When you have been hiring people who want you to expend resources training them who then quit for 50 cents an hour more somewhere else you usually have to rethink just handing out a raise everytime it is demanded. People surely deserve fair wages but the payer and payee usually don't always agree. In this industry, in the tri-state area it is easy to change jobs to get more money but there are also additional compenstions to take into account. Most of the negative comments in this thread from their tone indicate negative complaining people who I wouldn't want to work beside anyway. If you fit into a company and and are productive you will get paid. If not leave. It is up to you to feed your family, not your boss. Most of the whining "victims" in this thread is from people who didn't work in the "place in question". If you are worth the money you think you are someone will pay you. Of course, whether you really are or not is the real question.