Weingarten rights: What are they and who can help?
Right off the bat, the most important new ability we’ve gained from being a certified union is what’s commonly called “Weingarten rights.” Simply put, it’s your right to request that a representative be present together with you in any meeting with a supervisor that you believe could lead to discipline.
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Once you invoke your Weingarten rights, the supervisor cannot continue the meeting until or unless you have a representative from our union in the room with you, to take notes, ask questions, and advocate for you. Your rights also protect you from retaliation for invoking these rights.
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If you have reason to believe that you are headed into a disciplinary meeting, tell your supervisor that you are requesting a union representative to join you in the meeting.
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Before we formed our union, we were on our own in disciplinary meetings. A representative can be a powerful ally in disciplinary meetings—they can request copies of your supervisor’s documentation, calmly advocate for your rights and your best interests in an emotional situation, and simply, but most powerfully, be there alongside you.
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Contact one of these union members and they will either join you at the meeting or work with your supervisor to reschedule it to a time that they can attend:
Staff at the Museum:
kelly keegan, kkeegan.conservation@gmail.com
Michael Korzeniowski, korzo1212@gmail.com
Sheila Majumdar, shmajum@gmail.com
Nora McGreevy, noramcgreevy@gmail.com
Katrina Rush, krush2783@gmail.com
Jann Trujillo, jntrujillo2946@gmail.com
Christina Warzecha, christina.warzecha@gmail.com
Staff at the School:
Catie Burrill -Catieburrill@gmail.com
Lisa Majer- lisam.majer@gmail.com
Tat Scott- (575)495-5438, tatnscott@gmail.com
Briana Shucart- briana.shucart@gmail.com
Rachel Schafer- (912) 441-2961, rachelmschafer1221@gmail.com
Natasha Russi- Tasha.russi@gmail.com
Ursula Wagner- ursula.msw@gmail.com
Want more in-depth information? Visit the NLRB for the full description of Weingarten rights.
Want to become a steward? Contact our staff rep, Cameron Day (CDay@afscme31.org), your MAT leader, or our AICWU organizing committee at info@aicwu.org.text goes heretion text goes here
Bargaining Process
Staff at the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) have successfully bargained our first contracts. SAIC non-tenure-track faculty is currently in this process.
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Together, we nominate and elect a bargaining committee from among our fellow AICWU union members.
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Members complete an anonymous bargaining survey to determine our priorities and ideas for improvements. This is used to draft contract proposals, which our members approve before the negotiations begin.
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Our bargaining committee negotiates a tentative collective bargaining agreement with management’s representatives.
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We, the members of AICWU, vote on and approve (ratify) our final contract.
Developing Our Bargaining Goals
Our bargaining committees identify our initial bargaining goals by surveying members, reviewing other relevant contracts, and soliciting member feedback. The first step in this process is filling out an anonymous bargaining survey.
The bargaining committees and our AFSCME C31 representative, Cameron Day, review, analyze, and report out non-identifying survey results. After gathering priorities from members, the committee develops contract language proposals for membership’s approval before presenting to management.
Bargaining Committee Makeup
AIC staff, SAIC staff, and NTT faculty each have a bargaining committee made up of members who work in each unit, or local.
AIC and SAIC committees also include an AFSCME C31 Regional Director and Staff Representative to train and assist the committee. Our AFSCME negotiators participate as chief spokespeople in the negotiations with management’s representatives.
Leading up to bargaining, anyone in the unit can nominate another member for the bargaining team, whether or not they have signed a card. If more than one employee from a departmental grouping accepts a nomination, an election will be held with the employees in that department group.
Learn more about the bargaining committee makeup and nominations here!
Bargaining Committee Responsibilities
The primary responsibility of the committee is to negotiate an initial collective bargaining agreement with management’s representatives. Election to the committee obligates each member to represent and fight for the best possible contract for all members of the unit. The committee will meet both online and in person throughout the process, including preparation meetings, live bargaining, debriefs, and membership informational sessions. It is important to note that being on the bargaining committee is a significant time commitment.
Read more about the roles and detailed responsibilities of the bargaining committee here!