I live in a large north New Jersey county. I work as a dietary aide at a Senior Home getting paid $17hr where I have been employed for over six months. I am considered a per diem employee. Recently, a new manager took over the food services department. A few weeks ago she brought in my fellow employees, we all work the dinner shift (not including me) and asked if we would be willing to take a pay cut because the breakfast/lunch shift is unionized and makes only $15 an hour.
Of course everybody said no and we thought that was the end of that.
A high school junior I know started working at the same place, they filled out all the paperwork, met with the manger and then HR for a required TB test. Then I began training them just before Thanksgiving.
Yesterday my fellow employees noticed that for the last two weeks worked our pay was decreased to the rate the manger previously inquired about, just slightly more than what the union member make. Upon an employee asking what’s going on, our manager indicated that all food services workers are supposed to be unionized, but at the same time saying that she doesn’t know “when that is supposed to go into effect”
What can I do? What is the law? Am I protected? Is this even legal?
I even spoke with the union rep, they were never approached by the manager and also never indicated that all of us were required to be in the union. Now all my fellow employees are threatening to quit, some have already given their two weeks and I feel like we were screwed over and pushed out.
I really value this job! I enjoy training the new employee, I love all of the residents that I interact with on a daily basis but something doesn’t feel right.
Additionally, the manager is now implying in an email (excluding myself again) that cc: HR and an admin, that the dinner team needs to return “the provided union paperwork given to us all earlier this month”. This is a lie, no additional paperwork was provided to us nor was it included with the new employees packet of pre-employment paperwork.
I have already attempted to call a local labor board, and a wages division but both of the numbers were disconnected.