SPFPA™ Explores Your Rights During Company Interrogation

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SPFPA Explores Your Rights During Company
Interrogation
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• As the leading voice and advocate for security
  professionals across the country, SPFPA works
  hard to ensure each member has the representation
  needed to protect themselves from unfair labor
  practices while pursuing the wages, benefits and
  work conditions they deserve,
• This includes the services of dedicated union
  stewards, the most vital function of which is to
  prevent employer intimidation of workers during
  closed-door interrogation meetings when employees
  are often at their most vulnerable.

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• Interrogation and Intimidation
• The International Union, Security, Police and
  Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) knows that
  without a trained, knowledgeable union steward at
  your side, a closed-door company interrogation
  can be an intimidating and even detrimental
  processone in which guards or supervisors
  trained in interrogation techniques may try to
  coerce you into confessing to wrongdoing for
  which you have no actual responsibility or
  knowledge.
• Fortunately, you do have the right to union
  representation during investigatory interviews, a
  right solidified by the 1975 U.S. Supreme Court
  decision NLRB v. J. Weingarten.

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• Knowing Your Weingarten Rights
• NLRB v. J. Weingarten involved a clerk under
  investigation by the Weingarten Company, thus
  enshrining your rights to union representation
  during an investigatory interview as Weingarten
  Rights.
• As an SPFPA memberor member or any
  NLRB-certified unionyou are encouraged to assert
  your Weingarten Right to a union steward during
  any such interview.

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• A steward can provide help in a variety of ways.
  These include
• Helping articulate what happened during the event
  in question.
• Raising any extenuating circumstances that may be
  important.
• Advising against the blind denial of everything
  (which can give the perception of guilt).
• Preventing you from making harmful admissions.
• Preventing the loss of temper and/or being fired
  for insubordination.
• Providing a key witness that prevents any false
  accounts of the discussion.

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• What Defines an Investigatory Interview?
• As an employee, you may only invoke your
  Weingarten Rights during an investigatory
  interview, generally defined as
• An event where a supervisor or manager questions
  you to obtain information as the foundation for
  discipline, or to ask you to defend your conduct.
  
• If you have a reasonable belief that adverse
  consequences may result from what you say during
  an interview, you may request SPFPA (union)
  representation.

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• Such interviews usually pertain to
• Drinking
• Drugs
• Accidents
• Absenteeism
• Records falsification
• Property damage
• Poor attitude
• Insubordination
• Fighting
• Poor attitude
• Safety rules violations
• Work performance

Its important to note that every
management-initiated discussion, such as ordinary
shop-floor discussions, are not investigatory
interviews. There must be a reasonable belief or
possibility that discipline may result from the
interview to take advantage of your Weingarten
Rights.
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• Knowing the Weingarten Rules
• According to the Weingarten decision, several
  rules apply to investigatory interviews
• 1. You must make a clear request for union
  representation before or during the investigatory
  interview. You cannot be punished for doing so.
• 2. Once the request is made, the employer must
  either
• Grant the request or delay the interview until
  the union rep arrives.
• Deny your request and stop the interview
  immediately, or
• Provide you a choice of 1) proceeding without
  representation, or 2) ending the interview.
• 3. If you are denied the request for
  representation, and management continues to ask
  questions, they are engaging in an unfair labor
  practice. In this case, you have the right to
  refuse to answer, and you may not be disciplined
  for doing so.