Ralph’s Grocery and United Food and Commercial Workers Union
The case that I chose for the week 6 critical thinking assignment concerns Ralph’s Grocery Company, located in California. It applies to this week’s material due to the fact that the case involves unlawful suspension and discharge of an employee, as reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board.
Background
In May 2011, Vittorio Razi was an employee at Ralph’s Grocery and was suspended and terminated after he refused to take a drug test without first consulting with his UFCW Local 324 representative. The company (Respondent) says that on the day in question, Razi’s behavior was in question, acting nervous, anxious, agitated, and slurred speech. After a couple managers discussed the …show more content…
29). They violated this section by requiring Razi to submit to a drug and alcohol test despite his request for representation, and by suspending and discharging him for his refusal to take the test without representation. The ruling went on to say that the reason for Razi’s suspension and discharge is inevitably linked to his contention of Weingarten rights, which the Respondent unlawfully interfered. The Weingarten Rights guarantee an employee the right to Union representation during an investigatory interview; these rights, established by the Supreme Court, in 1975 in the case of J'. Weingarten Inc,, must be claimed by the employee (umass.edu, n.d.). It goes on to state that after the employee makes the request, the supervisor has three options. 1. Grant the request and delay the interview until the Union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee. 2. Deny the request and end the interview immediately. 3. Give the employee a choice of having the interview without representation or ending the interview. Additionally, if the supervisor denies the request and continues to ask questions, this is an unfair labor practice and the employee has a right to refuse to answer. The employee cannot be disciplined for such refusal but is required to sit there until the supervisor terminates the interview. Leaving before this happens may constitute punishable insubordination (umass.edu,