So I’m a teacher at a nonprofit private school in Atlantic Canada, this means my coworkers and I are not part of the teacher’s union. It’s well documented at teachers in this kind of work are expected to do more for less than a unionized teacher and the staff at my school are no exception.
In the last couple of months in our staff meetings (which include early childhood educators and support staff who are paid even less than the teachers) the head teacher (essentially ED of the organization) has asked people repeatedly to set up a meeting with finance to negotiate *lower* wages so that a portion of our salary would be a “donation” to a new playground being built.
Am I crazy or is this wildly unethical and inappropriate? We can’t afford to donate any of our hard earned wages *back* to our employer and we’re already responsible for planning and operating additional fundraising events.
What should I do in this situation? I’m afraid that refusing to “donate” my wages would result in some informal understanding that I’m “not a team player” or lack loyalty. It’s claimed that this is a voluntary action we can’t afford take but when an employer asks something like this “voluntary” doesn’t really exist because there is an imbalance of power.
Anyway, any thoughts would be very helpful.