Advocacy
CTA is here to assist our members whenever they should need
representation at a discipline or investigatory meeting. Employees
of OCPS are routinely called down to the Employment Relations office at
the ELC and questioned about allegations made by a student or parent.
This meeting is called a PDM (Pre-Determination Meeting). The PDM
will determine whether or not the employee receives discipline up to and
including termination.
CTA Members have access to one of our trained professional labor
relation specialists called a UniServ Director. The five UniServ
Directors and the CTA Executive Director will prepare, advise and
advocate on your behalf, if you are called to a PDM or called into a
meeting with your building or work site administration that you believe
could lead to discipline.
The CTA Staff will also represent you, if you feel your contract
rights have been violated. The CTA staff will assist in
identifying the violation, preparing the grievance documentation and
presenting the case to District administration. Do not go into it
alone. CTA can provide the critical advocacy that can make all the
difference on your continued employment with OCPS.
PDM
A Pre-Determining Meeting is held when an allegation of misconduct is made against you usually by a student, parent or supervisor. Many times these allegations are baseless, but the investigation process itself is still anxiety inducing. It is critical that you contact the CTA for representation, if you are ever instructed to attend a PDM.
Red Flag Moments
There are several indicators that you should be aware of so you can identify when you may need union representation. If one of these scenarios occurs, contact your CTA Association Representative or the CTA office immediately.
Grievances
The CTA negotiates contract rights for you. It is critical that you contact your Association Representative or the CTA office, if the contract is being violated by District administration. CTA will file a grievance when a contract violation is identified.
Know Your Rights
It is imperative that you, as a member of CTA, know your rights as a union member. This will help protect you from adverse actions that may impact your working conditions and job security. It is important to get informed and get involved.
Weingarten Rights
CTA members have the right to have a union representative present during investigatory interviews or meetings with District administration. This right was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc.). These rights have become known as the Weingarten rights.
If an employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other
adverse consequences may result from what he says, the employee has
the right to request union representation. When the employee
makes the request for a union representative to be present, management
has three options:
1.
They can stop questioning until the representative arrives.
2. They can call off the interview.
3. They can tell the
employee that they will call off the interview unless the employee voluntarily gives up his/her rights to a union representative
(an option the employee should ALWAYS refuse).
Once you've asked for union representation, any attempt by management to continue asking questions before a union representative gets there is ILLEGAL. If supervisors pressure you by telling you that "you're only making things worse for yourself" by asking for union representation, that's against the law too.
