[speaker001:] [Talking] [in background] Well, I think health care is real important, and dental coverage, but I guess medical insurance is probably what I consider the second most important.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I agree on that. And, you know, it seems pa-, compared to what we, our salary is
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] versus what our health care is, our health care keeps increasing, increasing, increasing [sniffing] and not to the same rate as our pay [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Right, right.
[speaker002:] [Breathing].
[speaker001:] I know no matter what you do about that, yeah, unless you're like a Senior V P or something which I am not [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Right. Me either [sniffing].
[speaker001:] Yeah, I know. It's, um, I don't know. And then when you interview for a job or something sometimes people, um, expect the benefits to take the place of a certain salary level.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] You know, they'll say maybe we'll pay you X amount annually, but then we, you know, ten percent to fifteen percent more are your benefits and if you're like, are you married?
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] Um, like my husband works, and I do so I don't take some of, I have certain things that I take, and he has other things he takes.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] So I mean in that kind of situation it's really almost, redundant, you know,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, yeah.
[speaker001:] You know that some of the benefits, I would rather have, um, money.
[speaker002:] Money instead.
[speaker001:] Yeah, more money, actually, um,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Or flex time or something that was a little more personal, you know.
[speaker002:] Right. I feel the same way, actually. Um, we don't use any of T I -s benefits other than I, I buy bonds and, [sniffing] and, um, that's it because,
[speaker001:] You don't use, you don't use the medical insurance?
[speaker002:] Not at all.
[speaker001:] You use your, your company's?
[speaker002:] My husband's, yes, we use my husband's.
[speaker001:] Where does [talking] [in background] he work if you don't mind me,
[speaker002:] He, he works for Bramalea Company, and they pay one hundred percent.
[speaker001:] Yo-,
[speaker002:] Not one dime is deducted from his check.
[speaker001:] Oh, you're kidding. What's the name of that company [LAUGHTER]?
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Bramalea.
[speaker001:] What do they do?
[speaker002:] It's a security company and, and building, they own a lot of buildings and lease buildings.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] [Sniffing] And,
[speaker001:] Are they a big Company or,
[speaker002:] Yeah, actually they're from Canada. They're Canada based.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, that's, see, that's probably why cause Cana-, Canada has the, the, um, government run health care systems, social medicine.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And you don't pay them. If you live there, it's like Europe. You don't pay a dime.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] You know?
[speaker002:] Right, yeah, it's all taken care,
[speaker001:] Sounds wonderful.
[speaker002:] Yeah, but our prescriptions and everything, our visits to the doctor, our hospitalization, the only thing we pay for is if [sniffing], if something happened, an emergency, and we had to have an ambulance, it's twenty-five dollars.
[speaker001:] [Noise] [making noise with mouth] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] I mean that's nothing.
[speaker001:] Yeah, if I were,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] him, I'd tell him make sure he stays there.
[speaker002:] Really, yeah, well, T I was getting, for the both of us, it was like seventy-five dollars a month.
[speaker001:] Oh, my goodness.
[speaker002:] You know, deducted for an H M O,
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah, I don't work at T I. My husband works at T I, but, um,
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] I work for E D S, but it's like, um,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] [Breathing] You know they're both basically, E D S is a little bit better than T I but,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, and we take my dental, my dental, his medical. And the medical is just, I mean, I think it's terrible, you know?
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] twenty, but they're, then they're getting ready to change it again for Aetna.
[speaker002:] Okay.
[speaker001:] Um, I don't know. I just don't think companies, um, they want you to feel responsible and don't abuse the medical system and, you know,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, T I just did the thing where, with the smoking premiums. We don't smoke, but did you, do you know about the smoking premiums?
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah, yeah.
[speaker001:] Yeah, do you guys smoke?
[speaker002:] We don't either.
[speaker001:] Oh, yeah.
[speaker002:] Neither one of us do.
[speaker001:] But then,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] you know, like a lady in my office said, she said her husband works for T I, too. And she said what about the people that are walking around, and I hope, I don't, you don't sound like you're in this category, but I mean
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] for extremely obese people or something?*needs slash unit note punctuation
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] The kind of people that can't sit in the airline, airplane chair, you know?
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know, who's going to croak first? The people that smoke or, you know?
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Seems like,
[speaker002:] Exactly.
[speaker001:] an unnecessary penalty, yeah.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I mean I'm not all for smoking at all, but I just, you know,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I don't how they can do it.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Carte blanket. *listen: probably closer to "carte blanche"
[speaker002:] Exactly.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] You can't charge more for a person who's on a flight
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] just because they're larger. *needs slash unit
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Or something. Yeah, it's like,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] stupid, but,
[speaker002:] I don't know.
[speaker001:] That's why I'm not a boss, I guess [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I mean I don't know, um. What other, what other type of benefits do they have that, I mean, Canadian based companies. They have to be a little bit different than the American, um.
[speaker002:] Yeah, they are as far as their like pension plans,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] they're vested a lot earlier. I think at T I, it took five years.
[speaker001:] Yeah, T I is at least,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] [in background] five years, yeah.
[speaker002:] Five to seven.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And they're vested after their first year.
[speaker001:] [Gasp].
[speaker002:] To-, totally vested.
[speaker001:] Oh, my goodness.
[speaker002:] And they have the four one K and the
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] usual benefits like that, uh.
[speaker001:] That's kind of nice. Yeah, T I has that, but that's a pretty standard thing anymore.
[speaker002:] Right, right.
[speaker001:] You know, um, um, your husband's company probably matches more than T I, though.
[speaker002:] No, they match the same amount.
[speaker001:] Oh, they do?
[speaker002:] Yeah, well, they match four percent which is the same,
[speaker001:] Yeah, it is.
[speaker002:] You know, fifty percent or four percent. *listen; particularly nonsensical
[speaker001:] That's still pretty good, though. I mean the fact that your vested that quickly
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] in the pension. Yeah, I know, um, E D S has eight years? I think E D S has seven to, to eight years.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] So it's like T I in that respect, you know?
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] And, and, I mean, and I'm working for a company that's making money [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] E D S has a cash flow problem as they say but,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] um, not E D S, T I, um, but I, I don't know. I think everywhere they just need to sit down and hire some people, the grunts, as I call them, like myself [LAUGHTER]
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] to tell them, yeah. I mean,
[speaker002:] It's,
[speaker001:] I don't know, but if I were to rank them, I guess I would say next to income it's really just health benefits. And then, um, for most people I know it would be day care like T I has,
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] no day care.
[speaker002:] Yeah, that, and I know that's a big issue because I, I belong to a women's forum group.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And some of the questions we're getting are, are on site day care and things like that.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] That they consider a very serious benefit. And I can't tell you anybody right now at T I that's, uh, considering that.
[speaker001:] Oh, I don't, I would,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] think so, yeah because,
[speaker002:] They should be though.
[speaker001:] Yeah, they really should because they're big enough, um, and the other thing I think is really good is that E D S is much better than T I at, I think, right now than, that we have day care, um, they, uh, the health, the health program
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] like T I has Texans?
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] But it, I don't think it, that it's [breathing] developed as much as it could be for the size company as T I.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] I mean if you ever walked into E D S -s health, corner court health clubs on site
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and you walk into Spring Creek, well, Spring Creek's better than the one on Dallas Parkway but,
[speaker002:] Yeah, a lot better.
[speaker001:] I mean, yeah.
[speaker002:] E D S is m-, is better than Spring Creek?
[speaker001:] Ye-,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] Oh, it's really nice, yeah.
[speaker002:] Oh, man.
[speaker001:] You know, instead of like six, um, treadmills, you've got like twenty.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] And E D S can't even compare in size.
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah.
[speaker001:] In terms of the number of employees.
[speaker002:] People, yeah.
[speaker001:] So I,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] don't know. I guess it's just where they, um, and like E D S reimburses you for adoption.
[speaker002:] Oh, I see.
[speaker001:] And T I doesn't have anything like that.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] You know, so I guess I, I wish the companies like T I and a lot of others were more progressive
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] in that respect so,
[speaker002:] That's good. That's a, that's a fortunate benefit, you know, that they're so active
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] for their employees.
[speaker001:] Yeah, and there's, I mean they have some strange things. I mean they have very strange like dress codes and, you know.
[speaker002:] Um, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, you can't wear slacks at the corporate site and that kind of thing
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] unless you're in a, y-, you know, but it doesn't, there aren't manufacturing environments because of the type of company it is.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] I don't know. I, I guess I also wish that, uh, companies would look more at cost of living increases
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] instead of just merit reviews.
[speaker002:] Me, too.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Me, too, because, you know, with utilities and, and homes that are, uh, price of homes have
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] went up dr-, drastically. Like an average house is now a hundred and thirty thousand.
[speaker001:] Yeah, exactly.
[speaker002:] And that is unreal,
[speaker001:] I know.
[speaker002:] because we've got people out here that are just poverty level. But then we've got these million dollar homes so
[speaker001:] I know.
[speaker002:] you know, where do you find a happy medium? And how does your salary deal,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] with that? It's not.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, and I mean,
[speaker002:] It's just not doing it.
[speaker001:] I mean, I don't know how you and your husband are, too, but I mean we have friends that laugh at us and we, I clip coupons. And I said, hey, I'll probably do this even if I'm a millionaire which I won't,
[speaker002:] Yeah [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] ever be.
[speaker002:] Yeah [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] But, I mean, it's like, because you just can't, I mean, it seems like every time you try to get ahead and take a vacation or something
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] well, the car insurance is due [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] That's true. That is exactly where we are.
[speaker001:] I mean, yeah.
[speaker002:] It's so strange [sniffing].
[speaker001:] I know. I don't know what we're going to do about,
[speaker002:] Common problem.
[speaker001:] Yeah, you,
[speaker002:] .
[speaker001:] want to rob a bank? No, I didn't say that.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Yeah, really.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] I didn't say that on this line.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] I don't know. What else about corporate benefits? I can't think. It's probably been too hot today for either of us to,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, kind of nice to talk to somebody in Dallas. Usually people are all over the country.
[speaker002:] Right, yeah, and I think Dallas, as far as, um, economic uncertainty, is better than what most of the country is.
[speaker001:] This is true.
[speaker002:] So wer-, somehow, we're better off than a lot of them.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, and that doesn't definitely make it any better. It's,
[speaker002:] No [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] just something you have to keep telling yourself, you know, that, um, that's what I want, that, uh, you know, people are lucky to have jobs, and people are lucky to have any kind of benefits.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] When you see people that don't have, um, anything but H M O -s or, you know, I mean really can't even afford to get in a job that costs, like, we had a guy fixing our air conditioner. And he said he didn't even make ten dollars an hour, and he has three kids. And I went, oh, [gasp] you know, [breathing] that has to be rough.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, but benefits, I don't know. I guess, [breathing] I guess one thing I'd like to see, too, and I, I don't know how T I is about this, but I'd like to see, um, employees rank and file be able to contribute more to their, um, the execution of their job.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know.
[speaker002:] Empowerment issues.
[speaker001:] Right yeah,
[speaker002:] [Sniffing].
[speaker001:] that's a good word for it, um.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] How is T I in that mode?
[speaker002:] Well, very well, um, it's slow, though.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] At least they're making the effort to put it out there and make it available and
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and, cultural change within the management first. And now it's kind of filtering down to the peon level.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] But, uh, [sniffing] I think they're really trying.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] It's going to take years, though.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I mean it's just, it's that mind-set,
[speaker001:] All part of a good old boy network, yeah.
[speaker002:] has to change, yeah.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] [Sniffing] Yeah.
[speaker001:] E D S is, oh, they're better, but they're a little bit too, um, stiff collared in terms of, you know, what you want to do. They're pretty much put the, if that's where the widget goes, stick it in the hole, you know.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] They're kind of formula oriented.
[speaker002:] Doesn't want to change.
[speaker001:] Yeah, and, and you can't really argue with them because they've always been successful so,
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] You know, what can you tell them [LAUGHTER]?
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Really.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Well, I guess that's what I know about benefits.
[speaker002:] Okay. Yeah,
[speaker001:] Okay [LAUGHTER]?
[speaker002:] me, too. Go-, good talking to you.
[speaker001:] Good talking to you and
[speaker002:] Thanks.
[speaker001:] keep cool.
[speaker002:] Okay. Bye-Bye.
[speaker001:] Okay. Bye-Bye.