driver

laborer

millwright

plant nursery assistant

production supervisor

Gay Lea Foods

Disclaimer: I worked at the Gay Lea Foods Salerno Dairy, Hamilton, ON, Canada; I cannot speak for any other locations except in very general terms.

Typical day: Depending on which location under the Gay Lea Foods umbrella you find yourself working at,and what shift you are working, you will have a very different experience day-to-day. Different plants have different amenities and different machinery with different maintenance schedules and requirements. In the plants with mainly human labour and little automation, day-shift workers will find themselves in a buzzing environment where the main task will be to get a large variety of tasks done without running each other over; whereas the night shift workers find themselves in a slightly more strenuous and somber environment where they need to get a larger volume of fewer tasks completed before the day-shift comes in.

Management: Management is typically very friendly but stern, as is needed in an environment where mistakes can injure many people both amongst the staff and the consumer market.

Workplace culture: Culturally, the workplace is rather relaxed, everyone more or less wanting to get the job done to the best of their abilities.

Hardest part: The hardest part of the job would have to be trying to pace yourself correctly as to not burn out.

Enjoyable part: The most enjoyable part of the job depends of the shift you are working; in day shift it would be learning how to function as a team to such a degree that the job takes moments to complete, whereas in night shift it would be getting a large order done as fast as possible.

This company has severe culture problems and the environment is the most toxic I have ever worked in. Employees are very cliquey and anyone who does not engage in gossip and rumour-spreading is themselves targeted. Issues started off minor but over time escalated to serious harassment, bullying, exclusion and work sabotage by direct coworkers. HR department is completely unwilling to act when complaints are made and they will protect the company image at all costs. The direct response was "that's just how things work". Very little support was given by upper management and harassment was encouraged among lower staff due to bitterness from past management/employee conflicts. 

Benefits and salary were good, but not worth the physical and mental health impacts.

Working at Gay Lea Foods is a genuinely great experience, especially if you value a strong sense of purpose and community. As a co-operative, there’s a real connection to people and impact that you don’t always find elsewhere. The organization is full of committed, down-to-earth employees who care deeply about doing the right thing. It's my favourite place I've ever worked. The company has made meaningful progress in areas like employee engagement, leadership development, and communication, and there’s a clear effort to listen and evolve. Overall, it’s a place where you can make a real impact, among great people.

a typical day at work,
act like you are working.

what you believe you learned,
how incompetent management is and they will never train or hold anybody accountable for anything.

management,
the absolute worst. All they do is gossip and sit in their office rather implementing all the changes needed. The hr is a joke who has no people skills or humor and always relies on the managers and supervisors to get things where they need to be.

workplace culture,
garbage. No process, no structure, no accountability.

the hardest part of the job,
seeing people do nothing while not getting questioned.

the most enjoyable part of the job
constant overtime.

At my plant workers were generally happy and unionised. Work environment was very comfortable. Very professional and clean with kind staff and work ethic. Staff feel empowered and respected. Numerous fun theme days and fundraisers throughout the year keep things interesting. Individuals are respectful but fun to work with. If you're in the union you're paid much better than non-union workers.

What is the best part of working at the company?
You got a lot of hours, that was never the issue 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There was quite a lot of organizational issues with the logistics side 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The people who work there keep to themselves and it's difficult for outsiders to work there if you don't have family working there 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It's a lot of driving and washing the inside of the trailer to not contaminate the next load of milk

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing is good about the company. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
No growth, bad management, dictatorship in the leaders, blaming the lower position person for every mistake, people are quitting because of the management, not safe work place, people are forced to do things.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Extremely toxic, micromanagement. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful, always you have to save yourself from blame

12 hours of full work, put into 12 hour rotation within 2 weeks of starting didn't leave room for full comprehensive understanding of facilities or where things were. 

Probation period of 600 hours, should be longer - doesn't give enough time to learn or get proper helpful feedback or area of improvement required to make it through probation.  

Hardest part is transition from days to nights every other shift. 

Although when I started off here I thought it was great. Over time I began to hate it. The scheduling was never consistent and the managements treats their employees like garbage. 

constantly being told what you are doing isn’t enough or quick enough. The management is very corrupt and does sneaky things to keep people in line. 

The management itself gossips about employees and unfairly treats their employees. 

No consideration for anyone’s plans changing schedule randomly and without warning.

Was a very fun, productive workplace in some departments, but after the department management changed the whole culture changed.  It became a real “ cut throat “ environment, not always wanting to do the best job fir the company but always looking over your shoulder and protecting yourself. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Driver 7 salaries reported	$26.14 per hour
Laborer 22 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Millwright 8 salaries reported	$42.35 per hour
Plant nursery assistant 1 salary reported	$20.20 per hour
Production supervisor 2 salaries reported	$100,300 per year

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