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Can GM/Union require Government workers w/ foreign cars to park far away or face potential hostility?

I am a state worker assigned to help local GM plant workers with re-employment & retraining. The 1st phase of assistance will take place at a GM Union Hall. I received an email indicating "strict parking rules", that any foreign car needs to be parked in the back far right of the union hall parking lot, "which is designated for foreign car parking" and that "it will definitely be a touchy subject for laid off GM workers to see a foreign car sitting in their Union Hall parking lot."
When I questioned the legality of it with my state boss, he likened it to parking in a space reserved for law enforcement which is not at all the same. Do I have the right to be assured that as a Gov't (non-GM) worker, I can work (and park) w/o hostility or threats while on assignment even on private property?

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Attorney answers (1)

Reputation Level 20
What was collectively bargained will control in this circumstance. While the union provides protection to the workers in it, the union also had to agree at the bargaining table with certain policies that the company imposed. There were probably a lot of trade offs, one of them seemingly being that if a worker drives a foreign car, that car must be parked more remotely. Private or public property is a factor, but the collective bargaining agreement may be deemed to trump that concern?

Check with the union steward and if you have grounds for a grievance, your steward will inform you.

And, you can always retain and check with a lawyer in your locale to discuss more of the details.

Good luck to you.

God bless.

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