This section provides resources and tools for OPEIU Stewards to help make our Union strong.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement - Read it so you know where to look for provisions. Discuss it with fellow officers and stewards so you know how it is interpreted. Study past grievances and arbitration awards so that you know if there is a precedent for your case.

Employer's Policies and Workplace Rules - Watch the bulletin boards and read all notices. Read the organization's newsletters and financial reports. Watch the newspaper/television for news of your employer and the industry.

Labor Legislation - Keep up on current labor legislation, especially as it affects you, your members and the union.

Working Conditions - Know the working conditions at your organization, especially where they might result in injury or illness.

Supervisors - Get to know the supervisors at your organization and how they operate.

Your Own Members - Get to know your members, their jobs and their attitudes.

Local Union Activities - Keep up on union activities and try to participate and encourage your members to participate.

Union Policies - Know both local and national policies, including the constitution and bylaws.

With this knowledge you will be able to protect the rights of your members under the contract; protect the rights of your members under the law; insist on those past practices that benefit your members; do everything possible to secure a healthy and safe workplace; make sure the employer sticks to the rules; and strengthen the union, encourage solidarity and so make the union policies effective.

You can best educate your membership by (1) giving advice and information; (2) being a good listener as well as a good talker, and (3) setting an example.

SOME "DO's":

• Inform each member personally about union meetings and encourage them to attend.
• Attend meetings yourself.
• Keep your members informed about union policy.
• Distribute union literature.
• Keep the bulletin board up-to-date and direct your members' attention to it.
• Be a counselor, but, keep all confidences.
• Encourage members to make use of union services and education classes.
• Keep your members aware of political and legislative issues affecting them and the union.
• Quash all false rumors publicly and track them to their source.
• Make discrimination among your members unacceptable: your employer may try to "divide and conquer"

DON'T discriminate in personal relations with members, or handling grievances over: race, religion, color, sex, national origin, political opinion, age, sexual orientation, or your own personal prejudices, likes and dislikes.

In our union, ALL MEMBERS HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS.

When you join a union, you have rights non-union employees do not. Only union members have the protections and benefits of a legally binding union contract, negotiated, voted on and approved by you and your co-workers. You join together with co-workers to build an employee organization that gives you a real say over your job, puts you on more equal footing with your employer, and ensures a better economic future for you and your co-workers.

A VOICE ON THE JOB
With A Union Only union members enjoy the legal right and power to have a say on the job.	No Union Management has exclusive control.

WAGES
With A Union Pay rates negotiated to ensure fairness for everyone. Protected by a legal contract. Seniority is recognized.	No Union Management alone decides what is fair pay and can base any raises on business needs, favoritism or anything else.

BENEFITS
With A Union Protected by the contract. Changes can only be made with member approval.	No Union Can be taken away or changed at any time.

PROMOTIONS & HIRING PRACTICES
With A Union Awarded fairly according to the process agreed to in the contract.	No Union It's up to management.

UNFAIR TREATMENT & JOB PROTECTION
With A Union Members have a protected way to challenge any unfair or questionable treatment with support and representation from their union. Just cause standards are applied with binding arbitration if the parties can't agree.	No Union You're on your own. Any grievance process gives management the last word.

WORKING CONDITIONS
With A Union Schedules, vacations, workload, subcontracting, work standards, layoff procedures, hours of work are all agreed to between members and their employer and are protected in the contract.	No Union Management decides what's best for employees.

A Steward "is properly subject to discipline for his actions as an employee, but is immune from discipline when acting clearly within the scope of his recognized union duties and responsibilities."

Arbitrator Byron Abernethy

When Stewards are performing Union functions spelled out in the contract or acting in their official capacity, they are considered equals with management. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rules that Stewards must be free to challenge management statements without censorship. The NLRB described this relationship as: "a relationship between [employer] advocates on one side and union advocates on the other side, engaged as equal opposing parties in litigation."

Stewards act in an official capacity when they:

• Investigate grievances
• Request information
• Present a grievance
• Act as a Weingarten representative
• Participate in a Labor/Management meeting

Stewards act in an individual capacity when they discuss their own work assignments, performance or evaluation.

Greater Leeway Allowed - A vigorous or heated argument between an employee and a supervisor might lead to a charge of insubordination against an employee. However, stewards are allowed greater leeway than the average employee in discussions with management because they are acting in an official capacity as an agent or representative of the Union.

STEWARD QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: Can a Steward be penalized for refusing a management order or telling a co-worker not to obey a supervisor?
A: Stewards should follow the universal rule of "obey now, grieve later" or they may be subject to discipline.

Q: How about an order to do something unsafe?
A: Answer these questions before refusing an order you believe is unsafe: (1) Do you have a reasonable belief that there is a real danger of death or serious injury? (2) Did you ask management to eliminate the danger and they refused to do so? (3) Is the danger so urgent you cannot wait for a WISHA inspection, and (4) Is there no reasonable alternative?

Q: Are Stewards protected if they speak up during staff meetings?
A: As long as management has not clearly prohibited all employee comments, Stewards have a legal right to speak up (but not be disruptive), including criticizing Employer policies.

Union Representation and the Disciplinary Interview - An employee who is called to an interview with his or her employer which may lead to some disciplinary action is entitled to union representation. An employee must request to have a union representative present during investigatory interviews which the employee reasonably believes will result in disciplinary action.

If management wants to question or "interview" you,

First:

• Ask what is involved. Ask if this might lead to you being disciplined.

If so:

• Tell management that you want a union representative present.
• Refuse to answer any questions until a union representative is present.
• Refuse to allow any tape or any other electronic recording of the interview.

If management insists on proceeding with the interview without regard for your rights, make clear that you are proceeding under protest. Take careful notes. Answer questions briefly, but honestly.

If you make the mistake of starting the interview and become disturbed by the direction the interview is taking, stop the interview, request that a union representative be present before continuing with the interview.

These are called your "Weingarten Rights" after a 1975 U.S. Supreme Court decision. For more information on Weingarten Rights, click here.

The following questions should be asked in order to establish whether a situation meets the standards of Just Cause. The questions reflect standards frequently applied by arbitrators.

1. Was the employee warned in advance? In many cases, a rule that hasn't been enforced in the past cannot be involved for purposes of discipline or discharge without a clear warning in advance. Likewise, a sudden or "surprise" discharge is usually improper except in cases such as major theft, substance abuse on-the-job, assault on a supervisor, etc., that are clearly explained in management policy.
   
   
2. Were progressive or graduated discipline applied? This follows from the previous point: The penalty is expected to increase for repeated violations. A typical progression for repeated absenteeism might consist of a verbal warning followed by a written warning, a three-day suspension, then discharge.
   
   
3. Does the punishment fit the "crime" and the past record of the employee? Again, this is related to the previous two points: Discharging an employee for a single absence or for a minor violation of management rules is generally considered inappropriate.
   
   
4. Was there an investigation? Was it conducted fairly and impartially or was there evidence of an effort to "burn" or "trap" an individual employee for practices that are generally unchallenged?
   
   
5. Did the investigation turn up substantial evidence of wrongdoing?
   
   
6. Are management's rules reasonable? Could an employee be expected to follow the rule or policy in question or would this be impossible? A utility company's rule that meter readers may not leave their work area might be viewed as unreasonable. Where do employees eat, use a restroom, etc.?
   
   
7. Are there extenuating circumstances behind the employee's action? Often there are physical or medical reasons underlying absenteeism, poor work, etc. A fight might have been provoked.
   
   
8. Are the rules clearly posted and understandable? Are they specific?
   
   
9. Is the rule in question clearly related to the efficiency of safety of the Employer's operations? Sometimes management seems to like rules for their own sake. Cranking out rules, regardless of their purpose, may satisfy someone's need for importance or authority and help justify his/her job or very existence.
   
   
10. Are the rules enforced uniformly and consistently? Is there evidence of discrimination or harassment? There may be others with similar or worse work records who have not been disciplined. This can often, but not always, be used to show unequal treatment. However, the employee's past disciplinary record may be used to justify a more serious penalty.
    
    
11. Is there management collusion or shared guilt? Have management personnel violated their own rules or encouraged employees to ignore certain rules? For instance, have others been known to drink on the job?
    
    

Source: Labor Education and Research Center, Indiana University

"The Union shouldn't proceed with that grievance for ...

... him because nobody likes him."
... her because she used to take drugs."
... them because they have a weird life style; they aren't like us."
... him because they didn't file one for me."
... her because that grievance will cost too much."

Although these are comments we sometimes hear, they are not acceptable reasons to waive Duty of Fair Representation. Unions do have a wide range of discretion in grievance handling, including the right to settle a grievance with or without the grievant's permission. Unions do not have to get every remedy a grievant wants to satisfy Duty of Fair Representation. However, Unions cannot discriminate in grievance handling for improper reasons such as race, sex, religion, Union activities; or personal life style of the grievant.

In exchange for the right to be exclusive bargaining representative for a group of employees, the Union has a duty to negotiate and enforce the contract honestly and in good faith. However, the Union is allowed by law to make a reasoned judgment about the merits of a grievance, to balance the interests of the whole bargaining unit and to take sides between two members if necessary.

The merits of a grievance depend on a combination of factors including the contractual or legal basis, the facts of the case, the impact on the bargaining unit and the contract, the gravity of the violation and the remedies available through the grievance procedure. If merit is sufficient, the Union must file the grievance timely, investigate, keep records, inform the grievant of the progress of the grievance through the steps of the grievance process.

Arbitration is the final step if the grievance is not settled between the Union and the Employer. A neutral third party arbitrator is chosen from a list mandated by the contract. That arbitrator's decision is final and binding under Local 39 contracts.

A Union is not responsible for taking every case to arbitration, but it must be able to show a rational reason for not pursuing the case further. Some typical reasons include: (1) The nature of the violation and the degree of seriousness of the penalty or action. (2) How the case could affect the unit as a whole. (3) Cost may be taken into account in a decision, but should not be the primary reason for dropping a case.

Unions may decide whether to take a grievance to arbitration, through a decision of the Grievance Committee, Union Representative or Executive Board, or through a vote of the body. Any method is acceptable to courts, so long as it is uniformly applied.

When an Employer refuses to go to arbitration, Unions generally are in a position to go to court to compel arbitration if there is an arbitration clause in the contract. Unions may also go to court to enforce arbitration awards. Courts usually enforce such awards.

Source: Bureau of National Affairs Special Report

Weingarten Rights

Your Weingarten Rights are your rights to have representation at a meeting that could lead to discipline. These rights were named after a 1975 U.S. Supreme Court decision. A member who is called to an interview with his or her employer which may lead to some disciplinary action is entitled to union representation. The member must request to have a union representative present during investigatory interviews which the employee reasonably believes will result in disciplinary action. Management doesn't have to tell you of these rights.

If management wants to question or "interview" you, first ask what is involved. Ask if this might lead to you being disciplined. If so, tell management that you want a union representative present. You can refuse to answer any questions until a union representative is present. You can refuse to allow any tape or any other electronic recording of the interview.

If management insists on proceeding with the interview without regard for your rights, make clear that you are proceeding under protest. Take careful notes. Answer questions briefly, but honestly.

If you make the mistake of starting the interview and become disturbed by the direction the interview is taking, stop the interview, request that a union representative be present before continuing with the interview.

Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for any of the following reasons:

• To care for a newborn or recently adopted child;
• To care for a foster child placed with the employee;
• To take time off work because of his or her own serious health condition;
• Or to care for the employee's spouse, parent or child with a serious health condition.

Employees are eligible if they have worked for a covered employer for at least one year, and for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months and if there are at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

For the duration of the FMLA leave, the employer must maintain the employee's health coverage. Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits and other employment terms.

In addition, OPEIU members should consult their union contract. There may be additional benefits covering this area.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforces this law and more information can be found at www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla.

Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights bill giving individuals with disabilities protection from discrimination in employment and access to commercial facilities, transportation, communications, and state and local government services.

For more information on the Americans with Disabilities Act, visit one of the following web sites: www.ada.gov or www.eeoc.gov/ada.

Protection from Discrimination

In addition to rights guaranteed in their union contract, workers have rights under state and federal law that protect them from discrimination. A union can help ensure these rights get upheld in the workplace.

The following web sites provide explanations of various forms of discrimination and what can be done: www.eeoc.gov.

Right to Organize a Union

Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act "Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, to join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aide or protection...." It is illegal for your employer to interfere with these rights.

This law is enforced by the National Labor Relations Board.