Whether you're a new union steward, or simply want to bone up on your legal knowledge for an upcoming campaign, Robert Schwartz's The Legal Rights of Union Stewards is a welcome addition to your library.
New Chapter In This 2025 Edition:
Readers owning the prior edition of this book may notice a new Chapter 6 entitled “Challenging Unilateral Changes.” This chapter explains employer duties to give unions prior notice to an opportunity to bargain before making any material changes to rules, policies, or other conditions of employment not listed in the contract. The new chapter was made possible by the 2024 Board decision known as Endurance Environmental Solutions. Readers should be aware, however, that this ruling may be changed or reversed by the current Trump-appointed leadership of the NLRB.
This easy to navigate book is a primer on your rights as a steward and walks you through all the basics from the National Labor Relations Act to the grievance process to Weingarten rights.
The following are the kinds of questions The Legal Rights of Union Stewards tackles: When can you call your boss a liar? Can a manager warn you for soliciting grievances? Do Weingarten rights apply when an employer telephones an employee? Can a criminal conviction bar a union member from running for union office? Can a union settle a grievance without the employees' consent? When a company adopts a drug testing policy, does it have to bargain with the union?