If called to a meeting with management, U.S. postal inspectors, or an Office of Inspector General (OIG) agent, read the following statement to the person you are meeting with before the meeting starts:

“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect
my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative, officer, or steward be present at this meeting. Without my Union representation present, I
respectfully choose not to answer any questions or participate in this discussion.”

• You must invoke your right to the presence of representation, management does not have to tell you that you may have a steward present.

• You may invoke this right mid-meeting in the event an informal discussion turns into an investigation.

• Any investigation in which you reasonably believe your response may be used against you to issue you discipline, you may invoke your Weingarten rights.

• Investigations are not only closed door meetings: they may be text messages, a phone conversation, or even an informal conversation on the workroom floor. If you are being investigated, use your Weingarten rights.

There is nothing adversarial about using your Weingarten rights. These rights are your way to make sure investigations of any kind, even informal ones, are done in an above-the-board manner.

Using your Weingarten rights does not “cause problems” or “put a target on your back,”
these rights give you the opportunity to have representation during a potentially stressful time.

If management states there are no stewards available they must delay the investigation until a representative is present, deny the request and immediately end the interview, or they may allow you to choose whether you continue unrepresented. You cannot be forced to participate in an investigation without representation if you request it.