BHU MEMBER RESOURCES
Know Your Rights
We have rights under federal labor law and additional protections in our union contract.
Your rights at work
Employees have the right to act together to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions. That includes the right to:
- Organize a union and bargain collectively with the employer.
- Attend union meetings.
- Talk about the union anywhere employees may discuss other non-work subjects.
- Read or distribute union materials in non-patient-care areas, subject to lawful workplace rules.
- Sign a union card or petition.
- Wear union buttons and stickers, subject to lawful uniform and patient-care rules.
Management may not threaten, intimidate, or retaliate against employees for protected union activity. If something happens, write down who was involved, what occurred, the date and time, and any witnesses. Then contact a BHU steward.
Representation in meetings
Under federal Weingarten standards, a union-represented employee may request a union representative during an investigatory interview the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.
BHU’s contract adds notice protections
Article 30.A.3 requires a manager or supervisor to notify a bargaining-unit employee that a union representative may be present before or during a conversation, interview, or investigation that the manager or supervisor reasonably believes could lead to progressive discipline or disciplinary documentation in the employee’s personnel file.
Article 30.A.4 requires the Hospital to inform a bargaining-unit employee of the right to have a union steward or representative present when the employee is being told of a decision to issue a written warning, suspension, or termination. The Hospital must make reasonable efforts to reschedule so a representative can attend, subject to the contract’s steward-availability provision.
You can say: “I believe this meeting may lead to discipline. I am requesting a union representative and ask that the meeting be postponed until my representative can join me.” Then contact a BHU steward.
Read the signed BHU contract and review Article 30 on printed page 52. You can also read the NLRB’s Weingarten guidance.