Rights Reinforced

What do you do when your supervisor calls you for a discussion and you have reason to believe that the "discussion" may lead to discipline? If you are a unionized, private-sector employee, you have the legal right to a union representative. ThisWeingarten right, named after the case on which the U.S. Supreme Court based its 1975 decision, has provided countless workers the opportunity to have support and a witness during investigatory interviews that might lead to disciplinary actions.

Now the Supreme Court has upheld non-unionized, private-sector employees' rights to have a co-worker accompany them to such interviews. This can help workers deal with management intimidation during organizing drives. At the very least, workers in this situation will have witnesses to management's statements.

Illinois Local 3227 (Council 31) Pres. Harriet Baker wishes that her co-workers had had these rights when they organized their union about nine years ago. "Management can be very intimidating to staff, especially when it's just you and them. When we first started organizing, there were a lot of threats."

Today, when she goes out on organizing drives, Baker plans to let workers know about this decision. "It might be a little difficult for people to believe it, but they'll be happy to know they have this right when management calls them in."

It is important to note that public employees, because they are covered under a wide variety of individual labor laws, do not automatically have Weingarten protections.