Rights of Stewards
 Employers often assert that the only role of a steward at an investigatory interview is to observe the discussion, in other words to be a silent witness. The Supreme Court, however, clearly acknowledged a steward's right to assist and counsel workers during the interview. Decided cases establish the following procedures:
When the steward arrives, the supervisor must inform the steward of the subject matter of the interview, i.e. the type of misconduct for which discipline is being considered (theft, lateness, drugs, etc.)
The steward must be allowed to take the worker aside for a private pre-interview conference before questioning begins.
The steward must be allowed to speak during the interview. However, the steward does not have the right to bargain over the purpose of the interview.
The steward can request that the supervisor clarify a question so that the worker can understand what is being asked.
After a question is asked, the steward can give advice on how to answer.
When the questioning ends, the steward can provide additional information to the supervisor.
It must be emphasized that if the Weingarten rules are complied with, stewards have no right to tell workers not to answer questions, or to give false answers. Workers can be disciplined if they refuse to answer questions. |
