More Beyel Cost Cutting
on the Backs of Employees

October 27, 2010

The 7% across-the-board pay cut at Beyel Brothers (see October 25, 2010 Update below) has provoked outrage among the company’s employees, prompting numerous inside sources to contact CraneWatchdog.com. One source has provided us with the letter below, in which the company announces it will “no longer be able to contribute to the cost of uniforms” and demands that employees return uniforms. Click on the image below for a copy of this letter.

Rather than listing one of the five Beyel Brothers as a contact for questions on this matter, the letter lists an employee whose title is “Bookkeeper” according to Beyel’s website. Just as we redacted this employee’s name when Beyel announced it was eliminating contributions to the employee 401k plan, her name has been redacted from the uniform letter. When Beyel announced the elimination of company 401k contributions last year, they included the following sentence in the letter:

“The management regrets this cost-saving measure and will make every effort to reverse this decision as soon as economically feasible.”

The exact same sentence is used in the uniform letter, and very similar language was used in last week’s 7% pay cut letter. One year minus two days later, Beyel has still not reinstated the 401k contribution. Instead, the company has dropped even further below Area Standards for Florida crane operators.

Beyel Cuts Pay 7%

October 25, 2010

In a letter to employees dated October 19th and distributed with paychecks, Beyel Brothers cut pay for all employees by 7%. Click on the image below to see a copy of the letter to Beyel employees:

According to the letter the pay cut “includes owners,” and refers to the pay cuts as “temporary.” The Beyel letter tells employees “we hope that you will remain with us during these difficult times,” and “we are hoping to retain our valued employees rather than continuing to reduce our workforce.”

Multiple sources report that company President Joe Beyel attended meetings of workers to personally announce these cost-saving measures. In line with the language of the letter, Joe Beyel reportedly claimed that the five Beyel brothers themselves would take the same pay cut, and expressed the hope that this cut would be temporary.

This action occurs just less than one year after Beyel announced it was eliminating contributions to its 401k plan. The plan already suffered from low participation and a meager employer contribution. See more, including a copy of Beyel’s letter to employees announcing the benefit cut on October 29, 2009, in our For Workers section.

Our ongoing survey of workers found that Beyel crane operators earned as much as $10 per hour less (in total wages and benefits) than union crane operators in Florida before the company eliminated retirement contributions and cut pay. Now, Beyel has fallen even further below Area Standards in its race to the bottom of the Florida crane industry.

Beyel Brothers Suspends Contributions to Workers’ Retirement Plan

November 16, 2009

Citing “economic reasons,” Beyel Brothers has suspended matching contributions to the employee 401k plan as of November 2, 2009.

In a letter to plan participants obtained by Cranewatchdog.com, Beyel expresses regret for “this cost saving measure,” and pledges to “make every effort to reverse this decision as soon as economically feasible.”

A copy of Beyel’s letter is available HERE. (Rather than listing company president Joe Beyel or another Beyel brother as a contact for plan participants with questions on this action, the letter directs workers to an employee who is listed as a “Bookkeeper” on Beyel’s website. Cranewatchdog.com has redacted this employee’s name and email address from the letter).

Beyel Brothers’ retirement plan already suffered from low participation and a meager employer contribution. In 2007, the most recent plan year available, Beyel reported that only 61 of its employees had balances in the plan. According to an OSHA filing, Beyel had 183 employees in 2007.

Further, Beyel’s maximum matching contribution was only 2% of the employee’s pay in 2007, and Beyel contributed only $417.52 per plan participant.

Retirement

Beyel Brothers 401K Plan

The company plan was established March 1, 2001.

Through the life of the plan, employees generally paid four times more in to the plan than the company. In late 2009, Beyel suspended employer contributions to the plan. Data for the most recent four years is available in the chart below. Click on the year to view the plan documents.

Beyel Brothers HMO Healthcare Plan

The current Beyel healthcare plan was established on March 1, 2006.

The only available report on this plan covers March 1, 2006 – February 28, 2007.