UPDATE: my union got my hearing post-pined and

Last edited Fri Sep 15, 2023, 05:35 AM - Edit history (1)

So it will now take place after the criminal court ruling. And they’ve asked for proof of my antiracist training and background! So we’re fighting! Yay!!

Original post: I have some fucked in shit going down at work right now and i'm not sure my union is helping me.

Way long story short: I (59yo ww) have been out on paid administrative leave for over a month. On my 6th day as first time supervisor, I’d realized an employee (54yo Bw) was misleading me a number of things, bullying me passive-aggressively, and talking shit about the previous supervisor. That is what drove the previous supervisor (35-ish Latina) away. She told a Jewish coworker they needed to get Jesus. Etc. When she came into work, late, we got into a heated argument over workspace and she became aggressive and manufactured an excuse to call the police, saying I had assaulted her. Cops came, ruled it a civil matter. She left and filed criminal assault charges. Later I learned she also filed a complaint with the city’s civil rights office. Because I have a criminal case pending, I will claim my Carney rights. My union leadership believes they will attempt to terminate me based on the race charge, for failing my probationary period - which no one from HR has directly interviewed me about. My rep wants me to resign instead of citing Carney.

I don’t want to resign. This is my dream job in my home town, and utilizes very specific skills that will be hard to find in other candidates, especially as we have a bad rep in our field because it’s such a toxic work environment. I have no savings because I have worked my whole life in small nonprofits organizing for racial justice and peace. I had ZERO mentoring my first week of work from my useless manager who was there during the altercation but is so conflict-avoidant he probably wasn’t looking at us. My orientation was on my fourth day of work. There are rumors circulating that I pushed her and she left in an ambulance, which never happened. I have worked for this agency since 2016.

There are issues underlying the employee’s actions beyond her bullying. She has MS and our white collar, public employee work space doesn’t even meet OSHA’s paltry office requirement of “having enough space to do daily tasks”. Our very old, small building had public toilets in the basement so the employee workroom was turned into a handicapped bathroom on the main floor in 2018 to accommodate a different employee. I am the 4th Supervisor during that time. Also, the employee is in s different union, but these work conditions are atrocious and as a general union sister, I feel strongly that this is Admin’s fault for neglecting the space issues which all workers have the right to. (Yes! Even as she’s filed criminal charges against me, I’m still advocating for her to have expanded workspace. Because good supervisor’s advocate for their employees and union brothers and sisters look out for each other, mostly.)

There’s a lot going on and I honestly don’t think the union has the bandwidth to deal with it all. Perhaps someone here can enlighten me: how does resigning benefit me? Do they really think I’m going to breeze into another job at my age, essentially admitting I racially bullied someone when I’ve dedicated my life to racial equity and was in fact, the party bullied?