Know Your Rights
Are you having a workplace issue? We can help!
your Rights and benefits
At the link below, you will find a summary of the most important rights and benefits you have under our union contract.
We encourage every member to take the time to read this summary, but you are also encouraged to read the full union contract.
GET HELP
Are you having an issue in your workplace? Do you think you may have been treated unfairly? Have you been called in for an investigatory meeting? We recommend getting in touch with a steward in your department. Alternatively, please fill out our contact form to report a workplace issue.
With our contract secured, grad workers have powerful protections against unjust discipline and discharge. In the event of discipline, all grad workers need to know their rights.
Under national labor law, workers are entitled to Weingarten Rights: the right to request union representation during investigations that may lead to discipline or discharge. When workers face discipline, they cannot be denied the option of having a union steward present. Employers often do their best to deny or ignore the right to union representation to maintain workplace control, at the expense of the worker. For union protection and power, know how and when to assert your rights.
REQUESTING UNION
REPRESENTATION
Know your rights
Assert your rights
If you are facing an investigatory meeting, you can ensure you receive your rights only by demanding them. Insist on a union steward by saying the following:
“If this discussion could lead in any way to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative or steward be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any question.”
Without a union steward present, it is your word against that of your employer. Stewards have legal rights to advocate for grad workers. The first step is informing them of the problem.
Can’t find a steward in
your department or area?
Contact
How do i use my Weingarten rights?
You can invoke the right just by communicating: “I would like my union representative to be present at this meeting.” The employer must grant the request. They also have to delay the meeting until a union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee.
What are Weingarten rights?
Employees have the right to union representation in meetings with employers that might result in discipline. The Supreme Court established an employee's right to representation in such meetings in NLRB v. Weingarten, Inc. (1975).