June 2004

 Obey, then Grieve

Don’t let hostile supervisors or managers provoke you or set you up for serious discipline or discharge.  If you are given a work assignment that you believe violates your Union contract, you can attempt to persuade the employer on the spot, but you can refuse the work only if you have a reasonable belief that the assignment puts you or others at risk of serious injury. If your supervisor or manager refuses to hear you out on the spot, he or she may be panicked about getting the job done or may be trying to provoke you into insubordination.  Insubordination can result in serious discipline or discharge.  So, if you have to, do the work as directed, then file your grievance with your Steward.

Don’t Go It Alone

 Read about your right to have a Steward or Union Representative present during some conversations with your employer. It’s printed on the back of your 705 Union Membership Card.

When your employer is questioning you and discipline may result, the conversation (no matter where it takes place or how seemingly casual) is an investigatory interview during which you may demand that a Steward or Union Representative be present. If your employer has already decided on discipline and is doing no more than informing you of that discipline, then you are not entitled to representation.  You are free to file a grievance after the discipline has been imposed.

When you have the right to representation, you must know to demand it. The employer can carry on if you do not make your demand for representation. If you demand representation and your employer does not cooperate, don’t bolt out; cite your “Weingarten rights” and leave it at that.

Having a witness and someone to help you make your case is always in your interest.