BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
UFCW 367 members have specific rights on the job that are spelled out in your contract. You also have rights that are protections in state and federal law.
ORGANIZING – PROTECTED UNION ACTIVITY
THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD STATES:
• Your employer cannot discharge, discipline, or threaten you for, or coercively question you about, this “protected concerted” union activity. However, you can lose protection by saying or doing something egregiously offensive, knowingly and maliciously false, or publicly disparaging your employer’s products or services without relating your complaints to any labor controversy.
• Your employer cannot prohibit you from talking about the union during working time if it permits you to talk about other non-work-related matters like sports, movies, or family during working time.
• If you can distribute non-work-related material like party invitations and Avon booklets, your employer cannot prohibit union newsletters or petitions.
• Your employer cannot prohibit you from talking about or soliciting for a union during non-work time, such as before or after work or during break times; or from distributing union literature during non-work time, in non-work areas, such as parking lots or break rooms.
YOUR RIGHTS DURING UNION ORGANIZING
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You have the right to form, join or assist a Union
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You have the right to act with co-workers to address work-related issues in many ways.
Examples include talking with one or more co-workers about your wages and benefits or other working conditions, circulating a petition asking for better hours, participating in a concerted refusal to work in unsafe conditions, openly talking about your pay and benefits, and joining with co-workers to speak directly to your employer, to a government agency, or the media about problems in your workplace.
If a Manager attempts to prohibit union activity on the job, please document the date, time, place, and other details and call your Union Representative. Stewards will work with Union staff to file unfair labor practice charges if necessary.
Unions are started on the principle that all workers deserve fair treatment and respect. This includes making sure managers do not use disciplinary action to unfairly punish you and your coworkers.
If a supervisor pulls you into a room to talk, and you think you might be disciplined, it can feel like your back is against the wall.
But when you’re in a union, you’re never alone. You always have the right to call on representatives from your union or workplace to back you up in these situations, these are your Weingarten Rights.
Weingarten rights were won in a 1975 Supreme Court decision with these basic guidelines:
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You must make a clear request for union representation either before or during the interview. Managers do not have to inform employees of their rights.
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Management cannot retaliate against an employee requesting representation.
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Management must delay questioning until the Union Rep arrives.
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It is against Federal Law for management to deny an employee's request for a Union Representative and continue with an interrogation. In this case, an employee can refuse to answer management's questions.