April 2, 2014: If you’re being questioned by UPS management, you have the right to union representation—even if those questions are not part of a disciplinary interview.

UPS Teamsters have rights that go beyond Weingarten thanks to our Teamster contract—and an important arbitration victory by Teamsters Local 804.

UPS Teamsters have the right to union representation whenever management is conducting a investigation of any kind.

This includes investigations into accidents or questions in the office about production numbers of what happened on the route that day—even if there’s no disciplinary action on the table.

If management is asking questions as part of an investigation, you have the right to a shop steward. Period. Until a shop steward is present, management cannot start the meeting or ask questions.

These rights are all spelled out in Article 4 of the contract. But UPS management, including Loss Prevention, frequently violates the contract by questioning members on the side and coercing members to waive their rights to union representation without any shop steward present.

Local 804 took this issue to the national grievance panel. When it deadlocked there, the local took it to arbitration—and won. The arbitrator ruled that a member cannot waive their right to union representation until a shop steward is present. And no member should ever waive their right to union representation!

For a copy of this arbitration decision, contact TDU.