A union member is asked to report to the boss’s office. The boss fires off a question.

The union member asks: "Could this meeting lead to discipline?" The boss says,

"Maybe." The member responds, "I want to see my steward before I answer!"

Legal? Yes! All union members can — and should — make this request if they’re being

questioned by management about anything that could lead to disciplinary action.

Bosses have no right to refuse.

Why? Because of a 1975 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all workers

have the right to union representation when a supervisor or boss asks for information

that could be used as the basis for discipline. This decision gave workers and unions

specific rights called Weingarten Rights (from the name of the case). All union members

in your workplace should know about them.

A vital part of your job is to keep management from intimidating workers — especially

when a boss is trying to get a member to admit to wrongdoing. Weingarten Rights won’t

help if workers don’t know about them, because the boss doesn’t have to tell them. If

they answer the questions, they’ve given up their right to representation.

Stewards should make sure members understand that if any discussion with

management — from a closed-door meeting to a conversation with a supervisor on the

job — could lead to the possibility of discipline, they should ask immediately for a union

steward or local officer. The request can be made at any point.

Ideally, a member should say something like: "If this discussion could in any way lead to

Anything close to this statement will do. Any further attempt by a boss to ask questions

is illegal until a steward arrives. If management denies a request for union

representation, this is an unfair labor practice—and the member may refuse to answer

You can take your own action if you see a worker is in a meeting or conversation with

management where they are in danger of being disciplined. You don’t have to wait for

the worker to ask — you should make sure you’re part of that meeting yourself.

When you arrive, check to see what the issue is about. Then meet privately with the

member for a couple of minutes. Talk with them about questions that may be asked.

Advise them to be careful — that anything they say could be used against them. Warn

them not to volunteer any extra information, to keep answers short, and to stay calm.

Remind them they’re not alone: the union is there to support them!

During the meeting, you should take notes on what was said and who said it. Not only

will this help you keep your facts straight, but it could make the boss nervous if he or

she doesn’t have much of a case.

As a steward, your power includes:

with the member.

that requires additional investigation or preparation.

You cannot negotiate over the subject of the meeting. And you do not have the right to

tell workers not to answer a question or to give untrue answers. Refusal to answer

questions can be a reason for discipline.

If a worker’s steward is not available, another steward or union officer can be asked to

attend. Workers also have the right to ask for a particular union representative, if both

are equally available.

Here are a couple of final points to keep in mind:

If a worker is asked to provide information about another employee, he or she also has

the right to ask for a steward. Why? Because failing to answer could lead to disciplinary

action — and, therefore, the right to representation.

Management can have private conversations with workers that will not lead to discipline

— issuing a warning or other disciplinary action, for example. On the other hand,

workers should know that a casual conversation with a supervisor that starts harmlessly

(over work, for example), but begins to lead to the possibility of trouble, can be stopped

until a steward can be asked to be present.

Local officers and stewards also have a right to be represented—don’t fall for a common

company line that stewards and officers ‘don’t need further representation.’ All union

members have this right.

Weingarten Rights can be powerful tool in doing our job of defending union member’s

rights. But, remember these rights are worthless if you don’t enforce them on the job!