The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees our rights as union members to fight for better wages and working conditions, but many employers will test us to see if we know the law. While we don’t need to know the full text of the NLRA, we must know our rights as union members to fight back against management when they violate our union contract and break the law.

Our Weingarten Rights:
If a union member is called into an interview with management that could lead to discipline, the Weingarten rule gives us the right to ask for union representation. Here is a statement we can use to invoke that right:

“I request to have a union representative present on my behalf during the meeting because I believe it may lead to disciplinary action being taken against me.”

• RULE 1: We must clearly request union representation before or during the interview. A union member cannot be punished for making this request.
• RULE 2: After a union member requests union representation, the employer must either grant the request or end the interview.
• RULE 3: If the employer denies the request for union representation and continues to ask questions, they are committing an unfair labor practice in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

Healthcare Workers Can:

• Talk about union business while at work, just as we would other topics such as vacations, our children, or favorite movies
• Read or distribute materials about union business during breaks, meal periods, and before and after work in non-work areas (e.g., break room, cafeteria)
• Attend union meetings
• Sign and/or ask our co-workers to sign union cards or petitions during breaks, meal periods, and before and after work. Cards or petitions can be signed anywhere except areas where patients receive treatment (unless the facility has a preexisting rule that prohibits any solicitation in work areas)
• Talk with each other and the public about staffing, pay, benefits, and other conditions at our workplaces

Management Cannot:

• Prohibit us from talking about union business if we are allowed to talk about other topics
• Ask us whether we support the union
• Engage in surveillance of union members or our activities
• Harass or intimidate us for participating in our union
• Ask us to remove union items such as buttons and pens (unless there is a preexisting rule that prohibits items in patient care areas that is enforced against all types of items);
• Prohibit us from sharing information about staffing, pay, benefits, and other conditions at our workplaces
• Implement new restrictions designed to interfere with union business, such as preventing us from returning to our workplaces on days off.