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What is THE WEINGARTEN RULE?
An Employee's Right to Representation
WEINGARTEN RIGHTS
An employee may be represented by the union at an investigatory interview with his or her supervisor when the employee reasonably believes that the interview may lead to a disciplinary action.
U.S. Supreme Court ruling:
The rights of employees regarding the presence of union representatives during investigatory interviews were announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1975 in NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc. Since that case involved a clerk being investigated by the Weingarten Company, these rights have become known as Weingarten Rights.
What is an investigatory interview?
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 a right to request union representation. Investigatory interviews usually relate to subjects such as:
absenteeism
drinking
fighting
poor attitude
violation of safety rules
accidents
drugs
insubordination
sabotage
work performance
damage to state property
falsification of records
lateness
theft
violation of work procedures
Weingarten rules:
Under the Supreme Court's Weingarten decision, when an investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:
RULE 1
The employee must make a clear request for union representation before or during the interview. The employee cannot be punished for making this request.
RULE 2
After the employee makes the request, the employer must choose from among three options. The employer must:
a. Grant the request and delay questioning until the union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee; or
b. Deny the request and end the interview immediately; or
c. Give the employee a choice of: (1) having the interview without representation or (2) ending the interview.
RULE 3
If the supervisor denies the request for union representation and continues to ask questions, he or she commits an unfair labor practice and the employee has the right to refuse to answer. The supervisor cannot discipline the employee for such a refusal.
Rights of Stewards
Supervisors often assert that the only role of a steward at an investigatory interview is to observe the discussion, i.e., to be a silent witness. The Supreme Court, however, clearly acknowledged a steward's right to assist and counsel workers during the interview. Decided cases establish the following procedures:
1. When the steward arrives, the supervisor must inform the steward of the subject matter of the interview; i.e., the type of conduct for which discipline is being considered (theft, lateness, drugs, etc.).
2. The steward must be allowed to take the worker aside for a private pre-interview conference before questioning begins.
3. The steward must be allowed to speak during the interview, but cannot insist that the interview be ended.
4. The steward can request that the supervisor clarify a question so the worker can understand what is being asked.
5. After a question is asked, the steward can give advice on how to answer. The steward can advise the employee not to answer questions that are abusive, misleading, badgering, or harassing.
6. When the questioning ends, the steward can provide information to the supervisor.
I’ve recently filed a grievance, what is the procedure after filing?
Step 1
The Chief Steward takes the grievance up with Supervisor or other designated representative of management in the district.
If the Chief Steward and the Supervisor or other designated rep. is unable to dispose of the grievance, the Chief Steward then refers it to the Plant Shop Committeeman for his district. The Plant Shop Committeeman then takes the grievance up with the Area Manager or other designated management representative.
Step 2
If the Plant Shop Committeeman and the Area Manager or other designated representative of management does not dispose of the grievance, then the Plant Shop Committeeman refers the written grievance to the Plant Shop Committee.
The Plant Shop Committee then delivers a written copy of the grievance to the Union Relations Supervisor and thereafter takes the grievance up with the Unions Relations Supervisor at a scheduled meeting.
Step 3
If the Plant Shop Committee and the Union Relations Supervisor are unable to dispose of the grievance, the Plant Shop Committee then refers the grievance to the proper higher officer or officers of the Local Union who may then take the grievance up with the Plant Manager, or his designated representative, after arranging a meeting. Upon request of the President of the Local Union the Regional Director of the Union for the area in which the plant is located, or a regularly designated representative of the Regional Director and one member of the Plant Shop Committee may attend the meeting.
Step 4
If the officers of the Local Union and the Plant Manager, or his designated rep., are unable to dispose of the grievance, the officers of the Local Union then refer the grievance to the Regional Representative of the Union for the Area in which the plant is located. Within ten (10) days of such meeting the Plant Manager, or his designated rep., shall forward a statement of the parties’ understanding as to the disposition, if any, of the grievance discussed. The Regional Representative shall either dispose of the grievance or if the grievance merits appeal, refer it to the International Union which, if the grievance merits appeal, shall refer the grievance to the Appeal Board.