Weingarten Rights

     We are still waiting for Blackstone to get over their embarrassment and sign the new contract.  They still have until the end of June to do it.  While we wait, this is a good time to learn that not all of our rights come from the contract.  We also have federally protected rights from the National Labor Relations Act(NLRA) and the Weingarten decision of 1975.

      At some point in our union careers we will eventually be called to the Human Resources department for some reason or another.  For some of us, the reason may be for disciplinary action against you or another union member.  This entry is to familiarize all union members on how to handle these situations and to remind all or you of your “RIGHTS” in such cases.  Some of you may never need to utilize this information but you may be in a position to help a co-worker.  I have broken up this topic into a series that will help in understanding what Weingarten Rights are and how they apply to all union workers. 

This series starts with a definition of your Weingarten Rights:

    The Weingarten right is a right derived from the Supreme Court’s 1975 Weingarten decision where the court recognized union employees’ rights to representation at investigatory interviews.  The right to have a delegate present during questioning by an employer.  This offers workers a competent witness supported by the union and a fair hearing of all arguments.  Weingarten ended arbitrary disciplinary actions.

Lincoln And Labor!

Educated Laborer

“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.” – Abraham Lincoln.

7 score and 10 years ago, Abraham Lincoln presented a speech to Congress speaking about the Civil War.  In this speech, he briefly included what he believed was the role of labor in our country.  I find that this phrase is relevant to my last post and will be relevant to the upcoming contract negotiations in July.  Some often think that we owe our eternal gratitude to management for hiring us.  But please remember that it was your resume, your previous work and your interview that got you the job.  Management hired you because you qualified as someone who could build capital for them.  They could not make a profit if it wasn’t for every union member at our property and every other property.  We don’t owe management anything!

This being the case we as union members have not seen any consideration from management to show real appreciation for the labor we contribute to the success of the property.  Layoffs, frivolous write ups, reduced occupancy and slow cafeteria change are some examples of the opposite of what Abraham Lincoln believed that laborers, like us, deserve.   I know its difficult to want to do your best in these conditions, but my friends, never let anyone take away the pride you feel in yourself for the independent labor you perform everyday.  It is what separates you from them.

This post is inspired by the work done on a great wordpress blog,  “Always Question Authority”  I follow it everyday.