Brinkman and Associates

Seabass · Post by **Seabass** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:21 am

Mike wrote:
on several occasions people were sent to the block without water because there just wasn't enough.
You'd think that would be covered under laws against cruel and inhumane punishment.

Not enough water to go around?? That's simply not acceptable. you should have told the supervisor to fuck off and smarten up, along with refusing to work or switching companies. Personally I quit for the day if I run out of water (generally not a concern when you have 10L with you, though I did run out one day last season when it was extremely hot and we worked late to wrap a block but that was also due to taking care of keeping other planters hydrated at the end).

filipinoboxspringhog · Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:48 am

Seabass wrote:
Mike wrote:
on several occasions people were sent to the block without water because there just wasn't enough.
You'd think that would be covered under laws against cruel and inhumane punishment.
Not enough water to go around?? That's simply not acceptable. you should have told the supervisor to fuck off and smarten up, along with refusing to work or switching companies. Personally I quit for the day if I run out of water (generally not a concern when you have 10L with you, though I did run out one day last season when it was extremely hot and we worked late to wrap a block but that was also due to taking care of keeping other planters hydrated at the end).

I don't believe this. I've worked with Brinkman all over for years and I can say, even on camp setups when the water hasn't yet been hooked up, they have jugs for us. There is always water in camp.

Now,
Convoys strictly leave at 7 and all the planters know this. If they wake up at 10 to and jump in the truck without filling their jug then theyre fucking morons. On super hot days, we have crew blues. but normally people would just share what water that can afford to share.

howitgoes · Post by **howitgoes** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:54 am

I speak the truth. Crew blues were rarely used and I'm not just talking about people who got up at 6:50.
I complained to the camp supervisor and nothing was done.

junglemonkey · Post by **junglemonkey** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:05 pm

I don't believe they would deprive you of water. I worked in one of their other Ontario camps and there weren't any big problems. The crew blues might have not been there all the time but they always make sure there is water in their reservoir and its your responsibility to fill your water jugs in the mornings. I heard your camp had some bus break downs which is the norm. I heard you guys also had amazing food. Apart from that, working in Hornepayne sucks. 8 - 9 cents. Long Drives. Bug central. Crappy land with lots marshes. I did it the year before.

tyler-dunford · Post by **tyler-dunford** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 6:53 am

Ok so Im thinking about gonig to the Thunder Bay unionized camp this spring. The company asked me if I wanted to plant out west but I can't stand planting for more than two months so they told me Thunder Bay is more for me. I've planted in Ontario and Manitoba. I've been told that and know firsthand that Ontario planting isnt as good but any remarks on the Thunder Bay unionized camp? Anyone know of any good tree planting projects in Ontario at all?

Stiffarm · Post by **Stiffarm** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 8:31 am

Hey I worked at that camp 5 years ago. At the time the Unionized thing worked out to 15$ camp cost instead of $25. (apparently no company actually has the right to charge more then strictly food) They also paid for reefer unloading and travel time over and hour. I never got any money travel time and when we did have walk-ins the checker would jog ahead to make it to the block under an hour. Their best policy by far was the 12$ all you can drink open bar's on nights off though I heard a rumor they had to discontinue that. Anyways that was my first year so things might have changed since I was there.

On a side note does anybody on this thread work for Brinkman on the coast and have the e-mail of a foreman they can give me? I'm in contact with their supervisors but they can't tell me anything for a week or two and the suspense is killing me.

tyler-dunford · Post by **tyler-dunford** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:46 pm

Thanks for the info. How were the tree prices at the unionized camp? Did you sleep in tents? I heard unionized camps slept in logging camps. Were travel times really bad? Huge walk-ins all the time? Was the land terrible or manageable? Any info would be pretty cool

Stiffarm · Post by **Stiffarm** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:43 pm

Like I said this was years ago but it was 9c scarified 10c raw (your usual terrible ontario prices) Land and travel time varied throughout the contracts. If the two supervisors running those camps are still Sam and Niel I suggest you go with Sam. Niel's was a cool guy but Sam's camp got preferential treatment.

swamper · Post by **swamper** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:53 pm

Hey everybody thought I would put this question out there.
I just got hired for Brinkmans southern Ontario camp by Mike for the 2010 season. I am just wondering has anybody planted for that camp before and what it's like. Is it a go or no go sort of thing? Any info would be great.

thanks

junglemonkey · Post by **junglemonkey** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:00 pm

I've been in Mike's camp the last 2 years. He's a really good and well organized supervisor. He's also a really chill and funny man. The atmosphere is really good. People that have worked in other places in Ontario really enjoy Mike's camp. You can make pretty good money if you work really hard too. So I would recommend it.

Kreamy · Post by **Kreamy** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 6:58 pm

Kreamy · Post by **Kreamy** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:27 pm

howitgoes wrote:I planted with them this past season, it was my first year. I was in Ontario. The thing about Brinkman (and probably a lot of other companies) is that it is totally dependent on the camp. I was in Rhonda's camp that did Alban, Sudbury, and Hornepayne. Pretty terrible. We pretty much had no showers for the entire season, no dry tent, on several occasions people were sent to the block without water because there just wasn't enough.
You switched crews every day.
Pretty much 8c all season in unscarified, rocky, slashy land and sometimes shelter wood.
One of the tree runners was let go for 'personal reasons' right after he ran over someone's day bag with a quad and always smelt of alcohol.
We would get a call on the radio to walk out of the block at 5:30 because the bus was almost there and get picked up at 7:30 on numerous occasions.
Everyone hated the food (except me), the chefs were two college kids that were dating.
One crew boss gave my partner and I a decent piece (our first day on her crew), we were filling from the back when we see people on our land. She sent her two favourites into our land, GHOSTLINING in random zig-zags with UNFLAGGED JACK PINE. (Really fun.) The next day she told us to fill from the back and not plant in front of the slash piles because trucks were going to be coming in to remove the slash later, which sucked because it's always cream near the road. We're about 3/4 of the way done the piece when we see her creaming out our front (in front of the slash and right behind it) and everyone else's on the crew! I think she was getting full-crew pay PLUS trees also. I complained to a more superior crew boss and she switched me off that crew, but nothing else.
Got my mail 6 weeks after my mom sent it.

I had fun and made SOME money, but it was a rookie mill.

I did a week at Neil's camp in T-Bay and that was a TIGHT SHIP. Wow, great camp. Land was amazing, like farmers fields. 9 or 10c
Good food, camp was spotless and had a trailer for smellies, hot showers, internet, ORGANIZATION, and the bus would come EXACTLY on time. Unionized! So good!

I also worked in this camp (Hornepayne 2009) and I always had drinking water. I also don't remember ever getting 8 cents in unscarafied or shelterwood land. I had the same crewboss the whole season but I know that the "problem planters" got switched around frequently. I also always had land and trees and full days and I made good money. I guess my experience was different from yours. It's one thing to bitch but at least bitch about things that actually happened.

Post by **Scooter** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:49 pm

This is an interesting discussion, and just proves two tenets that are completely opposite in philosophy.

On the one hand, we have the power of the internet, acting as a "regulator" of sorts. Knowledge is power, and being able to share information empowers all members of a society.

On the other hand, the anonymity of the internet allows for disinformation, and for perpetrators of that disinformation to hide behind a cloak.

This thread is a case in point. It is possible that both posters are telling exactly what was the truth, to themselves anyways. Maybe they were each completely accurate in the assessment of their respective situations, from their own point of view.

On the other hand, maybe each is completely fabricating the information that they are posting. Maybe the first planter, "howitgoes," is actually the owner of Broland or Wilderness or Treeline (I'm not familiar enough with the Ontario industry to throw out these names accurately, so if I just "created" a company, please forgive my imagination). And maybe he or she has a bone to pick with Dirk Brinkman, and recruited the boyfriend of a girl who worked in Rhonda's camp and bribed him into revealing enough details to make a derogatory post, with enough quasi-information to make it sound like he/she was really in Rhonda's camp. And maybe "Kreamy" is really Dirk Brinkman.

Who knows? Just sayin' ..

I guess I should end with a point. The point is that I'm glad that people are posting information like this pertaining to their experiences. Of course, everything on the internet has to be taken with a grain of salt. The more detail, the more believable each persons' posts are.

Carry on.

beeps · Post by **beeps** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:21 pm

Kreamy wrote:
howitgoes wrote:I planted with them this past season, it was my first year. I was in Ontario. The thing about Brinkman (and probably a lot of other companies) is that it is totally dependent on the camp. I was in Rhonda's camp that did Alban, Sudbury, and Hornepayne. Pretty terrible. We pretty much had no showers for the entire season, no dry tent, on several occasions people were sent to the block without water because there just wasn't enough.
You switched crews every day.
Pretty much 8c all season in unscarified, rocky, slashy land and sometimes shelter wood.
One of the tree runners was let go for 'personal reasons' right after he ran over someone's day bag with a quad and always smelt of alcohol.
We would get a call on the radio to walk out of the block at 5:30 because the bus was almost there and get picked up at 7:30 on numerous occasions.
Everyone hated the food (except me), the chefs were two college kids that were dating.
One crew boss gave my partner and I a decent piece (our first day on her crew), we were filling from the back when we see people on our land. She sent her two favourites into our land, GHOSTLINING in random zig-zags with UNFLAGGED JACK PINE. (Really fun.) The next day she told us to fill from the back and not plant in front of the slash piles because trucks were going to be coming in to remove the slash later, which sucked because it's always cream near the road. We're about 3/4 of the way done the piece when we see her creaming out our front (in front of the slash and right behind it) and everyone else's on the crew! I think she was getting full-crew pay PLUS trees also. I complained to a more superior crew boss and she switched me off that crew, but nothing else.
Got my mail 6 weeks after my mom sent it.

I had fun and made SOME money, but it was a rookie mill.

I did a week at Neil's camp in T-Bay and that was a TIGHT SHIP. Wow, great camp. Land was amazing, like farmers fields. 9 or 10c
Good food, camp was spotless and had a trailer for smellies, hot showers, internet, ORGANIZATION, and the bus would come EXACTLY on time. Unionized! So good!

I also worked in this camp (Hornepayne 2009) and I always had drinking water. I also don't remember ever getting 8 cents in unscarafied or shelterwood land. I had the same crewboss the whole season but I know that the "problem planters" got switched around frequently. I also always had land and trees and full days and I made good money. I guess my experience was different from yours. It's one thing to bitch but at least bitch about things that actually happened.

I also worked in this camp. There was always drinking water and the food wasn't bad. I can confirm that the land was never 8 cents in unscar or shelter wood, but the prices were low. Like in any camp, the bus wasn't always on time, and shitty land does come up. My problem with this camp would be the frequent cluster fucks on frequent block close days, and the uncalled for and unnecessary days off. The tree prices are also lower than other companies that I have worked for in Ontario, and it was less organized. And I'm not really a fan of crew planting. The land was particularly bad compared to other contracts in Ontario, but I think a lot of that had to do with the small blocks.

kenax · Post by **kenax** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:05 pm

With the permission of Scooter I just copied updated information from this thread to the Treeplanter’s Database found at http://hardcoretreeplanters.com/ to make it easier to view comments by treeplanters and compare treeplanting companies against one another, in the hopes that they will treat and pay their planters better.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 4:24 pm

Rumour has it that Brinkman had part of an Manitoba/Ontario camp walk out this season. The camp in reference was managed by Robin, a 15 year planter (1st year supervisor); starting in Steinbeck, and later in Hornepayne, Ontario. Rumour has it that 10 people were lost in 1 shift due to 9 cent straight plants and frequent short days due to lack of trees and other work disruptions.

This is, of course, rumour, and should be taken with a grain of salt. If anyone was in that camp (or is still in that camp), I'd love to hear their perspective of what happened.

Saffa · Post by **Saffa** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:22 pm

I've heard similar rumors from guys who were in her camp this year(I think only 50% of her planters finished the season). We have close to 20 camps in the company, there are bound to be a couple shit ones, I've worked in a few of them, but over 6 years with the company and thirteen supervisors later I would say 11/13 were profesional, able and great to work for. It is unfortunate that we are such a large company and are often judged by our Ontario camps, which from what I gather are gong shows, but then again planting for less than 14c will always be shit in my eyes. We do have great supervisors in the company and great contracts aswell, the majority of our work out west next year will all be direct award.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:28 pm

And over 6 years, how many days have you planted for less than 14 cents?

Post by **Scooter** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:34 pm

Mike, Saffa is a coastal planter, as per previous comments on this board.

An appropriate question would be to differentiate between coastal trees under 14 cents and non-coastal trees under 14 cents.

Saffa · Post by **Saffa** » Tue Nov 15, 2011 4:28 pm

Hey Mike, I've planted many many days under 14c in Alberta and even BC, I spend the majority of my season's in southern BC and out on the Coast, were the lowest I've worked for was 16c, and that sucked a lot!! We still have the occasional shit-show on the coast, but for the most part, if you've been around a while, you end up on some pretty sweet contracts. Prices have risen from previous years, from what I can tell anyways, they still arn't great, and arn't as good as my first couple seasons out there. But it's almost worth making the effort to get off the couch and plant the coast again, thank god!

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:40 pm

Certainly. I didn't search user history there.

Is it difficult for people new to Brinkman to get on their more lucrative contracts? Perhaps that's the reason more people talk about their Ontario/Alberta work? (There seems to be a tendancy to keep good work close to the chest).

Saffa · Post by **Saffa** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 1:21 am

I would think it kind of works like that over the whole industry, you stay with a company long enough, and they look after you no? It's definitely not impossible to get on good contracts with Brinkman if you haven't worked with us before, i saw in the jobs thread Ian Mathews was hiring for next season, thats usually a good one. I know our camp is doubling in size for next season, so we will be forced to hire out of our close family/friend circle we usually find our new recruits in, definitely a chance for some "outsiders" to join the ranks of the Southern BC Brinky clan. I belive we have a massive season lined up next year, mostly direct award and will be hiring...

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:28 am

Cool, thanks for the information.

Coaster · Post by **Coaster** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:46 pm

Ah yes the Brinkman Empire. May the farce be with you. As the name indicates it''s always been about the man at the top, Dirk himself. Surrounded by neophytes he has built the greatest personality cult tree planting has ever known. It's a particularly self posessed forester that can withstand Dirk's charisma. That's likely why they have so much direct award work. Surely it can't be that his wife treads the political halls of power?

We must however give the devil his due. Dirk has surrounded himself with some very able people and these are the ones who've become franchisees, running good crews of first class planters. The Shutter brothers are legendary. As with all things big, government, unions, corporations, something is lost in the shuffle. Big is definitely not better in this business. I can't understand why Dirk is okay having his name on some of the sub par operations that comprise the Brinkman empire.

Sad to say fatalities are becoming all too frequent in Brinky crews. Perhaps this is a sign that like Rome, their day is coming. Bring on the Huns!

robertsonja · Post by **robertsonja** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 2:40 pm

Brinkman really isn't that bad. It's great if you wanna get drunk have a good time , great food, make some okay cash, but if you wanna make good money I would probably look elses where thats my plan. I also had a strange camp situation with them this year where the land owner of our camp had a peep hole set up in the girls outhouse. Wouldnt blame that on brinkman though the guy seemed to be like a normal guy at first.

East · Post by **East** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:48 am

Brinkman is a huge company and I am looking for some feed back from anyone who has
Planted with them in Ontario.

I tend to here bad things from people but looking at the following information I have been given it doesn't sound that bad at all..

First camp I will be in is 75% vets
My crewboss has 10+ years experience
Foreman has 20 years experience
9 cents a tree.

East · Post by **East** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 7:37 am

Got some good info by reading a Brinkman Topic here:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=48

Just thought I would post a new topic as to get some new info ..2013 style

granola · Post by **granola** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:16 am

East wrote:Brinkman is a huge company and I am looking for some feed back from anyone who has
Planted with them in Ontario.

I tend to here bad things from people but looking at the following information I have been given it doesn't sound that bad at all..

First camp I will be in is 75% vets
My crewboss has 10+ years experience
Foreman has 20 years experience
9 cents a tree.

9 cents a tree.

Yuck.

theBushman · Post by **theBushman** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:31 am

Sounds like any Ontario contract I've ever heard about. Despite going into my 6th season in forestry, this is my first season with a plant, so everything I know about planting is second hand.

Wulf77 · Post by **Wulf77** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:12 pm

Ontario planting generally has poor planting conditions compared to other places. The price per tree is very low (9 cents is standard for ontario, but pretty low for the type of ground you'll plant in), the land is very rocky so you'll be cursing now and then when your shovel hits rock and they generally use buses which can be very frustrating. Instead of having a group of 6 people needing to get together at the end and get in the truck, you need to get 30+ people to stop planting and get in the bus at the end of the day. Then of course ontario bugs can be frustrating as hell at times.

Though its not all bad, brinkman helps organize drinking nights on the night before the off days so they usually send someone into town to buy booze for the camp(Everyone who wants to drink all they can pitches in $15 from paycheck and they have someone bar tend, usually a crew boss), Brinkman offers advances for people who need them, they never dock your pay for poor trees (though they can ask you to replant them at any time, which is extremely rare) They also cull A LOT of trees in ontario, which means when you claim you planted 2,000 trees in a day, there's a lot of them you just throw away. Since they use trays of trees, you just take the good ones and kill the weak looking trees that wont survive. They are not that strict, pretty much impossible to get fired, meals are very dependant on the cooks, some camps may get good ones others bad. You can earn pretty good money for the work once you know where to find the soil, the vets can plant 3,000-4000 trees daily there, though Alberta work will see you earn 3-4 cents more per tree (generally earn 50% more per day) but of course when the ontario season ends brinkman usually asks if anyone wants to join their alberta camps to fill the spots of people who leave / get injured / whatever.

Brinkman also demands all workers wear steel-toe boots for some unknown reason which means comfortable hiking boots are not allowed. I can see the need to wear boots, in case you step on something sharp or hit your foot with your shovel, but needing steel toe is silly.

theBushman · Post by **theBushman** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:42 pm

Steel toes and Hard hats are a requirement in Ontario, just part of the Ontario Health and Safety Act which applies to any forestry operation. As long as your footwear is CSA Green Patch, it passes.

22. (1) Every worker shall wear protective headwear at all times when on a project. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 22 (1).

(2) Protective headwear shall be a safety hat that,

(a) consists of a shell and suspension that is adequate to protect a person’s head against impact and against flying or falling small objects; and

(b) has a shell which can withstand a dielectric strength test at 20,000 volts phase to ground. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 22 (2).

23. (1) Every worker shall wear protective footwear at all times when on a project. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 23 (1).

(2) Protective footwear shall be a safety shoe or safety boot,

(a) with a box toe that is adequate to protect the wearer’s toes against injury due to impact and is capable of resisting at least 125 joules impact; and

(b) with a sole or insole that is adequate to protect the wearer’s feet against injury due to puncture and is capable of resisting a penetration load of 1.2 kilonewtons when tested with a DIN standard pin. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 23 (2).

evanodell · Post by **evanodell** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:58 pm

Brinkman also demands all workers wear steel-toe boots for some unknown reason which means comfortable hiking boots are not allowed. I can see the need to wear boots, in case you step on something sharp or hit your foot with your shovel, but needing steel toe is silly.

Is this a Brinkman regulation, or an Ontario regulation? I thought green patch boots were required for Ontario work, or at least for most contracts.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:30 pm

That is an Ontario regulation. All Ontario companies will require you to have steel toes and hard hats on at all times while planting.

Wulf77 · Post by **Wulf77** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:43 pm

Its brinkman policy, even when you work on their B.C / Alberta plants. Ontario may have a law that requires it, but Alberta and B.C don't. From the ontario wording, it doesn't sound like you necessarily need steel toed, but as I'm not quite sure how much pressure would be in a 1.2 kilonewton pin so I can't say if a hiking boot with reinforced toe would pass or not.

I personally don't like working with steel toe, it just adds weight and the boots are usually poor quality when compared to zamberlans and other boots people on this forum say have lasted several seasons. Not to mention christmas toe, (Your big toe goes completely numb due to what I can only assume was nerve damage from your toe constantly brushing against steel) and someones toe got badly infected last year. Ive also seen people go through 3 pairs of steel toe boots in one season, I mean they were only $150 boots from marks but you'd think they would last longer.(Oh and yeah people just abused the hell out of marks 90-day boot guarantee)

East · Post by **East** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:01 pm

9 cents a tree.

Yuck.[/quote]

Very standard for Ontario. 9 cents is better than 8cents which I guarantee other ontario planters will get this year.

theBushman · Post by **theBushman** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:27 pm

Wulf77 wrote:Its brinkman policy, even when you work on their B.C / Alberta plants. Ontario may have a law that requires it, but Alberta and B.C don't. From the ontario wording, it doesn't sound like you necessarily need steel toed, but as I'm not quite sure how much pressure would be in a 1.2 kilonewton pin so I can't say if a hiking boot with reinforced toe would pass or not.

I personally don't like working with steel toe, it just adds weight and the boots are usually poor quality when compared to zamberlans and other boots people on this forum say have lasted several seasons. Not to mention christmas toe, (Your big toe goes completely numb due to what I can only assume was nerve damage from your toe constantly brushing against steel) and someones toe got badly infected last year. Ive also seen people go through 3 pairs of steel toe boots in one season, I mean they were only $150 boots from marks but you'd think they would last longer.(Oh and yeah people just abused the hell out of marks 90-day boot guarantee)

Green Patch doesn't require actual steel. Non-metalic is OK. Viking boots are popular in the bush, both the rubber and leather tops. Caulks are very rarely used, much too much exposed bedrock. I wear Dakota boots made from ballistic nylon year round, and replace them after a year and a half. Royer leather boots are pretty much the rule at the company I work for, but I haven't seen any reason to try them.

ohsnap · Post by **ohsnap** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 6:38 pm

you're not a part of the brinkman ontario club until you wear blundstones. and yes, you will be fired if you don't wear steel toes. they want steel toes, specifically. also be ready to wear high vis and hard hat at all times or face fines. pretty adamant about both, and complaining about it won't get you anywhere. being the walmart of planting companies, they can and will find some random rookie to replace you.

also, a foreman is the same as a crewboss. discrepancy in what you were told? or a typo? ...at any rate, who's your foreman? and your supervisor? that will make a huge difference. for the most part, i wouldn't believe a word you've been told from about 95% of management. the good ones are few and far between.

the area you're planting will make a huge diff too. know where you'll be spending most of your season?
the swamps are stuff of wet dreams - if you don't mind spending two months soaking wet....but shit can get rocky, really rocky.

if you don't want to post who they are, send me a message. an yea, maybe i gave you some attitude about the shovel in the end, but it was reciprocation. i'm not a troller, i just hate helping people who bite.

a final note: 9c is par for ontario. it's low, but given the specs and land out there, it's only ridiculous when you think about how much higher they actually can afford to be paying.

E.E · Post by **E.E** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:11 am

theBushman wrote:I wear Dakota boots made from ballistic nylon year round, and replace them after a year and a half. Royer leather boots are pretty much the rule at the company I work for, but I haven't seen any reason to try them.

off topic but I've never seen the dakotas last longer than 40 days

East · Post by **East** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:04 am

ohsnap wrote:you're not a part of the brinkman ontario club until you wear blundstones. and yes, you will be fired if you don't wear steel toes. they want steel toes, specifically. also be ready to wear high vis and hard hat at all times or face fines. pretty adamant about both, and complaining about it won't get you anywhere. being the walmart of planting companies, they can and will find some random rookie to replace you.

also, a foreman is the same as a crewboss. discrepancy in what you were told? or a typo? ...at any rate, who's your foreman? and your supervisor? that will make a huge difference. for the most part, i wouldn't believe a word you've been told from about 95% of management. the good ones are few and far between.

the area you're planting will make a huge diff too. know where you'll be spending most of your season?
the swamps are stuff of wet dreams - if you don't mind spending two months soaking wet....but shit can get rocky, really rocky.

if you don't want to post who they are, send me a message. an yea, maybe i gave you some attitude about the shovel in the end, but it was reciprocation. i'm not a troller, i just hate helping people who bite.

a final note: 9c is par for ontario. it's low, but given the specs and land out there, it's only ridiculous when you think about how much higher they actually can afford to be paying.

Pmed some info for yah. Perhaps can tell me some things about location and such.
I troll with love.

East · Post by **East** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:07 am

I've heard of people last year being payed 8-8.5cents. Havent heard of 10cents in ontario. Then again I haven't really looked into it..
nor do I really care if I get payed 9 cents or 10 cents..

East · Post by **East** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:08 am

I am mainly in it for the hard work. Pushing myself to the limit.. If I get a paycheck at the end, well.. thats a plus :) I suppose I will take it.

jules · Post by **jules** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 1:15 pm

East wrote:I am mainly in it for the hard work. Pushing myself to the limit.. If I get a paycheck at the end, well.. thats a plus :) I suppose I will take it.

You're new around here, aren't you?

Wulf77 · Post by **Wulf77** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:14 pm

jules wrote:
East wrote:I am mainly in it for the hard work. Pushing myself to the limit.. If I get a paycheck at the end, well.. thats a plus :) I suppose I will take it.
You're new around here, aren't you?

He did say he was new to planting :P It is really just about the money, you may be pumped for the first few days and go all out but after that its really just about the money and making it through each day. 1 cent can sound like nothing, but ontario work is all about numbers so 1 cent can be a difference of $2000 in your paycheck.(for really good ontario planters anyway)

Oh, forgot to mention. I'm not sure if this is a brinkman only thing, but they do have a cool tax break. At the start of the season they ask if you want the $40 / $80 / $120 tax break for workers relocation cost. If you choose $40, every day you earn $120 or more gets $40 of your earnings tax free(No cpp EI, and is not recorded as taxable earnings at end of year) or $80 off everyday you earn $160 or more, or $120 everyday you earn $200 or more. That can mean $7200 tax free earnings on a standard 60 day season, which can save like $1500 from the tax man. Its already recorded on each paycheck so you don't have to do anything, at the end of the year you get a T4 thats much lower then you actually earned.(Which can be bad if you want to go on EI as you will get paid less)

Personally, I would choose for $120 even if your a rookie, more motiviation and your probably going to earn at least $200 a day near the end of the season. 55 days at 40 is the same as 18 days at 120.

Post by **Scooter** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:25 pm

Just be aware that this approach might not be what the Canada Revenue Agency intended. I suspect that there's a chance that if the CRA ever did an audit and decided that they didn't like this tax break that Brinkman was giving to some people, they could rule it as being not permissible, and gom through Brinkman's records to figure out everyone who signed up for it, and then audit all those planters. Mind you, all it would mean would be you'd potentially have to eventually pay taxes on your full earnings. It wouldn't be a situation where you'd get in trouble for intentional tax evasion, if the company is the one setting the parameters for the non-allowed deductions.

So what I'm saying in short is that:
1. It might work.
2. It might not work, but you wouldn't be any further behind if it didn't.

As always, consult a licensed Canadian tax professional for more information when doing tax planning and submitting returns.

retrovertigo · Post by **retrovertigo** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:45 pm

uhh, RWA isn't like some cool Brinkman-specific loophole. Almost every company I've worked for offers it. Last year with Artisan they weren't offering it at first but enough people requested it and they set it up.

And yeah, think about it carefully before going for it. You could get screwed in an audit. It fucks with your EI claim too if you're doing that over the winter.

Post by **Scooter** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 9:43 pm

I kind of assumed that the "worker relocation" thing was RWA. I just don't trust it entirely to hold up in an audit. I talked to a tax professional myself and they were also very distrusting of whether it would hold up in an audit. A person could be asked to perform all kinds of supporting documentation that might be hard to get. The company that I usually work for does the T2200 approach instead, which works out fine for me.

But there are other threads on the board about taxes, people can search for if they want. I didn't intend to derail the Brinkman thread.

East · Post by **East** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:34 am

Scooter wrote:I kind of assumed that the "worker relocation" thing was RWA. I just don't trust it entirely to hold up in an audit. I talked to a tax professional myself and they were also very distrusting of whether it would hold up in an audit. A person could be asked to perform all kinds of supporting documentation that might be hard to get. The company that I usually work for does the T2200 approach instead, which works out fine for me.

But there are other threads on the board about taxes, people can search for if they want. I didn't intend to derail the Brinkman thread.

We have the option of t2200 or RWA. It sounds like RWA will be a better option. How do I claim RWA exactly? Should I request it from my employer?

Post by **Scooter** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:31 am

Do a google search here on the board to learn more, then your camp supervisor will probably talk about it when you're first hired and you're filling out your TD1.

grouse grind · Post by **grouse grind** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 2:52 pm

I have a question for any past or present Brinkman planters from Ontario:

Did anyone plant the Hornepayne/White River contracts? I hear they range from "average" to rock cap shit show. Just wondering if the assessor's interpretation was fair.

Thanks

theBushman · Post by **theBushman** » Fri Nov 29, 2013 5:20 pm

Hornepayne, while I have never been, the last road I worked lead right to the mill in Hornepayne. I'd think the same deep sand and classic boreal bedrock knobs will be there. White River, I have timber cruised there; I would call it Highly Variable.