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I have been working for a unionized company coming on 4 years this month. Due to work increase and being short staffed, they have been forcing our employees including myself to work weekends and threaten us with termination. So last week I worked Sunday to Friday and scheduled for the next Sunday shift voluntarily to help out. Friday evening they said I was being forced for a Saturday shift. I refused saying that I would in no way work 13 days straight. I was told I was not to report to work until my union contacted me or the manager of the company. I was called by my manager yesterday and told my services will no longer be needed. I am currently waiting for a reply from the union. My fear is that they will let me go back to work and I will lose my pay for the down time. On top of that I am pretty sure the forced overtime will not change. There are some people doing 105 hours a week. What can i do?
Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is deal with the union. When you are part of a union, you give away the right to deal with your employer directly. There is no legal action that you can take, other than through your union. Therefore, you need to follow up with the union.