Unreasonable work schedule, lying bosses, and a feeling of hopelessness.
This is more of a vent than anything. Things are slowly moving in the right direction and i will give updates as they happen, i am just burnt out and exhausted. But any advice would be extremely appreciated.
I work in AZ employed by a company based in Maryland. I am contracted to work at a business (two different management structures) that has smaller locations all over the city, but our home base is here in Phoenix. I am also a union worker with IBEW.
Our job requires us to be able to drive long distances, lift 50lbs or more to chest level and maintain it, and move these objects 50 feet or more. two wheelers and dollies are usually available.
The contract between my employer and our home base here calls for 120 man-hours every week, which is generally accepted at all other customer locations as 40hrs/week per person. Meaning we are supposed to have 3 employees at our site. Our 3rd man quit 3 months ago, and we have not received a replacement for him. Because of this, my co-worker and i have been working 10-14 days in a row with one day off in between. There is a monumental amount of work to do all over the state, and more and more is being added on top of it every week. We have a company vehicle available for work, but it has been broken for weeks, only today was the AC fixed so we can continue to work; but the van is still dangerous to drive. (All engine mounts, all shocks, and all struts need completely replaced).
The union and our management know about ALL of this.
My direct supervisor is in charge of hiring, and has been completely silent on any news regarding hiring a new person. And he only ever talks to my co-worker, who thankfully communicates everything back to me. But- my supervisor has developed a pattern of blatant lies, and untrustworthiness. It has gotten to a point where we have been using our personal vehicles to do work. On this front, the Union has filed a grievance.
We are exhausted, we are tired and hurting. And it feels like nothing is being done. My knees and back have starting really hurting at all hours of the day. My knees, ankles, and wrists pop and make noise at strange times. I need to go to a doctor and get a diagnosis.
I have asked my union reps about the possibility of getting workman's comp for this ridiculousness, and he said he couldn't comment.
Neither of us know what to do.