CWA Local 9400-Know Your Rights

KNOW YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

In 1999, the California Legislature passed a new law requiring gasoline service stations to provide water, compressed air and an air pressure gauge “at no cost to customers who purchase motor vehicle fuel”. The law also requires service stations to post near the water or air dispenser a sign stating, “CALIFORNIA LAW REQUIRES THIS STATION TO PROVIDE FREE AIR AND WATER FOR AUTOMOTIVE PURCHASES TO ITS CUSTOMERS WHO PURCHASE MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL.”

A group of service station owners, vendors of water and compressed air machines and some others brought a lawsuit claiming that this law was unconstitutional in that it took their property for public use without just compensation. The California Court of Appeals upheld the Superior Court in dismissing this lawsuit and finding that this new law, Section 13651 of the Business and Professions Code, does not constitute an unconstitutional taking of the plaintiff’s property and is a valid exercise of the State’s police power.

The Court of Appeals analyzed the effect this law would have on service stations and vendors and found that the effect was far too small and the benefit to the public far too great to consider this an unconstitutional taking of property. The court ruled that the legislature, “adjusted the benefits and burdens of economic life to promote the common good…”.

Accordingly, when you enter a service station and you need water for your radiator or air for your tires, you are legally entitled to those services at no charge. If the service station has a machine which charges $ .25 for every three minutes, that service station should be reported to the appropriate authorities as such conduct would be in clear violation of this new law.

Weingarten Rights

Weingarten rights apply during investigatory interviews. An investigatory interview occurs when:

A manager questions an employee to obtain information, and
the employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result.

As an employee, you can request union representation before or at any time during an interview. If the request for union representation is denied, you may refuse to answer questions.

If two union reps are equally available, your request for a particular rep must be honored.

As a basic rule, if what you say in a meeting could get you in trouble, you are entitled to union representation.

(If called to a meeting with management, read the following to management when the meeting begins or when you begin to get worried.)

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. Until my representative arrives, I choose not to participate in this discussion.

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