Handling Insubordination Grievances

Ella was having a bad day. Her machines weren’t running right, but her foreman came over and said, “Ella, we need those machines up and running, and since Rafael is out today, I want you to start up his machines, too.” “No way,” said Ella. . . .

Ella was having a bad day. Her machines weren’t running right, but her foreman came over and said, “Ella, we need those machines up and running, and since Rafael is out today, I want you to start up his machines, too.”

“No way,” said Ella. “I’ve got my hands full, and the contract says I don’t have to run extra machines except in emergencies.”

“I’m telling you to get over there and start up those machines,” yelled her foreman. “If you don’t, you’ll be fired for insubordination.”

Sally, the department steward, went to the supervisor’s office. “We have to talk about your foreman,” she said. “He’s threatening Ella and trying to make her run more machines than she’s supposed to.”

Benito shot back, “I’m the one who told him to get Ella off her butt. I don’t have time now; talk to me tomorrow.”

“We’re going to talk about this now,” Sally said.

“Oh yeah?” snarled Benito, “Get out of my office or I’ll have you fired for insubordination, too.”

Management loves power. Threatening to punish workers for insubordination is a handy tool for reinforcing a supervisor’s power on the job.

For union people, the idea of punishing workers for being “insubordinate” to bosses—that is, uppity—is insulting. The concept reveals the anti-worker bias of labor law: management is considered the “master” and workers are considered “servants” who should show proper respect.

WHAT IS INSUBORDINATION?

Here is one management description: Insubordination is a deliberate and inexcusable refusal to obey a reasonable order that relates to an employee’s job. Employees may not decide for themselves which instructions they will follow and which they will not.

This is how most arbitrators and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would describe insubordination. But there are different levels, and management’s behavior often has an impact on whether the worker’s actions are considered insubordinate.

There are two basic tests: Was the worker given a clear, direct order? Did the worker clearly know the consequences of refusing the direct order? Usually the supervisor must tell workers what will happen if they refuse.

This does not mean the boss can immediately give a worker a direct order with the threat of punishment and not have to listen to objections. Employees have the right to question and argue about an order.

• It is not insubordination if a worker asks questions or gives reasons why he or she shouldn’t have to do the assignment.

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• It is not insubordination if the worker asks to have a steward explain to management how the order violates the contract.

• It may become insubordination if the worker consistently refuses after being directly ordered to perform the task.

• It may be insubordination if the worker does not argue but then never carries out the order.

• It is not insubordination if following the direct order will immediately put the worker or other workers’ lives in danger. The threat, however, has to be real and immediate.

• It is not usually insubordination if the supervisor giving the order is not the worker’s normal boss or part of the “chain of command” that the worker ordinarily has to follow. Workers should insist on finding the regular supervisor and asking that person to make the decision as to what they should be doing.

NOT IN FRONT OF THE KIDS

Here’s another example of class bias: arbitrators look at whether the supposed insubordination takes place in front of other workers. They tend to rule more harshly if the “master” is ridiculed or disobeyed in front of other “servants.” In some cases arbitrators have ruled against workers when they bragged about what they told the boss in private.

“Shop talk”—the use of salty language—is not automatically insubordination. Look at the context: How much shop talk goes on regularly? Do supervisors use it? Do supervisors and workers ordinarily use it with each other?

Many workers have been cleared when it was shown that management harassed them and they responded with a poor choice of words. Still, a worker may be considered insubordinate for using excessive shop talk after being told to do something.

What should a worker do if following an order will cause damage to a machine, produce a poor product, or result in inferior services for the customer? Clearly point out what the bad results will be and ask for a witness to that warning. A worker who does this generally cannot be disciplined for the resulting damage.

STEWARDS’ SPECIAL STATUS

NLRB rulings have given stewards a special status in regard to insubordination, saying, “when stewards are engaged in representational activities they are considered equals with management.”

This means that when stewards are dealing with management as a steward, they can engage in robust disagreement, can use profanity to some extent, and generally do not have to show deference. Stewards have a right to vigorously pursue an argument.

As the NLRB said in one decision, “the relationship at a grievance meeting is not a ‘master-servant’ relationship but a relationship between company advocates on one side and union advocates on the other side, engaged as equal opposing parties.”

WHAT ABOUT ELLA AND SALLY?

Ella’s situation is a classic case of harassment, but she needs to be careful. She was given a direct order and was told what would happen if she refused. But Ella has a right to argue her case, and the foreman jumped the gun by threatening her right away.

Sally the steward is within her rights to stay in the boss’s office and continue arguing the case. She is in a grievance situation, and Benito cannot just dismiss her and refuse to talk. He’s also running afoul of labor law, because a steward cannot be threatened for doing her duty to represent workers.