laborer

pipelayer

heavy equipment mechanic

backhoe operator

quality control lab technician

Thomas Cavanagh Construction

This company was once a great company to work for . Wake up happy, go to work , leave feeling fulfilled. Management made you feel appreciated, like you were an important part of the team. Nowadays they have many unqualified “white hats” running large job sites which are unorganized, lazy and have very poor communication skills. They allow management to pick and choose favourites to work despite how many years you have put in or how dedicated you are to them . If problems arise , they never are dealt with properly because you must go through your foreman or supervisor who may be the one treating you unfairly to begin with . HR? Waste of time , they will just brush you under the mat to keep management happy. They preach they have a strong family culture and you are not just a number . This may have been true many years ago but it is certainly not the case anymore. Management likes to make you feel like they are superior to you, gloat about the luxuries of being in there high position, flashing their “ company cards” as they are off to lunch, while some workers aren’t even allowed a quick lunch break. They go on about how much fun they had at the hockey game they were rewarded with when workers watch them sit in their trucks day after day doing nothing or stand around smoking and talking on the phone all day, sometimes not even going over a daily plan or safety talk. They have no time to check on that flagger that has had to use the washroom for hours or lend a helping hand to the labourer who is running around frantically rolling out filter cloth, checking grades, backing up trucks, collecting tickets and spotting for the operator. It seems that the fancy new trucks and quick advancement to leading roles has went to some of their heads. That they forget that without the hard working labourers , operators and truck drivers, the job wouldn’t get done . Depending on the sector you work in , some of them press you to make you feel as though you must work late every night and you must not take a day off whether you’re  sick or need to go to a appointment, they make you feel as though if you do you will be bumped by the next guy and if you have anything to say about that? Well , your not that important, regardless of how dedicated you are , we will just replace you with another smuck “ any monkey can do your job”. 
Over the years Thomas Cavanagh Construction has really improved their employee benefits and pension plan. It shows that the owners really genuinely do care about their employees. 
Unfortunately they do not seem to take the time to see what the core problem in the company is and why employees are not as happy as they once were .
My advice to you if you’re considering a job with Thomas Cavanagh construction, go for it . There are a lot of great people, there is room for growth and pay is decent .
Just know, if you work those late nights often and you are dedicated to being there and putting in your very best effort, it won’t get you ahead unless you are in the right clique. They don’t care if the long hours impact your home life, as long you get the job done to make them look good. 
It is very discouraging to see the direction the company is going and I hope that one day the dedicated employees get the recognition they deserve, rather than being made to feel like they are so easily replaceable. For me, it’s just a job to provide for my family.

Best part about working at Cavanagh? 
Gaining experience in my career, getting to meet and work with some pretty nice people. Driving a really nice truck while doing it is pretty nice too.

I started here with no experience in my career, really enjoyed my job, typically showed up between 5:30- 6:00 every day to inspect my truck and start my day. I felt like I was doing at least a good job because no one really had anything bad to say about me, they had me helping other new drivers with learning shifting, and training new drivers, even was told numerous times how "they appreciate the extra work and dedication and if doesn't go unnoticed in the office." Then one day management started looking for things that I do wrong, even tasked foremen with sitting in their truck at a distance and watch me do my inspections (knowing very well that I take these seriously)

Communication with management was horrible, and a lot of them shouldn't be in a position of managing people, solely based on how they treat others and expect to be treated in return. 

Don't make a decision to work there based on the family culture because they'll turn around and lay you off early in the fall and not call you back in the spring. 

My experience with the Cavanagh company is very busy. The days are long most of the time but the pay is very much worth it. I got certified in many things from here for health and safety and learned a lot about all the steps that go into various jobs. It is really interesting going to new sites with new foreman as they are always nice and there is always something interesting to learn about. Everyone employed at Cavanagh are great people and all get along well. If someone is planning on working there just remember to think about working in 30+ or the -30 weather, that's the only part of the job I do not enjoy.

Great work environment.  Management could have done a better job in identifying my role and responsibilities for the division. I started the division from the ground up, after one year I had a project coordinator, a fully functioning crew complete with all necessary training, licensing, tools and equipment. 
Jobs I performed while in the manger position included, material inventory, estimating, ordering, lead hand, foreman, sales, hiring, and general manger. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
working for the family name not the ones running the company 


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Talking behind your back . setting people up too fail so that they look better 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
poor , if your not a family friend or family you won't go far . Agg division 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Working with your crew was great but having to deal with your actual supervisor  turns a great day bad fast

What is the best part of working at the company?
No longer working for them. They were a very discriminating company to work for 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The amount of people that didn’t do their job and never were in trouble for it. Supervisor had too many rats 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Extremely stressful and they were discriminatory 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful watching co workers not doing the job properly or safely!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Some of the people are great to work with.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The company culture is still very much a man's world. Women, at least in driving, are there for numbers and visibility but they're not wanted there by a lot of the old timers.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic.  A lot of gossip about each other. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Wake up, cry. Go to work, go from ok to crying to mad to crying all day 😂

What is the best part of working at the company?
Terrible experience, unjustly let go without legitimate cause. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Deadlines and time restraints. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Awkward. If you’re not part of a click, you’re out the door.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful and very  uncomfortable

Most days are long and relatively productive , managers down to foreman seem a lot more disorganized as of late due to upper management always being replaced . As for taking a job there as a labour or operator not a lot of job security because they replace you with Formans and supervisors in the winter. Big time anti union company that seem to take brainwashing employees a little to far

In the time I worked for Thomas Cavanagh Construction, I had very few negative experiences. The overwhelming majority of staff and management were genuinely good people who worked very well together. The days were long, but everyone worked as a team and we got through them. The upper management is very understanding and helpful with their staff. If it wasn't for some of the work being seasonal I would still be there today. 10/10 recommended.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Laborer 1 salary reported	$31.50 per hour
Pipelayer 7 salaries reported	$35.50 per hour
Heavy equipment mechanic 1 salary reported	$45.00 per hour
Backhoe operator 6 salaries reported	$30.00 per hour
Quality control lab technician 2 salaries reported	$25.00 per hour

Working at Thomas Cavanagh Construction: company overview and reviews

Thomas Cavanagh Construction

Thomas Cavanagh Construction ratings

Popular jobs at Thomas Cavanagh Construction

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected