1 Describe their rights to participate in formal meetings.
2 Identify what is and is not a formal meeting.
3 Explain how to use their rights to respond to situations they will face while attending these meetings.
THE STEWARD'S ROLE IN FORMAL MEETINGS
Participants’ Handout
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this class, the participants should be able to do the following:
1 Describe their rights to participate in formal meetings.
2 Identify what is and is not a formal meeting.
3 Explain how to use their rights to respond to situations they will face while attending these meetings.
TRUE-FALSE QUIZ: With which of the following statement do you NOT agree:
1 Attending formal meetings makes the union more visible.
2 Attending formal meetings is an easy way to stay on top of what is happening.
3 Attending formal meetings helps identify employees who might volunteer to help the union.
4 Attending formal meetings helps identify why some individuals have not joined the union.
5 Attending formal meeting should give you a better relationship with the manager of the group as well as the employee members of the group.
THE LAW AND FORMAL MEETINGS
Formal Meetings Defined: An exclusive representative of an appropriate unit in an agency shall be given the opportunity to be represented at any formal discussion between one or more representatives of the agency and one or more employees in the unit or their representatives concerning any grievance or any personnel policy or practices or other general conditions of employment. (Title 5 US Code Section 7114 (a) (2) (A))
Elements of a Formal Meeting:
There is no mathematical formula for determining what is and is not a formal meeting. The FLRA looks at the "totality" of the circumstances to decide. A meeting is more likely to be ruled formal if,
1 a manager above the first line supervisor attends,
2 more than one manager attends,
3 it is held in a formal area for meeting rather than right at the employees' desk,
4 it lasted for more than a few minutes (10 minutes),
5 it was scheduled in advance rather than arose spontaneously,
6 the employees were required to attend,
7 a formal agenda was followed or minutes taken,
8 there was a discussion of general policy or practices versus the problems of one or two people.
SOME EXAMPLES
You get into the following:
1- discussion about how to fill out newly-required forms (37 FLRA 952)
2- orientation sessions of new employees (5 FLRA 458)
3- interviews of witnesses to an EEO complaint (46 FLRA 107)
4- meetings with grievants representing themselves (10 FLRA 172)
5- meetings to discuss changes in the AWS system (38 FLRA 671)
You do not get into the following:
1- EEO pre-complaint meetings
2- adverse action replies
3- routine and periodic counseling of employees
THE STEWARD'S RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE INCLUDES:
Once you know which meetings you are entitled to attend, it is just as important to know what you can do in the meeting. Here is a list of you rights in connection with a meeting.
An NTEU Shop Steward has. . .
1 The right to receive formal advance notice of the meeting according to the terms of the contract,
2 The right to comment, speak, and make statements about anything reasonably related to the subject matter addressed by the manager,
3 The right to request information the manager may have that is reasonable and necessary for the union to consider a proposal he has made,
4 The right to ask questions - especially to clarify issues the manager brought up,
5 The right to assert the union's position on a matter, including objections to the management position and what the union can do about a matter, and
6 The right to invite employees to contact him or her after the meeting to discuss issues raised in the meeting.
About the only formal limit on the steward's participation is that he or she not "take charge of, usurp, or disrupt the meeting."
When your rights to attend a meeting or to do something legitimate in a meeting are violated, you have the following options:
1 Filing a grievance,
2 Filing and unfair labor practice, even as a grievance.
PRACTICAL EXERCISE-- Below are some typical statements managers and employees will make in or about a formal meeting. What should be your response, whether it is made immediately and/or after the meeting? Stay focused on the "purpose" of doing these meetings as highlighted by the opening true-false quiz.
The Manager Says So You Say and Do
A. A manager stops you in a hallway and says, "I hear you are upset that I have not invited you to one group meeting this year. I'm sorry about that and no offense intended, but I do not think the union has the right to attend. My meetings are very always informal with a short agenda so that anyone can say anything they want."
B. In a meeting, the manager says, "I know you have a legal right to be here as the steward, but I can't help but see you as an intruder." [After you finish that example, think about what you would say if an employee made the same statement in a meeting.]
C. In the meeting a manager says, "Neither you nor any other union steward has a right to speak in these meetings until the end of the meeting."
D. "I am sure you all will be glad to know that just minutes before the meeting I decided we will use fewer forms in this group and the change is effective immediately. Here is the list of forms you no longer need use."
E. "It is clear that no one likes my idea, but I would appreciate it if you gave me a chance to fix it before you ask the union to get involved."
F. "Even though the formal standard in the new manual section applies to everyone, I will be giving some waivers to individual employees."
G. "The front office just sent me a new report that makes it clear we are not doing what we are supposed to do. So, I have two things to say. First, we have to work harder. Second, I want you to report to me if you see any of your fellow employees in other groups doing something improper that makes our group look bad."
H. "What we say in our group meetings is strictly confidential and I will punish anyone who repeats anything to someone outside the group."
I. "I am here to listen to your ideas about how to soften the impact of the new work and hopefully we can agree today on what to do."
J. "Unless we get better as a group, I will deny any request for leave this summer."
K. A manager calls on a employee with her hand in the air who says, "I’d like to know what the union is going to do about your proposal and why it has not already fixed this problem."
TIPS FOR PARTICIPATING IN FORMAL MEETINGS
In order to have a better relationship with the managers who run the meeting
:A. Introduce yourself and talk about what you want to do in her meetings.
B. Talk about how you will participate, e.g., when to ask questions, when you will be introduced, how to address problems, etc.
C. Explain the value of having some information about the agenda in advance.
D. Talk about how to avoid scheduling problems.
In order to have a better relationship with the employees in the group:
A. Formally introduce yourself via a letter or in your first meeting explain why you are there. Emphasize the positive things you can do.
B. Tell employees where they can find you and invite them to call with questions or suggestions.
C. Assure employees that whatever they tell you will be held confidential unless they agree to use of the information.
D. Recruit one employee to be your contact (or assistant) focusing on that group's problems, rumors, etc.
In order to increase your ability to recruit nonmembers through these meetings:
A. Know who the nonmembers are in the group.
B. Bring SF-1187's to the meeting.
C. Identify the concerns of the individual nonmembers and offer some help.
D. Solicit NTEU members in the group to recruit individual nonmembers.
E. Bring new information and other useful material to the meetings to underscore the service the union offers.
NTEU FORMAL MEETING REPORT FORM
I attended a formal meeting in the following group at the date and time noted:
I collected some materials the manager handed out and have attached them for your information.
Yes_____ No_____
A question(s) came up that I would like you to answer if you could.
I learned the following from the meeting which I thought you or other stewards might find interesting.
Steward’s Name: Tele. No.: