Job forced me to resign, union no help

[panno]

I'll try to make this as simple as possible. I worked for a radio station in Boston, and about 2 weeks ago they forced me to resign because of a misunderstanding.

I worked as a receptionist and was in charge of the incoming mail. About 2 months prior to this, a letter had been delivered to my workplace that got torn up in transit. The only thing you could make out on the envelope was the address (the contact name and return address had been torn off). Inside this envelope were some concert tickets, so I asked around the station to see who they belonged to (as I normally would do) and nobody knew. I kept them for over a month, and still no one had claimed them so I had given them to an employee of the station. Well apparently these tickets belonged to one of our managers, and when they noticed that they hadn't received them, the manager had the tickets re-issued, BUT never asked me if I had seen them (out of common sense, knowing that I deal with all the mail, I should've have been asked about this)

So come the day of this concert, the employee I gave the original tickets to couldn't get into the show (because the tickets were re-issued and the ones I gave her were voided) and when she was asked where she got them, she told them from me. When I was approached with this, I told them the truth. My management said it was still stealing, but gave me the option to resign. My union tried to fight it saying that it was just a mistake and wasn't a cause for termination and that a suspension would've been sufficient. Still management didn't want to hear it and said that they would put on my work record that I resigned and I would be able to apply for unemployment. After this, my union didn't want to deal with it anymore and told me that I pretty much didn't have a leg to stand on and push me aside.

The problem is.......I never signed anything saying that I resigned and I know that they put it in my work record that I did. As far as I know, I am supposed to give them a written resignation, but they never requested one. Do I have a legal case here and should I get a lawyer?? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[loku]

I am not sure what you want out of this.

In the first place, it sounds like you probably have a union contract which specifies that you can only be fired for cause. If that is the case, then this was an unlawful termination under that contract. However, if the union told you that you didn’t have a leg to stand on, that may have meant that you can not prove that you were not at fault. If that is the case, then there really is nothing you can do. If you can prove your story, then that is another matter.

As for your resignation, you would not have to give them a written resignation if they have accepted an oral resignation. There is something else that does not fit here: if you resign, then you are generally not eligible for unemployment benefits.