DID YOU KNOW: You Have Weingarten Rights?

Weingarten Rights establish your access to union representation when being interviewed by management.  If you are asked to participate in an Investigatory Interview or any discussion you feel may lead to discipline, you should invoke these rights by requesting your steward. 

Your steward can counsel you before an interview and can be involved during the interview.  They aren’t simply a witness.  That said, they aren’t the one being interviewed, either.  Answer honestly but avoid offering more information than what is asked for.  If you don’t know something or haven’t been trained on it, tell them. 

If management tells you they want to have a job discussion with you, that’s an exception.  It’s a discussion, not an interview, but there are still rules to these interactions.  They are to be done in private (not at your case in front of your neighbors) and are not to be shared.  They are private discussions so, if a member of management other than the one who conducted the job discussion references it, it is improper.

So now, you know to request a steward any time you’re in an interview situation that may lead to discipline.