Stewards have the right to engage in union activity. Members have rights, too.

Let’s review some of the rights and limitations provided by labor law.

Right to engage in Union Activity
When meeting with management to perform his or her union duties, the steward is afforded the full protection of the National Labor Relations Act.

Stewards and committee members cannot be punished or discriminated because of your union activity.

Your supervisor can’t: watch you more closely; assign you more difficult work; deny you pay increases or promotional opportunities; deny you overtime; enforce work rules more strictly for you than for other workers.

Access to Employer Information
Unions have the right to request and receive information from the employer that is relevant to procession grievance and negotiating contracts.

• The union must request the information
• The information requested must be relevant
• Privacy, business interests, or confidentiality issues can override the union’s need for information
• Put requests for information in writing if possible–though this isn’t required, it will allow you to document the date of your request
• The employer must provide the information in “a timely manner”
• The employer must comply with the union’s request–so long as the information is in its possession and compliance with the request doesn’t create an undue burden on the employer
• The information must be provided in a useful form
• Your request for information must be specific and related to the grievance

Types of information you can request are listed on page 41 of the stewards’ manual

“Weingarten Rights”
When members are called into meetings with a management representative and they have reason to believe that disciplinary actions against them may result, they have the right to have a steward present during these meetings.

Download a Weingarten Rights Card here

The Duty of Fair Representation
The Union must fairly represent ALL employees in the unit, both members and nonmembers alike. The legal term for this is the “Duty of fair representation.”

To process grievances and uphold your duty to represent your members:

• Consider all grievances solely on their merits
• Do not refuse to process a grievance because you don’t like the grievant
• Investigate the grievance thoroughly
• Process the grievance promptly
• Do not miss time limits for filing and appealing grievances
• Take notes and keep written records
• Keep the grievant informed
• Treat all members of the bargaining unit the same
• Practice non-discrimination
• Have a valid reason for any action taken on a grievance
• If the grievance clearly lacks merit and cannot be won at the lower steps or in arbitration, drop it
• Keep a written record of settlements and their rationale, and inform the grievant promptly