A few months ago, work relocated us to another building due to construction and said it will be a temporary 8-10 weeks while they fix the heating. Before listening to any of our concerns, they decided to go ahead with it despite 95% of the workers objecting to it. We called the union and they said since it's temporary we didn't have much ground to stand on.
A couple weeks ago we received a survey which had a question saying what we would like to see if we permanently moved there. We forwarded it off to union since it was suspicious and they contacted HR and hr confirmed it was only suppose to be temporary.
Today the supervisors and big bosses had a meeting and plot twist.. they decided to make it a permanent move.
I financially cannot afford this as I was previously paying $100 a month on gas and now I have gone up to $500 dollars a month on gas a 15 minute commute has now turned into an hour both ways on top of a 12 hour shift. I am sleep deprived, broke, have no work life balance anymore and in credit line debt to be able to make ends meet now.
I don't want to quit as it's a permanent position with a pension but I feel like I am powerless. I already am applying for other jobs but they will be a wage cut.
What grounds do I have to stand on with my union? When I applied my posting is for the original location – are they breaching my contract? Is there any precedent for this? The majority of us minions are being screwed over for this – can we strike?
I am waiting for the union to get back to me but I would like to know what options I have. Is duty to accomodate a potential here due to the financial hardship?