Do WEINGARTEN RULES apply?
I asked the SMART-TD International if the Weingarten protection/rights apply to Railroad members and the International Office replied,"
"Brother Ricker,
In accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling (and subsequent related rulings), Weingarten protection/rights only apply to organized properties under the National Labor Relations Act. It has no application under the Railway Labor Act.
However, in many cases, the collective bargaining agreement in effect on RLA properties will contain discipline provisions that provide some form of similar protection. At the very least, there would be an established past practice to rely on..." Executive Assistant to the President
SMART Transportation Division
Weingarten protection/rights
A worker called in for the interview can request union representation at the start of an investigatory interview or any time during its course. The worker may select any readily available representative, including a steward, chief steward, officer, or full-time union staffer. Once a request is on the table, the employer or its agent must refrain from asking questions until the representative is summoned and arrives.
If the employer denies or ignores a Weingarten request, the worker can refuse to answer questions without fear of penalty.
Upon arrival, the union representative can ask the investigator to state the nature of the matter being investigated. The investigator must comply—although evidence against the employee does not have to be revealed.
The representative must be allowed to hold a private caucus (meeting) with the employee before questioning begins.
During the caucus, the representative can encourage the worker to remain calm, avoid insubordination, and refrain from bringing harm on fellow workers.
When the meeting resumes, the representative can give advice on particular questions and can object if a question is confusing or intimidating.
When the questioning is completed, the representative must be allowed to present a verbal defense, for example, explaining mitigating or extenuating circumstances or citing employees who received lesser penalties for similar misconduct.
https://labornotes.org/2019/09/stewards-corner-tips-helping-members-during-investigatory-interviews
