TL,DR: New boss is threatening to deny time off requests this summer because he is unwilling to fill in for people on shift. Most of us really like our job so we are looking for solutions that don't put our job at risk…
…I work in a small office of about 20 people, and we are staffed 24/7 365. Everyone knows that we will work some holidays and weekends and can't get off every day we want. Because of our need to be staffed 24/7, we have a priority based ranking system for submitting leave requests over the summer.
In the past, we had 2 managers plus our old boss who would routinely help out to cover shifts during summer “peak leave” to make sure that people could get as many of their time off requests as possible. However, we have a new boss this year who is refusing to let managers work shifts or to work any shifts himself, even though the other managers are willing to help out.
This is causing a lot of trouble getting a schedule put together that maintains our 24/7 staffing (essentially it's like we are down 3 people vs the old way of doing things) and our new boss is threatening to deny leave requests if some sort of compromise can't be reached (aka people voluntarily withdraw their leave requests). A lot of people already have trips booked and bought tickets and are getting pissed.
The obvious answer is look for a new job, but part of the problem is that I work in a very specialized field so finding a new job isn't that easy. I actually really like my job and the pay and benefits are good. I enjoy going to work most days, and most people I work with also feel lucky to have the job we do.
Does anyone have any ideas how to pressure our boss to give in besides quitting and trying to find a new job? We have an employees union which is fighting for us, but any additional suggestions are much appreciated.