Safe place

I had a workplace staffing shortage issue that I had to report. It was handled very well. The union gave us support every step of the way and thanked us for our hard work on the floor. I was extremely nervous because I was traumatized in my other non-unionized job where we would get in trouble for speaking up.

As for that non-unionized job, I saw so much toxicity, it could be made into a movie: from new staff who were friends with upper management and getting paid more than staff with seniority, to being yelled at by supervisors and sent to the washroom crying.

This company was bought over a couple of times. Most recently, they forced everyone to sign “new” onboarding documents that I was very uncomfortable with. They said, “do it or else.” There was no choice. 

They were harassing me off duty for six months, first with threats of not paying me. I got so uncomfortable that I had to be off for a month. Then they accused me of resigning. Then when I worked a shift, they removed all my hours to zero on my time sheet and withheld my pay. They said they didn’t have my required information, but it was already there – except they deleted it. They refused to give a cheque when I already had my bank information approved by someone else. They blocked me from getting any more work shifts until I signed their new documents. 

The company was hacked before and I was given conflicting explanations. I talked to two people I know who are HR specialists, and was told that everything could be transferred. But they didn’t want to and it’s a common tactic to make us look like new employees and take away our severance. 

I also called and talked to the Ministry of Labour about how wages can’t be withheld no matter what, even if there wasn’t any deposit information. A cheque could be mailed out instead. I had no choice but to get legal assistance to get my small paycheque. 

It wasn't until I got my unionized job that I realized how badly I was being treated. Thank you so much, ONA, for protecting our rights, letting us speak up and have a safe place to work in.