Your Weingarten Rights

Every member of WHEA (or any union for that matter) has the right to have union representation at certain kinds of meetings.  The Weingarten rights are named after the Supreme Court case bearing that name that was decided in 1975.

In a nutshell, you can ask for and expect union representation (either a building rep or an officer of the union) under the following conditions:

1. The interview/meeting is requested by your supervisor/administration.

2. You reasonably believe that the meeting is disciplinary in nature or could jeopardize your job security.

3. You, the teacher, have requested union representation.

The employer MAY NOT:

1. Require the Association representative to remain silent throughout the meeting.

2. Require the Association representative to remain silent until after the employer has finished questioning and eliciting answers from the teacher.

3. Require the representative to channel his/her questions through the teacher.

Weingarten Rights do not apply to:

1. Normal, “run of the mill” meetings

2. Meetings in which the teacher is simply being given a letter or told a consequence after the initial interview has taken place and decision has been reached. Sometimes reps attend these meetings but their presence is not guaranteed under Weingarten.