Welcome to the Site Rep Corner!

Weingarten was a U.S. Supreme Court case that gave workers the right to have a union representative present in some circumstances "when a supervisor asks for information that could be used as a basis for discipline."

It's important to remind your members about their Weingarten rights now and then: Workers should always request a union representative if a meeting could lead to discipline. 

Consider two different ways a union can take action to solve problems. A top-down approach may solve the immediate workplace problem, but it may not change the balance of power. Engaging as many members as possible in a bottom-up approach may accomplish both goals.

For example, consider the case at right where a boss unilaterally announces an unpopular new schedule, and how things might play out depending which approach you take, top-down vs. bottom-up.

In the first week, the approach on the left might appear more forceful—immediate action is taken! But a request to bargain is an action that the boss knows how to ignore. The longer it drags on, the more disaffected the members become.

Unions and bosses have different outlooks on safety. Employers say illnesses and injuries are caused by worker carelessness: he didn’t look where he was going; she wasn’t using correct lifting technique. That’s the way the boss wants you to think, too.

But the union realizes that it’s the hazards themselves that cause injuries, and that it’s the boss who sets up the workplace, either designing in hazards or failing to design them out. Blind corners and high shelving make it hard to avoid collisions; overloaded boxes on low shelves forces awkward bending. Emphasize these different outlooks with workers.