Know Your Committees. There are 15 standing and ad-hoc CAPS Committees that work to carry out CAPS’ mission. CAPS Bylaws require the establishment of certain committees, while others are born of necessity to address specific issues. Descriptions for all of CAPS’ Committees and their responsibilities can be found within either the CAPS Bylaws or the CAPS Policy Manual. Over the next few weeks, CAPS will highlight the important tasks that fall to each of our Committees.
Member Action Ad-Hoc Committee. This Committee was created originally to help organize and fund CAPS’ informational picketing rally at CalHR during the 2015 round of Bargaining. It is also in charge of ensuring CAPS’ participation in events important to CAPS members, such as the March for Science and Earth Day, among others.
Workplace Bullying Ad-Hoc Committee. This Committee was established to research and provide information regarding the issue of Bullying in the Workplace. The Committee created infographics about bullying for members, and put forth proposals that the Bargaining Committee presented during the last round of Bargaining that introduced anti-bullying language into the CAPS MOU.
Member Discipline Review Committee. This Committee, composed of the President, Vice President, and three other members, is responsible for overseeing the CAPS Discipline Policy.
Know Your Rights: Weingarten Rights. State Scientists (and all state employees) have the right to request a union representative to attend a meeting they reasonably believe will result in disciplinary action. These rights are called “Weingarten Rights” which are derived from a 1975 Supreme Court Case (NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc.). These rights apply in investigatory interviews and meetings where the employee has a reasonable belief that formal discipline may result. State Scientists may request union representation before, or during, such an interview. When representation is requested the supervisor must do one of three things: grant the request and delay questioning until the representative arrives; deny the request and end the interview immediately; or offer the option of having the interview without representation. The last option is essentially voluntarily giving up one’s rights to union representation. This is usually NOT the best option.
If your supervisor denies the request for union representation and continues the interview, you have the legal right to refuse to answer questions. This option must be exercised tactfully. Don’t walk out of the interview. Instead, request CAPS’ representation but don’t answer questions without your CAPS representative present. If you are pressured into answering (such as being threatened with insubordination for failure to answer), the information gathered at the meeting may be excluded in any subsequent disciplinary action.
A helpful tool to help you figure out when a meeting is “disciplinary,” and therefore subject to Weingarten Rights is this – if the meeting is held and you are being questioned about things that happened in the past, the meeting is likely disciplinary; if it’s to discuss how to handle things in the future, it’s most likely not. If you enact your Weingarten Rights, contact CAPS as soon as possible (caps@capsscientists.org).
News Briefs.
CalPERS CIO: No Divestment of Fossil Fuel Companies. California Public Employees’ Retirement System Chief Investment Officer Ben Meng has made a forceful rebuke to advocates wanting the pension plan to divest of fossil fuel stocks, stating that the pension plan cannot “constrain itself to a limited set of investment opportunities.”