Pay Study Shows Bank Tellers at Bottom
If the tellers at your local bank seem a little surly these days, they’ve got reason. They are among the worst-paid hourly workers in Los Angeles, according to a survey by Towers Perrin Forster & Crosby.
Bank tellers earn about $16,200 annually, according to the 90-company survey. That’s $900 less than the annual take-home pay for mail clerks. It’s $1,700 less than what the average custodian earns each year. And it’s more than $10,000 less than what a typesetter earns, according to the management consulting firm.
In fact, the only group earning less than bank tellers are entry level assemblers, said Beth Lubetzki, a Towers Perrin consultant. And once the assemblers get a little experience, they’ll earn more--usually about $18,700 annually.
“There is an overabundant supply of candidates for those (bank teller) slots,” Lubetzki explained. “And banks are particularly concerned about keeping their payroll costs down these days.”
The highest-paid non-managerial workers in the city are skilled craftsmen, such as senior machinists ($40,200) and senior drafters ($39,100), the survey said.
One big factor determining pay was whether the worker was a member of a union, according to Lubetzki. Union workers typically make substantially more than their non-union counterparts, she said.
In fact, a “general clerk” earns about $10,700 more annually if a member of a union--an average of $29,400 for unionized workers, compared to $18,700 for non-union workers. Unionized clerk typists take home $24,100, compared to $19,000 for non-union clerk typists, the survey said. And a duplicating machine operator earns an average annual wage of $31,600 when a member of union, compared to $19,300 when not a union member.
However, Lubetzki said these disparities are not all testament to the power of collective bargaining. Towers Perrin found that the union workers were often the more experienced, having several more years on the job.
PAYDAY IN L.A. Average annual salaries* for hourly positions in the Los Angeles area
Position Base salary Unionized Non-union Machinist $38,700 $39,700 $38,400 Executive secretary $31,800 ** $31,700 Typesetter $27,000 ** $26,700 General clerk $24,100 $29,400 $18,700 Computer operator $24,000 $31,100 $23,400 Payroll clerk $23,500 $25,100 $23,200 Duplicating machine operator $22,400 $31,600 $19,300 Telephone operator $19,200 $22,800 $19,100 Custodian $17,900 $20,000 $16,900 Bank teller $16,200 ** $16,200
* salaries are for intermediate-level experience, unless otherwise indicated
** insufficient data
Source: Towers Perrin Forster & Crosby
