What the UM Administration won't tell you about your free speech rights

This ad by Faculty for Workplace Justice (that would be us) appeared yesterday in the Miami Hurricane. (For a printable copy click here)

ATTENTION UM EMPLOYEES AND SUPPORT STAFF

Has a UM supervisor or other UM official:
· told you not to wear buttons, arm bands, t-shirts, or other symbols of support for the UNICCO workers?
· directed you not to place posters or other materials relating to the UNICCO union campaign on your desk or in your private work area?
· told you not to sign petitions – or to solicit the signatures of fellow employees for petitions – supporting the UNICCO workers?
· directed you not to talk about the union campaign or the strike with your fellow employees?
· told you not to participate in marches or rallies in support of the UNICCO workers and/or not to join their picket lines?
· directed you not to donate food and/or money to the UNICCO workers’ strike effort?
· questioned you about your views of the campaign or the strike, or questioned you about the views of your fellow employees?
· taken adverse action against you in response to activities in support of the union or the strike?

Many Americans don’t realize it, but non-supervisory employees in the U.S. enjoy a legal right under the National Labor Relations Act to form and join their own unions, and also a legal right to support the unionization and/or the strike efforts of employees employed by other employers (like the UNICCO workers on the UM campuses). Actions by supervisors and employer officials such as those listed above may violate those legal rights and entitle the victim to a legal remedy.

Obviously, you should not seek legal advice from a newspaper advertisement, for the rules of American labor law are complicated just like the rules governing other subjects. But if you are a non-supervisory employee at UM and you feel your rights under the National Labor Relations Act may have been violated, you may call the Miami office of the National Labor Relations Board, the agency of the U.S. government charged with protecting the rights American workers under the National Labor Relations Act, at (305) 536-5391. If you’d like more information, you may call Aldo Muirragui at the Service Employees International Union, Local 11, (305) 672-7071, ext. 242.

This ad is paid for and sponsored by Faculty for Workplace Justice
for further information, visit us at http://picketline.blogspot.com/