Your Right to Discuss Wages
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act), employees have the right to communicate with other employees at their workplace about their wages. Wages are a vital term and condition of employment, and discussions of wages are often preliminary to organizing or other actions for mutual aid or protection.
I work for a very large not-for-profit medical foundation.
My coworker and I were discussing our wages (it was a quiet, private conversation at lunch) and our department coordinator who was sitting near us told us that was not allowed. I told her it was a federally protected right. She said it only caused problems and was not allowed. She then escalated it to my supervisor. She also told me I was not allowed to discuss my wages and I was just causing problems. I reiterated the law. She escalated it to the manager, rinse and repeat. They brought in HR, who also told me “while it might be protected by law, we don't want our employees discussing their wages, and you need to refrain from doing so. Another employee felt uncomfortable, so we are writing you up for that.” So technically, I wasn't written up discussing wages, but because “someone” felt “uncomfortable” that I exercised my federally protected right. I was denied a COL increase because of the write up.
Since then I have been under a microscope. If I come in a minute late, I'm written up. Son's first birthday since his death a few months ago? Sorry, forgot to get coverage. You better be here or it's a write up. Doctors appointment that I had to book many months in advance for a potential lifesaving screening that was approved? Sorry. Couldn't get coverage. You need to reschedule. Massive storm and the only roads out from my rural home are all closed and without a HELICOPTER there is LITERALLY NO WAY OUT documented by the fucking news, “get here or your getting written up for calling in for an unexcused absence”.
I'm in my 40's, been working since I was 16 and I have never been written up, had corrective action, or been fired. Never. I've been here for four years and I have been written up five times since this incident.
Reviews have been done, and we are supposed to get raises in a few months (if we qualify).
This company bought our old company so technically I'm grandfathered in as being there for eight years. I have four years of college plus a two year certification that applies directly to my job, from which I graduated with high honors. My coworker has been there for two years, didn't graduate from high school, and has no medical background whatsoever. She's getting paid $10k more per year than me. It might be because she was a temp and then they brought her on full time. I don't know.
During raise negotiations, I want to ask why my coworker does a 1/4 of what I do is getting paid so much more than me, and ask that at the very least my wage match hers. It's going to open up a whole shit-can of worms and discussing wages is going to rear its head. I'll probably get fired.
What do I do? Do I say fuck it? Shouldn't a company that pays it's CEO millions a year be able to have a really good explanation why my coworker who is expected to do the same job (but can't) is being paid so much more? To put things in perspective, I make $38k /year and she makes $48k /year. In this bracket that is a massive difference. An extra $833 a month would literally change my life.