For a little bit of background: I’ve been at a company for about a year and a half. Recently I’ve been singled out for using my phone, something I don’t do any more than any other particular employee per se. I was caught by the CEO of the company on my phone for barely two seconds and he notified my boss’ boss saying that, “I was on my phone for a long time while someone else was working next to me.” Which is a lie — I was building shelving with another worker and we both were deliberately taking a moment’s rest.
So now I am on a 90 day phone probation. Where if I am caught on my phone there is a chance they will send me home.
I had a discussion with my manager who is quite understanding. I told him how I feel targeted, how I’ve seen people fired for less, and how my concern is that they’d use the phone instance against me in terms of making an unemployment claim. He insisted many times “nobody is getting fired.” And I believe him to the extent that we have a great working relationship, but at the end of the day my employment is not strictly up to my manager. I am an at-will employee.
Now here is where my dastardly plans come into the picture. For some time now, a few of us have had a number of issues with the company and ultimately the idea of attempting to unionize has been tossed around. So being on probation now, I feel compelled to be a bit of a pain in the ass.
I was thinking I could make an anonymous email and send out union cards to the rest of the company including some pamphlet-esque propaganda to let everyone know their rights, the reasons they should sign, and what the company might do to retaliate.
I understand that it is illegal to be fired for union activities. So once the company is notified that the emails were sent out, I have the option of claiming I was involved, potentially making it more difficult for me to be fired. And by no means is this all about me, I just feel like I am a good candidate to take the risk and push for unionization. The way I see it is, I may be fired for nothing, or I may not. Or I could take a bit of a leap of faith and heighten the contradictions in my workplace and make some real gains for my fellow coworkers.
What does everyone think? Please poke as many holes in this plan as you can.
Nothing to lose but our chains and everything to gain