Tom, I love you dearly but if you ever attend one of these meetings again without a union rep or at least a friend I will wallop you with the stick o'pain. Get it all in writing. IANAL - but if it was a formal warning and he wasn't notified in sufficient time to get a rep (or even a colleague) to sit in with him then it can potentially invalidate or downplay the severity of the warning. Best to check policy with someone who knows