with another employer in Wyoming with whom we went through the whole interview process, had reference checks completed, received a job offer based on reference feedback, and executed our commitment letters before learning the off-site campground location in Idaho could not accommodate a set-up our size (see blog of January 8, 2018).  What is it about Wyoming?  We are told Jackson severely lacks in housing/RV sites for its seasonal workers.  The limited amount available can only accommodate small rigs.  Guess we are not destined to work-camp here.

Bottom line is both employers and work-campers must be cognizant of each other’s requirements and must work toward fulfilling the business goals of the employer while addressing the personal needs of the employees.  Teamwork and mutual respect are the foundation for a satisfying business relationship.

On the bright side, we did get to enjoy a magnificent sunset over the Grand Tetons.

And we witnessed an abundance of wildlife in our short time here.  Here are photos of a small sampling:

The good news is we always land on our feet.  Within hours, we had a new job lined up working in Black Hills National Forest Pactola Lake Campground.  South Dakota, here we come!

We would like to thank some amazing organizations for all they do for the RVing community:



Escapees RV Club





Xscapers





RVillage




RV Dreams