"I was working well past the start of the pandemic, and the lockdowns, at my low-paid retail job. I was an ‘Essential Worker,’ and because of this I received a temporary one dollar pay raise, called a ‘Thank You Bonus’, not ‘Danger Pay.’ I was also given almost enough PPE to get through a shift, if I was careful with it. We were limiting how many customers could come in the store, and not allowing anyone in who wasn’t buying, unless they were a child or there to support another customer who needed assistance. A couple came in, and I asked if they were both buying, and they asked why. I told them the policy, and they said they were both buying, but didn’t bother to pretend this wasn’t a lie. I told them if that turned out not to be the case, neither would be served, and they walked on. Later, they came up to pay, and of course only one of them was actually buying anything. A middle aged man, obviously from one of the nearby condos. I told him he wouldn’t be served, based on what he’d already been told. He spent some time smuggly acting like that statement was a joke, then, when I didn’t budge, he began to bargain. Again I didn’t budge, and now he became belligerent. His partner offered to leave so he could pay alone, and I told them both that’s not how it works. They had flippantly lied, thus showing at best indifference and at worst contempt for the safety of everyone else in the store, myself included. They would not be served; period. The middle aged man began to yell and insult me, and threatened to have me fired. He then began to film me on his phone as I told them they needed to leave. I told him to stop filming me, and he refused, then moved around the plastic barrier that had been erected to get a closer shot of me. I moved out from around the counter and held up my hand in front of his phone, telling him he needed to stop filming me immediately. He came closer and his hand touched mine. I then shouted for him to get out, and he began to claim that I had assaulted him and that he was going to the police. I told him to go ahead, and to get out. His partner left, and he began to, but then stopped in the doorway and pulled out his phone again. I came out from around the counter again and yelled at him to leave. He finally did. Forty-five or so minutes later my manager and the regional manager came into the store, and went into the office. I asked my manager what was up, and he pretended they were there to look at inventory, but he was (surprisingly, for a manager) a bad liar. I knew I was fucked. After several minutes in the office (where the surveillance monitors were) the regional manager came out, and both him and my manager called me to the back of the store. They told me a customer had accused me of assault, and had gone to the police, and that I was suspended until they could investigate. They then told me to call my Union Steward, and not to come back to the store until I was contacted. I asked to explain the situation, but was forced to leave. They watched me as I collected my bag and jacket, and followed me out of the store, in front of my co-workers and several customers. I eventually reached my Union Steward, and several rounds of talks with management took place, in the back of the store, spread out over about six weeks. My Union made sure I received pay during this suspension, calculated based off of my average number of shifts at the same time the previous year. Back before the pandemic, when we had several more employees. The talks with management involved surveillance footage, and countless gotcha questions, and blatant attempts to make me angry so I would slip up and say something fireable. They had nothing, the customer had overplayed their hand, made several false claims in their police report, which the camera footage easily tore apart. Then other minor complaints came up, more gotcha questions. They wanted me gone but had nothing actionable. My Union Steward had done this countless times, shot down their attempts, reminded me to stay calm. Eventually management offered me several grand to quit. If I did, the investigation ended and my ‘Termination’ would be reversed, on paper. My Union Steward told me it was my best shot, that they were gunning for me hard. I told him I would take it, but only because they had already agreed to push management for a policy against filming workers. I’m only about 50 percent sure this wasn’t a lie on their part. In the end I took the money, needed it too badly not to. The other stipulation was a Non-Disclosure Agreement, preventing me from telling anyone about what had happened. As I told my partner what had happened on the streetcar ride home, they told me I did everything I could. The Union Steward had done the same. Officially I quit, and got a few months pay. There’s still no policy there against filming workers. If I mention the name of the store I could be sued. None of my co-workers have contacted me since."