Complaint Review: AMPAC PLASTICS INC.

NOTE: Real employee names are not used in this TRUE story for confidential reasons. The name of company is real, so BEWARE of ever working at Ampac Plastics, unless you wish to PAY THEM $115.00 for working there, if you quit; they lay you off; let you go; or just fire you!!!! And for all of you readers, who bash unions, yes, Ampac Plastics bashed unions and threatened to fire anyone working there, under such sub-servient conditions of "being canned" if they try organizing a union. Union jobs not only pay more and give better benefits 99% of the time, vs. Non-union jobs; but, sweat shops aren't likely to occur, since the union contract is binding. Unions are ONLY AS GOOD as the people in them sticking together or not, so folks, as you read on, just remember that YOUR COMPANY can become another Sweat Shop Hellhole, if it isn't disrespectful to their employees already, like Ampac Plastics now is, even making their employees pay $115.00 for quitting or being let go in any manner!!!!! Like the old saying goes, including workers' unions, "Birds of a feather, that stick together, achieve positive results"!

I got GYPPED by Ampac Plastics, as they took $115.00 out of my paycheck when they said "I was let go", due to not being able to perform the very high volume, heavy lifting entailed!!! In their paperwork, when an employee signs on, he/she agrees only if they QUIT before 60 Days, does Ampac deduct $115.00 for their Drug Screen and Company Phyiscal. This company is an OSHA Hazard; goes against American Labor; LIES, LIES, LIES; is now being audited CONSTANTLY by IRS for bad Inventory and accounting practices; will NOT furnish heat to their warehouse, since they are "too cheap" to do so for their employees, while leaving the dock doors open all day long, even in dead of Winter; make their employees go without proper lunch breaks, as in the factory building, employees must eat AT THEIR MACHINES, with stinky ammonia spewing out, while in the warehouse, people must quickly eat in the lady boss's office "for 15 mins."; they have the nastiest, most unsanitary restrooms and breakroom, especially, the breakroom inside the factory building, where employees are only allowed to heat up their meals to take back to their "ammonia-spewing work stations", are smeared with old food, grease, oil, etc., all caked even on the sinks, faucets, walls, floors, etc., as I am surprised roaches aren't crawling around in there; etc. In addition, NO VACATIONS ALLOWED for employees, even if they earn their time, as employees are sent THREATENING emails by management, if not given "Down-grading-n-Threat Meetings" to employees at least weekly, constantly reminding employees "If you don't like your job here, you can go somewhere else and work."; Mandatory overtime, since company can't keep their employees, even at starting pay of $12/hour!!!! Overtime is MANDATORY, 6 days a week, 10 hours a day, which by the way, when me and this other guy,
Nathan, were hired, the overtime slacked down, so wasn't required in the warehouse section. Nathan up and quit about 1-1/2 weeks after being hired, as he told me how "HE hated working there, and he would rather forfeit the $115.00, than to continue working in such a Hellhole." Many of my friends and others also told me the same thing: If THEY were being blackmailed with "Quit before 60 days, or you pay the company $115.00" type of deal, then they would have forfeited the money, since their insanity and getting another job would be way more important, than wasting their time in such a Sweat Shop, that should not be operating here on American soil! Still, imagine if ALL companies here in USA could get away with charging their employees $115.00 or ANY amount "to work there" as to what the USA business outlook would be like: This should be considered ILLEGAL work practices, which is why I warn others to NOT do business or apply at Ampac Plastics, unless you wish to get BURNED and cheated out of your pay, like me and many others were, and continue to be, as the dishonest Big-Shots continue lining their pocket books with taxes they continue cheating the IRS out of, while getting "fees" off the hard-working employees, like I was to them, as they didn't even appreciate me catching them up on their backlogs of orders, as difficult as it was for me to continuously lift very heavy boxes of bags, struggling to do so, which slowed me down more than I should be, but my body is not built like a "muscle man's". I came to work ON TIME, every day, worked hard, while that Tommy guy and others, who were temp service employees, would sit on their butts chatting and giggling all day, while I worked my butt off to the max.

Job duties, even for $12/hour are very rigid, as mine were to "Be EVERYTHING", including a janitor! Ampac loves to push more on its already very overworked staff, as they expect their workers to be: Forklift drivers; constantly lifting heavy boxes, most weighing at least 40-60 lbs. on and off skids and conveyor belts; being a dock worker on weekends; being Pickers-n-Packers walking all through the warehouse, loading some very heavy items of Inventory onto skids and carts to take back to Manual Shipping area, while having to also do Manual Shipping at same time, which entails a faulty computerized system, where the employee gets blamed for the computer's errors and the office personnel not inputing correct information into the system so the person doing Manual Shipping can get accurate count of how many items and which shipper is used; etc. The lady training me, "Rhonda" she is age 56 and looks like she's age 76, rode hard and put out to pasture, since she keeps telling me "How she HATES her job at Ampac and how they send her threatening emails (ones I witnessed for myself), but HAS TO put up with it, since she can't find another place to work for." Then her "assistant", "Tommy", who is a fellow worker like Rhonda and I, he would constantly laugh in my face and put me down, since he resented the boss lady, "Mandy" telling him to come over and help me, when Rhonda wasn't at work yet. Tommy would criticize how "no good" I was, but I didn't see him helping me, a woman in "a feminine-built" body, helping me to lift those very heavy boxes on and off skids and conveyor belts, since he resented having to help me by Mandy's orders. He also was constantly telling me "How he has to protect Rhonda" and they were always sharing lunches and snacks together, so he also resented ME for "Rhonda having to train me, since this added more responsibility onto her already over-worked job."

So Nasty Tommy, who proclaims to be very Christian, he told a bunch of beefed up lies about me to Mandy, and Mandy had already called, "Benny"
from the other building, as both were in the office when they called me in. They also called, Tommy in, but they of course, took TOMMY'S side, so told me to my face, "We are letting you go." I told them how no good their "Blackmail System" is of having to pay the company $115.00, and having to be FORCED to work there, out of Ampac's threats of making employee pay $115.00 if they quit before 60 days. Like I said, QUIT BEFORE 60 DAYS, as I didn't quit, but told them "If you weren't hanging that $115.00 over my head, I would have joined many others and quit long time ago, since you are nothing but a modern-day Sweat Shop--I HAVE TO stay here, so I am not quitting. I can see WHY you can't keep people." I was never told that CONSTANT heavy lifting would be my job, nor how horrible this company was to work for, when hired, as I am sure many others weren't told the real truth, either.

Today, a about 2 weeks later, my paycheck is mailed to me and $115.00 is deducted!!! Yes, I can use this as a write-off on my income taxes, but it still does not justify a company using such foul, dishonest working practices. If they can do this to their employees, even continuing to try evading their Inventory Taxes in Enron-style to IRS, what makes CUSTOMERS believe they can trust doing business with Ampac Plastics, Inc.? Ampac CHEATS anyone in sight, including their employees, as again, even starting wage of $12/hour isn't keeping people from exiting the doors of Ampac, even a week after they start there, as they are stuck making the company RICH paying that $115.00 to work there! "Ray", who is in Human Resources called me back concerning my paycheck, but didn't tell me over the phone that I was GYPPED out of $115.00 for "being let go"! He's two-faced, along with his fellow managers, as THEY would constantly tell me, "How they HATED working for Ampac Plastics, but HAVE TO put up with it, since they can't find another job." It's little wonder Ampac now has a medical insurance plan which cuts off any spouses from being on it, while there's lesser coverage and higher premiums. In other words, if Ampac deems your spouse as being "eligible" for insurance coverage elsewhere, this shall cause the Ampac employee to have his/her own separate insurance policy, while his/her spouse becomes either uninsured or has to find his/her own insurance policy elsewhere. I have NOT met one single employee at Ampac, who told me "They liked working there", citing the new management as being a real Sweat Shop regime, as under the old management, Ampac Plastics, at one time, was a nice, decent American company to work for.

People, if you do not support Sweat Shops, do not work for or do business with Ampac Plastics, as their main office is out of Cincinnati, OH (you can also type in your Search Engine: Ampac Packaging of Cincinnati) as they
cheat their own employees out of their paychecks, the IRS; and others, so with this in mind, they are not going to be honest with their customers, which by the way don't get their merchandise like they should, only pieces here and there. According to the proof I seen and heard about while at Ampac Plastics, wouldn't surprise me a bit about The Big-Shots embezzling money from the company, as IRS isn't too happy about what Ampac's TRUE earnings could be, since they are very crooked and believe in Enron-style politics. Forget "Made In the USA" label Ampac puts on their logos, as "Made In the American Sweat Shop" would be more appropriate for this company, as more of their plastics for the bags are being "Made In China", but have the "Made In USA" stickers on them (another dishonest tactic to make consumers believe that EVERYTHING Ampac Plastics makes is "Made In USA", which isn't true). There are many other "Made In USA" plastic bags companies here in USA, as Duro-Bag and quite a few others have very reputable, honest customer feedback. Duro-Bag is right across the Ohio River in Northern KY, so anyone reading this, please consider Duro-Bag and others as your next vendor, should you wish plastic bags to be manufactured for your business. If you have any doubts, please find an Ampac EMPLOYEE and ask him/her what he/she honestly thinks about working for crooked Ampac, and you will get the same, overwhelming answers I did: "I HATE working here, but I can't quit, because I can't find another job, (or better yet, they don't wish to PAY AMPAC $115.00 out of their hard-earned paycheck for working there)!"

Ampac has 14 plants here in USA, so if you, the reader, find one near you, RUN like heck! Even in very spiritual, Salt Lake City, UT, an evil Ampac Plastics Division arises, so they are poisoning the American landscape, while buying out many of their competitors around the world with their tax-evading, stolen (from employees), "dirty-crooked" money! Ampac Plastics should be considered "Enron's Sister Company", since they love to lie, cheat, and steal, whether from their own employees; the IRS; or their customers!!! Any company that pays $12/hour, which today is considered good wages in today's low-waged, under $10/hour Depressed US Economy, and they STILL CAN'T keep workers, this goes to show "it's not all those employees at fault", so has to be THE COMPANY that is no-good! Their morale is in the gutter, as Ampac Plastics believes in constantly threatening and downgrading their employees, whether by email, meetings, or in person, AND let's not forget those nasty "VACATIONS WILL NOT BE APPROVED" signs in the plants, reminding employees that if they take their earned vacations, which will not be approved by management, "They can go find another job elsewhere." Ampac Plastics and Sweat Shop companies like it need to go back to "Psychology Classes" and learn how to treat people like "human beings", rather than Sweat Shop SLAVES they abuse!!! It would be interesting to have a study done on the horrible effects of constantly breathing burning ammonia and even having it come in contact on people's bodies, while the employees are EATING some ammonia drops on their foods and in their drinks, since they are forced to take their 15-min. lunch breaks in front of their operating, ammonia-spewing machines, so production continues uninterrupted per shift, with no real lunch breaks provided!!!!!

My biggest regret: Knowing that Ampac Plastics STEALS $115.00 out of their employees' paychecks, whether they quit or get let go (for any reason, as I was not fired, just wasn't fit for the job), I would have so-called QUIT within my first day, came home! Everyone reading this, yes, the labor market is DOWN right now, but you can always find you another job, even if it's a lower-paying temp service job (with overtime in this case, preferrably) for awhile, while continuing to seek a position with a company that treats their workers like human beings and is glad to have your hard-working expertise! Do NOT make the huge mistake that me and many others at Ampac Plastics have made, being threatened and downgraded, making the ones still working there, living nothing but a nightmare, since like in an abusive relationship, the victim feels "He/she can't do no better, so victims believe they HAVE TO put up with a spouse's/boyfriend's/girlfriend's mentally abusive or violent behaviour!!!" You, the readers DESERVE to be treated better and with much more respect for the hard work you do, regardless of type of position you are now employed in! Think UNION: Do NOT let companies successfully use scare tactics to discourage you, as you can contact CIO-AFL to get started on how to organize your own union. Unions were FORMED over 100 years ago in USA for very same reasons I describe today, as through the 1980's and on, unions were bashed and now it's up to you, the people, to be strong and stand up for what you believe in, or your kids and grandkids, along with yourself, will have nothing but Hellhole Sweat Shop Labor to look forward to now and in the future!!!!!

May God bless you all for taking time to read this TRUE, horrible story, as I hope that the very demeaning experiences me and many others at Ampac Plastics endured (and ones still working there do) will WARN you of "This Could Be YOUR Workplace (if not already)", if you sit back and allow these 3rd World Work ethics to continue here, in our so-called "Liberty and Justice For All" nation, which is USA.

Sincerely,
Ms. X

Ms. X
Cincinnati, Ohio
U.S.A.