by INFORUM
State mill has record profit
August 22, 2011 at 7:02 pm in INFORUM
GRAND FORKS After reporting record profits, the North Dakota Mill here is also reporting big profit-sharing payouts to its workers. Continue Reading
To start connecting please log in first. You can also create an account.
Advertisement
Need a hand? Ask a moderator.
Seems like simply estimating the wages from the numbers given in the story that the average worker makes about $50 thousand. Hard to tell if the bonus is part of the annual wages or not.It does not appear to include benefits. Either way, it appears to be fair wages. Considering the current story with a local factory, it would have been interesting if this story had harder numbers. I hope they have good benefits too. Nice to see profit sharing used as an incentive. If a state owned company can pay decent wages, and share profits, perhaps people can follow their example in other industries. They even state the incentive improves teamwork, and productivity. When I look at the profit numbers stated, it looks like a decent amount goes to the workers. Nice to see the workers getting good wages and sharing in the success of the business. Sure wish this mentality would spread to other businesses, and people in general.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
41 
3
The employees do well but the profit from year to year isn’t a direct result of that. They do just as well on the years with little or no profit.
When the State Mill lost money it was because the management got caught in a grain market speculation and lost it gambling. Result, no bonuses for the workers.
The last couple of years, the State Mill has refused to do it’s function of paying a fair price to farmers. The protein discounts at the elevator end are way bigger than the discounts millers pay. With the State Mill actually being the State Mill and Elevator, they pocket the difference. Grain elevators across the state all have record profits the last couple of years due to the excessively high protein discounts.
The State Mill was created as a form of regulation of a very difficult to regulate industry. Effectively it’s purpose is to keep the grain trade honest. It has ceased to function that way, and the result was hundreds of millions of lost income for ND farmers each year for the last couple. The profit of the Mill is just a drop in the bucket.
Decent management knows who works and who doesn’t. Thing is, you can’t actually find management you can trust. We had one manager giving all kinds of business to his kid. This manager gambled in the grain markets and didn’t even lose his job. This year, he gets a big bonus because he stole from farmers.
Like or Dislike:
6 
6
Well, it seems there is a dark side in this as well. The Farmers should be first on the list in profits in this case. In my experience you are correct about finding management you can trust.
Like or Dislike:
6 
5
The state mill was created because previously ND farmers had to send their grain to Minneapolis cutting into their profits. I don’t argue your other points though.
Like or Dislike:
3 
1
Government owned enterprise where all workers share in profits is called communism, and we fought that in World War II. (wisecrack folks, lighten up)
Like or Dislike:
16 
10
Wonderful news! It’s great that they are doing well when most businesses aren’t. There are so few employers that use profit sharing.Wouldn’t it be great if the oil patch out west was owned by the state and we all got a cut of the profit?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
24 
5
But socialism!
Like or Dislike:
12 
9
Socialism works. This is not Communism. For one, Communism would not be paying out profit sharing.
Now compare this to the greedy capitalism, where the profits go to the upper management as obscene wages and bonus, as they cut hours, benefits and jobs of the workers to increase those profits.
Hot debate. What do you think?
22 
19
When all employees are rewarded for good work, productivity goes up too. Seems win-win to me but the Faux News viewers are likely going to down vote this stuff.
Hot debate. What do you think?
19 
12
Since I’m a ND taxpayer, that makes me a shareholder in this mill. Where’s my dividend check?
Like or Dislike:
7 
16
The State Industrial Commission is doing a wonderful job of managing the State Mill, as evidenced by the huge profit. It’s not surprising that it’s well run however, since the Industrial Commission is all Republicans. They know how to keep things financially sound.
Like or Dislike:
6 
11
Good for them! I’m so unbelievably tired of hearing people gripe any time they hear somebody else’s job pays them a decent wage!
Like or Dislike:
13 
1