The rights of unionized employees
to have present a union representative during
investigatory interviews were announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975
case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc. 420 U.S. 251, 88 LRRM 2689). These rights have
become known as the Weingarten rights.
Employees have Weingarten
rights only during investigatory interviews:
An investigatory interview occurs when a supervisor questions an employee to
obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an
employee to defend his or her conduct. If an employee has a reasonable belief
that discipline or other adverse consequences may result from what he or she says,
the employee has the right to request union representation. Management is not
required to inform the employee of his/her Weingarten rights; it is the employees responsibility to know and request.
When the employee makes the
request for a union representative to be present management has three options:
(1) it can stop questioning until the representative arrives.
(2) it can call off the interview or,
(3) it can tell the employee that it will call off the interview unless the
employee voluntarily gives up his/her rights to a union representative (an
option the employee should always refuse.)
Once you've asked for union
representation, any attempt by management to continue asking questions before a
union representative gets there is ILLEGAL. If supervisors pressure you by
telling you that "you're only making things worse for yourself" by
asking for union representation, that's against the law too. Employers will
often assert that the only role of a union representative in an investigatory interview
is to observe the discussion. The Supreme Court, however, clearly acknowledges
a representative's right to assist and counsel workers during the interview.
The Supreme Court has also ruled
that during an investigatory interview management must inform the union
representative of the subject of the interrogation. The representative must
also be allowed to speak privately with the employee before the interview.
During the questioning, the representative can interrupt to clarify a question
or to object to confusing or intimidating tactics.
While the interview is in progress
the representative can not tell the employee what to say but he may advise them
on how to answer a question. At the end of the interview the union
representative can add information to support the employee's case.
What to Say if Management Asks
Questions That Could Lead to Discipline:
"If this discussion could in anyway lead to my being disciplined or
terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I request that my union
representative, officer, or steward by present at the meeting. Without
representation, I choose not to answer any questions."
Know the limits:
Just as it's important to know what your Weingarten rights are, it is also
important to know the limits. You are not entitled to have a steward present
every time a supervisor wants to talk to you. Remember, if the discussion
begins to change into questioning that could lead to discipline, you have the
right to ask for representation before the conversation goes any further. If you
are called into the supervisor's office for an investigation, you can't refuse
to go without your steward. All you can do is refuse to answer questions until
your union representative (or steward) gets there and you've had a chance to
talk things over.