SEIU Local 1199WI

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Duty to Bargain: You have a voice in changes in your workplace

When you have a union, Federal law requires your employer to bargain with you over significant changes in your working conditions. It is illegal for an employer to unilaterally change working conditions that are "mandatory subjects of bargaining." Before announcing or implementing such changes employers must notify the union and bargain over the changes.

To be "mandatory subjects of bargaining," policies must have a significant impact on your working conditions. The following is a list of just some of the working conditions that your employer cannot change without bargaining with you first.

Absence rules
Bathroom procedures
Clean up rules
Dress codes
Drug/Alcohol testing
Employee privileges (right to listen to radio, smoke, receive telephone calls etc.)
Evaluation systems
Free coffee
Grooming standards
Insurance benefits

Light duty policies
Meal or coffee break rules
New hours or shifts
Parking rules
Pay check procedures
Pay rates
Safety and health rules
Vacation policies
Work loads
Work rules
Work schedules