PREPARING YOUR WITNESSES
Last week you went to a disciplinary hearing in which you presented the case for the union.
Your case rested on the testimony of another member who you brought to the hearing. Then
management questioned the same member. All of a sudden he got flustered and backtracked
on
the story. The witness no longer sounded credible, even to you. What happened?
A disciplinary case will be judged on the facts and you must present those facts through
documents and witnesses. When you use a witness you must make sure of the witnesses'
story.
A solid grievance investigation including good interviewing techniques are basic to this
process.
But there is more.
A good grievance is only as good as the witnesses and the grievant. You must insure that the
story they tell is consistent and they stick to it. That means you must adhere to the following
rules in preparing your witness.
- Know what your witness will say. Once you have interviewed the witness, sit down
with
him or her and tell them the questions you will ask. Plan those questions according to the
information the witness has offered.
- Go through a dry run of your questions ahead of time. The questions and answers at
this
stage are meant to increase their comfort level, not to put words in their mouth or get them
to
memorize their story. Anyone can see through a concocted story or one too-well rehearsed.
- Tell the witness what they can expect in their cross examination by management.
Give
them some possible company questions ahead of time and see how they respond. Tell them
you
will make sure that the company does not go off base on their questions.
- Answers should be brief and nontechnical. Tell them not to argue.
- Witnesses must not be evasive. If they cannot remember or do not know, they must
say
so. "I don't know," or "I can't remember" are perfectly reasonable answers. They do not
necessarily weaken a witnesses' story despite what they might think. "No" and "yes" are
also
respectable replies to questions.
- When the company questions the witness on cross-examination, answers should be as
short
as possible. Do not let your witnesses do the work for the company. Make the company
prove
their case.
- If the witness is sure of the facts, tell them to use words like "I remember." Words
like,
"I think" or "I believe" are weak and do not necessarily indicate facts.
- Don't let witnesses get shaken by cross-examination. When you have a particularly
strong
witness, management may try to get the member excited, make them lose their temper or get
careless with an answer. What they are trying to do is destroy a witness' credibility. Step
in
to prevent this. Don't let your witnesses be hounded or badgered. Don't let anyone put
words
in their mouth.
- During your interview with the witness, walk them through the entire hearing. They
have to know ahead of time what to expect. Describe to them the physical layout of the
room,
who will be there, and what will happen. The more they know ahead of time, the more
comfortable they will be.
- In any proceeding, tell the witness to admit, if asked, that they have spoken with you
ahead of time. Don't let them think that the interview conference isn't part of the process.
If
they are asked, "What did your union representative tell you to say at the hearing," the
proper
reply is, "He/she told me to tell the truth."
Disciplinary hearings are uncomfortable and stressful events for members and witnesses.
Once
you realize this fact, you must try to do everything in your power to make your people more
comfortable. Following these 10 simple rules will help.
Send mail to TEA_TX@webtv.net with questions or comments about this website or to report any bad links.
Copyright © 1999 Transit Employees Association of Texas.