When your Union investigates a grievance or any adverse action by management or any employee against a CAPE member, your Business Agent will want to know the “who, what, when, where and why” regarding the matter. Part of the “who” would be who may have seen something regarding the claim.
If you are called by a CAPE staff member and asked to participate in an interview as a potential witness as part of the Union’s grievance or disciplinary investigation, you have a right to participate and you are encouraged to do so. You might be the best chance that exists to ensure the truth of a matter comes out and that a grievance or potential disciplinary matter is fairly resolved.
Any potential witness has the right to refuse to be interviewed by the Union. This does not mean that they may not still be interviewed by management, or subpoenaed to a hearing as needed by either party.
The applicable contract language regarding the conducting of witness interviews by the Union is found in the Work Access Article or Section of the MOU for your Bargaining Unit. Authorized CAPE representatives, such as your Business Agent, are given access to work locations during working hours to conduct grievance investigations, including witness interviews. Alternatively, CAPE can arrange to conduct witness interviews during lunch breaks, at a neutral site, by phone or in person. CAPE generally works with the potential witness employee to accommodate their preferences for when, where, and how the witness interview is conducted by the Union.
Witness identities and statements obtained by the Union during the course of an investigation are confidential from management unless and until they become part of a formal hearing. Management cannot retaliate against an employee for offering a truthful witness statement.
Witness interviews should be conducted by the Union Business Agent, not by the member. Obviously it is important that a member not appear to be trying to influence a witness statement. For this reason, CAPE advises members not to speak directly to a prospective witness about their grievance or workplace issue that is being investigated. Likewise, management is not allowed to intimidate prospective witnesses.
If you have any questions regarding your rights to participate as a witness in a grievance or disciplinary investigation, please call CAPE immediately.