A Yuma Station employee was ordered to submit a memorandum.  However, he was not advised of his Weingarten Rights (Right to Union Representation).  When the agent included this fact in his memorandum, the Supervisors refused to accept it until he removed the language from his memorandum.  This information would have proved crucial in favor of the agent should any proposal for disciplinary action be handed down.

 

Folks, I cannot reiterate how important it is to invoke your Union Rights.  Do not ever write a memorandum without speaking with a Union Representative if you believe you could face disciplinary action.  You have 48 hours to contact a Union Representative when ordered to submit a memorandum.

 

Of course, maybe some agents feel comfortable writing memorandums without advice from Union Representatives.  However, in light of the many proposals for discipline that Union Representatives have taken as cases after the fact, it is inherently clear that agents need to educate themselves on the matters of Labor Management Relations to assist them in writing better memorandums.  Agents should consider memorandums as investigations by management.

 

I encourage all Union members to visit the Steward Help section of this website and read all the literature.