Weingarten Rights

(Union Representation During Company Interrogations)

One of the most vital functions of a Union steward is to prevent mgmt from intimidating employees. Nowhere is this more important than in closed-door meetings.

The rights of employees to the presence of union representation during investigatory interviews was announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1975 in NLRB vs. J. Weingarten, Inc. Since that case involved a clerk being investigated by the Weingarten Company, these rights have become known as Weingarten rights.

Unions should encourage workers to assert their Weingarten rights. The presence of a steward can help in many ways. For example:

*The steward can help a fearful or inarticulate employee explain what happened.

*The steward can raise extenuating factors.

*The steward can advise an employee against blindly denying everything, thereby giving the appearance of dishonesty & guilt.

*The steward can help prevent an employee from making fatal admissions.

*The steward can stop an employee from losing his or her temper, and perhaps getting fired for insubordination.

*The steward can serve as a witness to prevent supervisors from giving a false account of the conversation.

What is an Investigatory Interview?

Employees have Weingarten rights only during investigatory interviews. However, if your employer has set precedence in always having a shop steward present, then the employee is entitled to have a shop steward present during any interview that he or she feels may result in disciplinary action against them. 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. Investigatory interviews usually relate to the following subjects:

ABSENTEEISM, ACCIDENTS, DAMAGE TO COMPANY PROPERTY, DRINKING, DRUGS, FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS, FIGHTING, INSUBORDINATION, LATENESS, POOR ATTITUDE, SABOTAGE, THEFT, VIOLATION OF SAFETY RULES, & WORK PERFORMANCE.