Your Contract, Your Rights

Your Contract

Your most recent contract bargained and voted on by Federation of Classified University Staff (FOCUS) members is available for download. Get to know it—there are provisions bargained into the contract that protect your wages, your schedule, your working conditions, and your job. Every FOCUS member has the contractual right to print one copy of the contract on their worksite printer. 

Your Rights

In 1975 the United States Supreme Court in the case of NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc. (1975) upheld a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that employees have a right to union representation at investigatory interviews. These rights have become known as the Weingarten Rights. 

What to do if you face a disciplinary meeting:

• Contact your local union president or steward immediately.

• Don't admit guilt or accept any blame.

• Don't quit or sign any papers or agreements.

• Don't agree to pay any expenses.

• Avoid public statements.

• Don't discuss the matter with anyone except your union representative.

• Keep copies of all correspondence & papers.

• Make written records of any meetings, with details and names.

Before the meeting:

• Find out what the meeting is about.

• Request that a union representative go with you. You have the right to union representation during an interview if you believe the investigation might result in termination.

• To exercise this right, you must request representation. Say: "If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my working conditions, I request that my union representative be present."

• If the supervisor does not agree to your request for a union representative, attend the meeting anyway, but say: "Without representation, I will not answer any questions."

During The Meeting:

• Take notes.

• Take a break if you need to talk with your representative.

• If asked to sign papers you disagree with, write: "My signature means only that I have seen this. It does not mean that I agree with it.

After The Meeting:

• Write down to the best of your recollection everything that was said/discussed.

• Contact your local union president or steward immediately if they were not present during the meeting.

• Consider whether or not to grieve or write a rebuttal.