A Union Steward’s
Rules of the Road
1
Survival 101: Some Steward Basics
You can keep your sanity if you adopt these approaches to living the life of a steward.
What It Takes: The Qualities of a Good Steward
The qualities of a good steward, from a willingness to deal with bureaucracy to having a sense of humor.
Expectations vs. Reality: Keeping Your Goals Realistic
Understanding some common misconceptions about the steward’s role can help you avoid headaches—and heartaches—down the line.
Stewards as Leaders
Advice on exerting leadership—and handling challenges to that leadership.
A Steward’s Responsibilities
Your co-workers and the union’s leaders have a right to expect certain things from you. Here are the basics.
A Steward’s Ten Commandments
Some tenets to live by if you want to function effectively as a steward.
A Steward’s Bill of Rights
You’ve got a lot of responsibilities, but you have rights as well. A guide to limiting the demands on your time, emotions and energies.
Your Legal Rights
Stewards have special status under the law, not the least of which is equality with management when doing the union’s business.
The Steward–Supervisor Relationship
How you deal with supervisors makes all the difference in the union’s overall goals in the workplace. Here are some common-sense approaches.
Mistakes to Avoid
You can save yourself a lot of grief by being alert to this list of potential screw-ups.
The Dangers of Playing Favorites
Bad things can happen when you favor one member over another, but there are ways to avoid the temptation to do so.
Code Red: Signs that You’re in Trouble
Paying attention to what’s happening around you and heading off problems before they blow up can save you a lot of trouble. Here’s a list of warning signs.
A Steward’s Toolkit
Everyone needs the tools of the trade, and the steward is no exception. Here’s a list that will help you assemble your toolbox.
It makes no difference whether you’re in your first day as a steward or your third decade, whether you were appointed by your local leadership or elected by your co-workers. You’ve got the job, and you’ve got a lot of people depending on you to protect their interests and defend the guarantees outlined in the union agreement. It’s a tall order, but it’s one handled daily by hundreds of thousands of people just like you, all across North America. Just as they survive it and even thrive on it, so can you. This chapter outlines some basic rules of the road that can help make that road a lot less bumpy than it might otherwise be. The new steward will definitely want to read them; the veteran might want to browse through them for an occasional refresher.
SURVIVAL 101: SOME STEWARD BASICS
Stewards face a variety of challenges: the mechanics of grievance handling; the wide variety of problems that members bring to them; dealing effectively with management; keeping in touch with the union’s leadership.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed. Keeping the following principles in mind, though, should help the new steward get through the first few months and become an effective advocate for the union and the contract.
Keep Your Enthusiasm
One of the first problems you’ll encounter are co-workers who try to take away your enthusiasm. That could include the former steward, or people who have been around longer than you have, or sometimes just plain anti-union folks. They’ll tell you how unimportant you are, that things never change, and that you’re wasting your time.
All organizations, including unions, need new, caring people to keep them strong and growing. That’s why you were appointed or elected. You have every right to be enthusiastic about your union and about being a steward. Don’t let the naysayers discourage you before you’ve even started. Keep your enthusiasm, and in time you’ll prove them wrong.
Take the Long View
A good steward doesn’t develop overnight. It’s a process that takes time, and you’ll have to learn to be patient.
Many new stewards oversell themselves. When someone comes to you with a problem, you may have to swallow your pride and admit that you don’t know the answer, and say that you’ll get back to them. In the long run, if you really get back to people, and it’s clear that you have done your homework, they’ll have a lot more respect for you. Remember that your goal is to develop your skills over time, and in the process build respect from both your fellow workers and management.
Adopt a Learning Attitude
When you first become a steward, you have a lot to learn: the contract, past practices, the way your union and employer operate. All the confidence in the world can’t make up for actually learning this information.
You aren’t expected to know all the answers, but you must be the kind of person who enjoys finding them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and keep asking them. Since you’ll have the opportunity to learn a lot about people, work, unions and labor relations, that should appeal to you.
Remember You’re Not Alone
Depending on where you work, the physical layout of the workplace, and what shift you’re on, you may feel isolated from other stewards and union officers. Always remember that while you may be physically isolated, you’re part of a larger organization.
If you have questions or problems, don’t be afraid to use the phone or visit an experienced steward or officer. Become known to the rest of the people in the union as somebody who asks when you don’t know, rather than someone who tries to hide or bluff.
Endure Management’s Test
Management will often test new stewards to see how well they represent their co-workers. That test can come in a variety of guises. It may be in the form of denying you reasonable time to carry out your duties, or refusing to give you an extension of a time limit on a first-step grievance. Your supervisor may try in some way to interfere with your investigation of a problem by denying access to records. Or the supervisor may simply say no at your grievance meeting, even though your member’s complaint is a clear case of injustice and a breach of the agreement.
Expect to be tested. Don’t get angry or frustrated. Supervisors are often trained to incite a steward. Don’t lose your cool.
Use an Organizing Approach
Some stewards overemphasize the development of their own personal skills––trying to learn everything there is to be learned, trying to resolve all the problems themselves. The whole point of the trade union movement, though, is power in numbers––working with others to achieve common goals. In addition to learning new skills, you must also teach skills to others and develop a strong and effective organization around you. Remember that one of the most important skills you can learn is the ability to organize and mobilize the members you represent.
What it Takes: The Qualities of A Good Steward
You’ll encounter all sorts in your steward work: new and long-time workers; men and women; workers of all colors, ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations; the scared worker, the malcontent, the poor worker, the good worker who’s had bad breaks, the victimized, the bigot, the loud-mouth.
You won’t have all the answers for all their problems. You don’t even have to like them all. But you must respect them and be able to deal with them at their own level. That means you’ll take a different approach with the scared worker than you will with the workplace bigmouth.
Patience and the ability to listen are key attributes for this work. Here are some of the other qualities you’ll need.
Willingness to Do the Right Thing
The right thing is what benefits the union as a whole. Remember that the steward is the union steward, charged with the task of protecting the guarantees set forth in the union contract. The steward is only the agent for individual workers in terms of how they have been affected by an employer violation of the contract.
Since the right thing is not always the comfortable or popular thing––enforcing your contract’s overtime language, for example—you need determination and some thick skin.
The right thing on occasion will include: arguing with supervisors or managers who get some kind of kick out of using their petty power by demeaning, provoking or intimidating you; explaining to a worker that his or her problem isn’t a union grievance; or, because the law requires you to do so, defending the rights of a nonmember (in open-shop situations) or an anti-union member (for more on the “duty of fair representation” see Chapter 9).
Willingness to Deal with Bureaucracy
The contract specifies procedures and timelines you must use. Management will have an additional set of procedures that they want used. Then there’s Form A and Form B and Form XYZ.
And then this supervisor has to check with that supervisor who has to check with those supervisors … and get back to you.
This is probably the least palatable of your tasks. But you must be willing to learn to deal with red tape—with the goal of using it, cutting through it or going around it to the union’s advantage.
A Sense of Humor
If you can’t laugh at yourself, laugh at management and laugh with your co-workers, you won’t survive a week. Remember to take the issues seriously, but not yourself.
But even the best-tempered steward runs into heavy weather. It comes with the territory. Time pressures, demands from other workers, bad-tempered and unreasonable supervisors—all these elements can combine to create tensions that make an air traffic controller’s job look like a walk in the park.
But some kinds of stress are self-generated. Stewards may unconsciously create stress for themselves by trying to live up to unrealistic expectations about their role.
EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY: KEEPING YOUR GOALS REALISTIC
It’s unmet expectations that often make a steward feel confused and stressed out. Failed expectations can make stewards doubt themselves and their ability to do their job. That’s why it’s important to recognize some of the common misconceptions people may have about the steward’s role.
You may not even be aware of the depth of these expectations, so let’s take a little test. You’re the only one who can grade it, so be as honest as you can.
WHEN YOU BECAME A STEWARD, DID YOU EXPECT THAT …
■ You would win every grievance you filed?
■ Everybody would tell you what a great job you were doing as steward?
■ The contract would not be very complicated?
■ Other workers would rally behind you when you defended someone who was disciplined for poor performance?
■ Being a steward would increase your appreciation of the basic goodness of people?
■ You would achieve justice by fighting for workers who were always right against supervisors who were always wrong?
Sure, some of these expectations are a little overstated— but the point is that nearly every steward can identify with these feelings.
And that means that nearly every steward goes through the same kind of disillusionment. When things don’t work out as you expected, it’s not because you’re a failure. Rather, you need to step back and look at the real world. See the list below for what usually happens to all those rosy expectations.
In fact, facing a few unpleasant realities head-on can actually make your job smoother and easier. It’s just not possible to always be the knight who slays the dragon, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can begin working with the strengths you do have. Accept your limitations, acknowledge your mistakes and make a fresh start toward building a better working environment for yourself and the people you represent.
THE REALITY OF BEING A STEWARD
■ No steward wins every grievance. Expect some losses and letdowns––and keep trying harder.
■ If you ever hear one word of praise or thanks, count yourself lucky. Expect to be taken for granted, and be prepared to be your own best booster.
■ Chances are your contract has lots of tricky spots. Don’t expect to master it all at once—ask for help from other stewards and local union leaders.
■ The union often has to defend people that nobody likes. People will ask you why you’re helping people who are always in trouble. Be prepared to explain that the union is there for everyone––and that someday the person who’s complaining may be in trouble himself.
■ As a steward, you’ll end up seeing people at their worst—when they’ve made bad mistakes and are in deep trouble. Expect to have your compassion and patience tested day after day—and try to understand and empathize with other people as much as you can.
■ Hard as it may be to believe, the union doesn’t have a lock on Truth and Justice. People, being human, make mistakes. You may have to admit to making a few mistakes yourself. But don’t let a temporary setback discourage you from continuing the fight.
STEWARDS AS LEADERS
Armed with a realistic attitude about what you can expect as a steward, you can begin to exercise some of what every shop floor needs—worker leadership. Understand, though, that leadership can be a very mixed blessing.
A cartoon that usually draws knowing chuckles from stewards shows a flock of birds flying in a V-shaped formation. The lead bird is crashing into a flagpole while the other birds fly safely by on either side. The cartoon’s title: “The Perils of Leadership.”
Stewards are expected to be leaders, and sometimes this means no more than taking the heat so that others can continue on safely. But often being a good leader means a whole lot more, and has its rewards as well as its risks.
No Automatic Respect
A new steward may assume that the title of steward automatically conveys a certain amount of respect. The new steward assumes that bosses will listen and other workers will show support—in short, a steward will acquire a kind of mantle of authority and importance.
As many stewards can testify, it doesn’t always work that way. In fact, stewards may have to fight hard and long to win respect—not just from bosses, but from their co-workers as well.
Most worker challenges to your authority come from either a misunderstanding of your role or the high expectations that workers have of what stewards can accomplish. Some do believe that stewards can single-handedly create perpetual harmony and justice in the workplace.
To minimize these problems, work actively with the members. Before you handle a workplace problem with them, explain what they can expect from you—specifically what you can and cannot do. Enlist their support in the action. Members can be asked to undertake tasks in investigation, grievance filing and bargaining, or to have a part in a meeting with management. People are less quick to challenge if they have been involved in the process, and it makes them better union members.
Listen carefully to the workers’ challenges––some have kernels of truth in them even when they are delivered badly. You know you don’t have all the answers, so invite the challenger to help in pursuing the solution. Keep workers informed. This may mean lots of repetition for you, but it’s worth it. There are ways to get the union word out through telephone trees and workplace bulletins.
And don’t try to do it alone. Enlist others to help you stand your ground against those people who are unconstructive challengers to your authority.
It also helps if you can carry some tested leadership principles with you as you try to work for respect.
Honesty and Vision
Good leaders tell a straight story even when they know the audience may not like the ending. Telling a worker that his or her grievance isn’t really a grievance is one common example. It also means telling people that you just don’t know … even though they may expect you to have all the answers. Good leaders don’t have all the answers—but they take responsibility for trying to find them and involving others in the search.
Stewards should have an idea of what the workplace should be like and what it takes to make it that way. They don’t get bogged down in microscopic details or distracted by petty things that can obscure the larger picture. This means looking at issues, concerns and events. It means asking, Does this move us forward or backward?
Level-Headed, Good Workers
The most effective leaders are those who can keep their cool in pressure situations with both management and workers, and think before they speak. Certainly good leaders will show emotions—anger and compassion, for instance—but they know when and how to use their emotions wisely.
Additionally, good leaders realize what they do speaks volumes more than what they say. They honor the contract, put in a good day’s work, work cooperatively on the job with co-workers and management, and don’t seek any special favors because they are stewards.
Listening and Respect
Listening is a basic skill, yet it’s often missing from those in leadership positions. Good leaders not only listen to those who come to them, but seek out those who may be too timid to come forward. They also listen to those who have different views or who come from different backgrounds.
They listen to differing views without putting people down. They show genuine interest in others without being condescending. They thank all those who participate and encourage them to stay involved. They always speak well of their fellow workers in forums outside the workplace.
Involving Others—and Developing Other Leaders
Good leaders know they can’t do it alone. They seek out others for help, ask others to carry out tasks, give others a chance to try something new and support them whether they succeed or fail.
They keep an eye open to spotting talent and give those people opportunities to take on responsibility. It may mean the leader lets someone else chair a meeting, distribute important information, attend a labor or community dinner, or write an article for the newsletter. They don’t feel threatened by others who demonstrate leadership ability.
Appropriate Behavior––and Courage
There’s a time to relax, wear your grubbies, swap stories and laugh it up. And there’s a time for serious discussion, a nononsense appearance and approach. A good leader knows what is appropriate and effective with different audiences and different situations.
While good leaders don’t shy away from taking responsibility for decisions and all that goes with them, they should not personalize either victory or defeat. Victory and defeat belong to the whole unit. Victory is a time for everyone to share in the moment, and to particularly credit those who had specific roles in it. Defeat is a time to lick the wounds and not point fingers, but to think about how we could do it better next time.
Good leaders are open to new experiences and new ways of doing things. They seek out ways to develop themselves personally and professionally through union and community training opportunities.
Developing good leadership abilities is a lifelong process, and stewards should approach it in that light. Building upon what you already know and do well is the best place to begin.
A STEWARD’S RESPONSIBILITIES
One of the perils of leadership is that people come to depend on you. If you’re the union steward, they will come to you for all sorts of reasons.
They’ll come to you to settle fights with co-workers. They’ll come to you to complain about union dues. They’ll come to you when their kid is in trouble. They’ll come to you intimidated, angry, ashamed, disappointed, confused and sad.
How to Respond
What do you do? What can you do? What should workers reasonably expect from you—the representative of the union in the workplace—based on their rights as union members?
It varies. These rights are often spelled out in a local union’s constitution and bylaws and in labor law as well.
But basically, the union member has a right to be represented fairly by the union in all aspects of union activity— bargaining, grievance representation and internal union operations such as nomination and election of union officers.
ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, WORKERS HAVE A RIGHT TO EXPECT THE UNION STEWARD TO:
■ Listen to their concerns. This is the best service you can give a worker. Stewards can suggest appropriate times and places for this.
■ Thoroughly investigate their concerns, be they grievances or other union matters. Stewards can and should involve the worker in the investigation process.
■ Communicate information on union programs, services and contract benefits.
■ Relay worker concerns and opinions to union leadership.
■ Enforce the contract with the employer. And in every encounter, workers have every right to be treated fairly and without discrimination based on race, sex, ethnic background or union membership. In open-shop situations, you must represent members and nonmembers in grievances. It’s the law.
In reality, workers will come to you with both reasonable and unreasonable requests. In sorting these out, remember:
■ You are not required to be an expert on everything. If a worker has technical questions about health benefits, for instance, it may make more sense for her to talk directly with someone from the health insurance provider whom the union recommends.
■ You are the representative of the union, not the personal lawyer for an individual worker. Your activities as a steward should be driven by what is good for the entire bargaining unit you represent.
■ Not every worker complaint is a grievance. A worker will pressure a steward to file a grievance because he feels wronged at the moment, but grievances should be filed only after an investigation determines that they are indeed legitimate.
■ You don’t have to be a trained counselor. Workers frequently bring personal problems to stewards because such problems affect their work. Stewards can handle the job part of it, for instance, if a worker is disciplined for too many absences because of a family problem. But you should refer the worker to a trained professional for help with the family problem itself. Your local union or the community service section of your central labor body can provide referrals.
A STEWARD’S TEN COMMANDMENTS
Regardless of the attitudes of others, you’ll need to conduct yourself in a forthright and positive manner. That’s why it helps to study some of the basic rules of stewardship—call them the Steward’s Ten Commandments. Admittedly, these are not divinely inspired or written, but they deserve to be taken as gospel. They go like this.
1 Thou Shalt Love the Union and Show It. As steward, you are the day-to-day representative of the union. It may sound corny, but for most members, you are the union. You must speak consistently and constantly about your deep devotion for the union both in and outside of the workplace.
2 Thou Shalt Know Thyself. Be honest about your own strengths and weaknesses. Being an effective steward is a work in progress. What more do you need to learn? How do you deal with conflict? How do you best communicate with people? How can you be more effective in your role as steward?
3 Thou Shalt Be a Credible Employee. Follow the contract yourself and abide by the rules it sets forth in the workplace. Both management and the workers will be watching how you act to set the example of how they should act.
4 Thou Shalt Talk Straight with the Members. As a steward, you will be the bearer of both good and bad news. If you’re straight with your members about what is going on, they will know that they should be straight with you.
5 Thou Shalt Size Up Thine Opposition and Act Accordingly. There’s no one all-purpose way of dealing effectively with management. A good strategy involves a thorough assessment of management’s strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes you should come on like gangbusters with them. Sometimes you should sit in the back row and watch them tear each other up. When your opposition comes from complaining union members—as it surely will from time to time—deal with them respectfully.
6 Thou Shalt Deal with Small Problems Before They Become Big Ones. Strive to settle problems before they become grievances. Strive to settle necessary grievances at the first step. Bring issues of concern to the members’ attention when they first occur so you have a whole army of watchdogs alerted.
7 Thou Shalt Prepare Against Surprises. Surprises are great for birthdays, but they can be a real drag at grievance presentations, contract negotiations, meetings with the boss and your own union meetings. Prepare ahead of time for what will be said and done.
8 Thou Shalt Set Limits. A steward is not the slave of the membership. You will be expected to work long and hard and you will want to do so, but you have the right to set limits. It will make you more effective in the long run.
9 Thou Shalt Involve Others in the Work of the Union. The union steward is not a one-person show. The best stewards—the ones whose workplaces have really effective unions—involve others in all kinds of union work including investigating grievances, passing petitions, registering voters, attending labor and community actions, and working with unorganized workers.
10 Thou Must Recognize That Thy Worksite Is Just Part of the Whole. Stewards need to look beyond the problems of their worksite and become part of organizing on a larger scale for the improvement of workers’ lives. This means that stewards need to be active in their community, in the political process and in other progressive causes and coalitions that organize and promote those improvements.
A STEWARD’S BILL OF RIGHTS
While stewards have responsibilities to the union and the members, the union and members have responsibilities to the steward as well. You have basic rights as a human being who has chosen—or perhaps been drafted—to take on an incredibly challenging role. Think of these as Human Rights for Stewards, although you may not want to take violations to the United Nations. But for your own sake, remember, you have the right to …
Education and Training
Your union should provide some way for you to get such training, even if it’s informal.
Give and Receive Constructive Criticism
You can’t improve your performance unless you are given helpful direction. You can’t improve your union unless you can offer it helpful direction.
An Abuse-Free Environment
You are not guaranteeing yourself a peaceful life when you become a steward, but being a steward doesn’t give anyone license to make verbal or physical attacks against you.
Be Treated as an Equal by Management When Performing Union Work
This is a legal right as well, but we all know how management is flouting labor law these days. This right is just basic decency and common sense. Some enlightened managements are finally realizing that it makes good business sense as well.
Exercise Your Best Judgment in a Situation
Rare is the situation where the facts point to a clear-cut, unimpeachable decision. You have a right to make the call based on your best reading of the situation and shouldn’t have to suffer endless second-guessing by others.
Receive Appreciation for a Job Well Done
Most stewards don’t expect thanks and they don’t get it. Isn’t it time to reverse this chicken-or-egg pattern? The most effective local unions almost always have a system of showing appreciation for their stewards.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
Along with all of a steward’s rights and responsibilities come some privileges as well—privileges granted by law, and sometimes within the union’s contract. This is because by its very nature, a union steward’s job involves confrontation. On the workplace floor, in the supervisors’ offices and in grievance meetings, stewards must defend the actions of employees and contest those of management. Often this can be done in a calm and straightforward manner, through quiet diplomacy. But you may sometimes feel compelled to raise your voice, argue forcefully, threaten job actions or emphasize the union’s position in other vigorous ways.
Vigorous advocacy, however, conflicts with the usual management rules of employee conduct, which stress obedience to, and respect for, supervisors and managers. If stewards had to abide by these rules, they would face an impossible dilemma: either hold back when defending employees or risk almost certain discipline.
The Equality Rule …
In recognition of their dual capacities, the National Labor Relations Act and most other labor laws (both private and public sector) contain special rules for stewards and union officers.
Under the NLRA, stewards and union officers have a protected legal status. This means that when engaged in representational activities, stewards and union officers are considered to be equals with management. Behavior that could otherwise result in discipline must be tolerated. The National Labor Relations Board describes the equality rule this way: 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 in litigation.
The equality rule is consistent with declarations of the United States Supreme Court, which has said that the National Labor Relations Act, the nation’s primary labor law, protects “robust debate” and “gives a union license to use intemperate, abusive, or insulting language without fear of restraint or penalty if it believes such rhetoric to be an effective means to make its point.”
The equality rule allows a steward to raise his voice, gesture, use “salty” language, challenge management’s claims of truthfulness, threaten legal action or raise the possibility of group protests. Vigorous advocacy may not always be necessary, but when it is used, an employer cannot label it as insubordination and impose discipline.
The equality rule applies when a steward acts in his representational capacity. It does not apply when a steward acts in his individual capacity.
You are acting in your representational capacity when you investigate a grievance, request information, present a grievance or otherwise represent employees. You are acting in your individual capacity when you discuss your own work assignments, work performance or compliance with work rules. Being a steward does not mean you have a license to tell management off at all times and places.
… and its Limits
The equality rule does not provide 100 percent equality. Employers may discipline stewards for representational conduct that (in the NLRB’s words) is “outrageous” or “indefensible” and is “of such serious character as to render the employee unfit for further service.” A steward may not use extreme profanity, racial epithets or threats of violence, and may not, under any circumstances, strike a supervisor. Nor do stewards enjoy legal protection if they organize slowdowns or work disruptions, lead contract-barred work stoppages or file grievances in bad faith.
However, the line between protected and unprotected conduct isn’t precise—and supervisors often exaggerate when describing a steward’s behavior. To protect yourself, bring an employee or fellow union representative to grievance sessions or other meetings with management.
The No-Reprisal Rule
The right to engage in concerted activities includes participation in grievance activities. A steward cannot be punished or threatened with punishment because management considers his grievances to be overly frequent, petty or offensively written. Nor may management threaten a steward with adverse consequences if the steward brings a grievance to a higher step.
Reprisals against stewards are unfair labor practices. An employer violates the no-reprisal rule if it:
■ Unfairly gives a steward a bad evaluation.
■ Denies a steward pay or promotion opportunities.
■ Segregates a steward from other employees.
■ Deprives a steward of overtime or other benefits.
■ Enforces rules more strictly against a steward than against other workers.
■ Threatens a steward with physical harm or strikes a steward.
■ Overly supervises a steward.
■ Transfers a steward to a different job or shift.
■ Gives a steward a poor reference for a prospective job.
The Same-Standards Rule
Some supervisors take the attitude that stewards can be held to higher standards than other employees. “Of all people, you’re supposed to know the rules” is often heard when a steward is penalized for coming in late or making an error. Other supervisors take the position that stewards are supposed to set examples for other employees.
These attitudes have no support in logic or in law. Stewards are not super-workers. Who would take the post if it meant higher work requirements or more severe discipline?
Employers must apply the same standards to stewards as they do to other employees. Employers violate the same-standards rule if they hold stewards to higher standards or impose more severe discipline for similar misconduct.
The only circumstance under U.S. labor law in which a steward may be held to a higher standard than a rank-and-file employee occurs when a no-strike clause in a union contract imposes affirmative duties on union officials. For example, if a no-strike clause says that the union will “exert itself to bring about a quick termination of such violation,” an employer may discipline union officers and stewards more severely than rank-and-filers for taking part in a mid-contract walkout.
Beware that even if a no-strike clause does not impose affirmative duties, a steward may be disciplined for instigating or leading a contract-barred work stoppage or slowdown. In most cases involving discrimination against stewards, the union will be able to file a contract grievance as well as a labor board charge. The union should file with the labor board at the same time that it files its grievance.
Just Testing
Given your status, the amount of knowledge and the responsibility you must carry, it would seem that you’re entitled to a whole lot of respect. But often, you find yourself defending not only your decisions and actions but your very authority.
Since management doesn’t much like equals, especially when they are workers, that often explains the source of many a challenge. So does the management sport of “testing” stewards. Never assume a supervisor understands your role. Management doesn’t necessarily train supervisors well on union rights and responsibilities.
If you are challenged by a supervisor, make it clear that you are acting in your official capacity as the union steward. Answer by keeping an even, professional tone. It leaves you room to raise your voice later if needed.
For example, you may say without apology, “As a union steward, I have a right to … see the personnel file of this worker … accompany a worker to a disciplinary meeting with a supervisor … investigate this grievance on work time according to the contract.”
If a supervisor continues to give you grief, go over his or her head to the chief personnel officer.
THE STEWARD–SUPERVISOR RELATIONSHIP
Getting hassled by a supervisor is not the only issue you may have to contend with. Whenever you’re with a supervisor, the eyes of your co-workers are upon you. And suspicious world that this is, you can usually assume that some of those co-workers are wondering if you’re fighting their battle … or selling them out.
Concerns like these lead stewards to think about what kind of relationship they should develop with the supervisor. Mortal enemy? Sparring partner? Cool customer? Buddy?
The answer is, the relationship should be determined by what the union wants to achieve in the workplace. Generally, that’s a setting in which people are treated fairly and are allowed to be productive and respected. At the same time, it’s one in which it’s clear to the employer that the union will deal swiftly and strongly with anything that disrupts that positive setting.
You’re on Equal Footing
With those goals in mind, you want to convey to the supervisor your seriousness and sense of purpose. Since you are on equal footing with the supervisor when dealing with union matters, demand and expect to be treated as an equal. Be cordial when dealing with the supervisor on union business, but make it clear early on that you have business to conduct. Avoid wasting your time, or the supervisor’s, by being unprepared.
You also want to convey your knowledge of the contract and how things really “work” on the job. Because so many employers run through supervisors the way pop stars go through wardrobes, it’s very likely you will know more than your supervisor. Use this to your advantage and avoid the temptation to constantly “one-up” him or her.
You also want to convey your willingness to solve problems. Don’t just bring problems to the supervisor, bring solutions as well—common-sense solutions that benefit both the union and management.
You want to make clear your capacity to fight, as well. While you should normally be reasonable, the supervisor must know that if tested or pushed, you will fight back because there is no question about whom you are representing. One steward characterizes herself as “80 percent reasonable and down-to earth mixed with 20 percent raving and crazy.”
You’re Not Alone
Finally, you want the supervisor to know that you are not acting alone. You’re no Lone Ranger—you’ve got the troops behind you.
That last point suggests that your co-workers have a role in your developing an effective relationship with the supervisor. Your co-workers also need to be the union’s eyes and ears around the workplace, giving you information so that you continue to build the union’s reputation as a knowledgeable partner.
Members need to keep the union visible in the workplace by wearing union buttons, posting union information and attending union worksite meetings.
The steward should have members accompany him or her on union business with the supervisor to demonstrate that the relationship is more than one-on-one. By letting members actually see your work with the supervisor, you also cut down on any suspicions they might have about your relationship with management.
Some of the basics that can help you and your supervisor develop and retain a good working relationship include:
■ ESTABLISH A SCHEDULED “CHECK-IN” TIME—WEEKLY, SEMI-MONTHLY, OR MONTHLY, DEPENDING ON YOUR SITUATION—TO DISCUSS WORKPLACE MATTERS. This is not a grievance hearing, but an opportunity for you both to share information, concerns and possible solutions before issues blow up.
■ SET UP A SYSTEM TO DEAL WITH EMERGENCIES. If something “breaks,” you need to have a system to meet quickly and to keep your respective sides cool. You also need to have back-ups for yourself if you cannot be reached.
■ AGREE TO THE LIMITS OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. You both should want to settle as much as you can at your level, but you should both realize and agree which situations need to be handled at the next level.
■ STICK TO THE ISSUES AT HAND. Some supervisors may want to gossip and may even offer you interesting tidbits about management strategies or other supervisors. Don’t be tempted to reciprocate by chatting about your co-workers or your union leadership.
■ DISAGREE WITHOUT BEING DISAGREEABLE. You represent different perspectives. You will not agree on everything. Know when to agree to disagree, and be civil about it.
■ ADMIT MISTAKES. During the course of any relationship, you will both make mistakes. Work toward a relationship where you both can admit when you are wrong. It’s a big step toward solving the important issues.
Realize that your relationship with the supervisor will have its ups and downs. Realize as well that there will be events out of your respective control that can affect the relationship, such as a management restructuring, change of ownership, or change of product line.
If a steward stays focused on what he or she can control, and getting support from co-workers, that steward can go a long way to building a relationship with the supervisor that will advance the union’s overall goal in the workplace.
MISTAKES TO AVOID
Having a right—indeed a need—to use your own best judgment means that you will make mistakes. No one avoids all mistakes, but that doesn’t mean that you need to make all of them yourself. Here are some common ones to avoid.
It’s a mistake to …
Represent Unfairly or Unequally
Not only does it expose the union to legal action, it’s just not the right thing to do. It undermines the whole purpose of the union and the very idea of union solidarity. Remember the old union motto: An injury to one is an injury to all.
Make Backroom Deals
Management is notorious for trying to get stewards to trade grievances. “I’ll let you have this case if you drop the one we talked about yesterday” is a favorite refrain. Every member deserves a fair shake and every grievance needs to be evaluated on its own merit. Never agree to anything with management that you would be uncomfortable telling your entire membership about.
Promise Remedies Too Quickly
You are hurting both the member and your credibility if you pass judgment on a grievance prior to a thorough investigation. Only after you have spoken to the grievant and witnesses and consulted the contract and the employer’s rules and past practices are you in a position to make that determination. Given the frequency of poor and mixed arbitration decisions, no steward should ever promise victory.
Fail to Speak with New Workers
The most important way a union gains the support of a new member or potential new member is by one-on-one contact with the steward. You not only want to provide the new workers with information, you need to build a personal relationship and begin to get them involved in union activities from their first day on the job.
Fail to Adhere to Timelines
Even the strongest, iron-clad case can be lost if you fail to follow the timeline specified in your contract. Even if management agrees to an extension, it’s not in the union’s interest to let problems fester and grow. If you do get a formal extension of time limits, be sure to get it in writing.
Let Grievances Go Unfiled
Every grievance that goes unfiled undermines the contract that you struggled so hard to win. While most members see changes and problems only in terms of the impact on them, the steward needs to be able to understand a grievance’s impact on the contract and the union as a whole.
Meet with Management Alone
When you meet with management alone, suspicions may arise as to what kinds of deals you are making. It also allows management to lie or change its story. More important, when stewards meet with management alone, it takes away an opportunity for members to participate in the union and to understand that it’s really their organization.
Fail to Get Settlements in Writing
Just as you should protect yourself by not meeting with management alone, be sure to get grievance settlements in writing. Putting the settlement in writing helps clarify the issues and keeps management from backing down on its deal.
Fail to Publicize Victories
Publicizing each and every victory is an important way to build your local union. This publicity not only has a chilling effect on the employer but helps educate your members about their contractual rights. It also gives you something to celebrate and helps you gain the courage to carry on.
Fail to Organize
Stewards are much more than grievance handlers. They’re the local’s mobilizers, who should be talkin’ and fightin’ union all the time. Each and every grievance and incident must be looked at in terms of how it can increase participation, build the union and create new leaders.
THE DANGERS OF PLAYING FAVORITES
When you became a union steward, some things in your life changed instantly. Suddenly you had a bit more direct control over the conditions of your own work life, and a lot more responsibility toward those around you (not to mention quite a bit less free time than before!).
One thing didn’t change at all, though: the natural human tendency to like some people a lot, and not to like some others nearly as much. But one of the most important obligations of your job as steward is the responsibility of not playing favorites.
As natural as the impulse might be to go the extra mile as a steward for your buddies, while you sit around and relax when others plead for help, there are ways this can come back to haunt you.
Four Bad Repercussions
First, it’s inconsistent with what unions are about. Fundamentally, unions are about fairness, about equal opportunity for everyone. Living by this principle in your day-to-day job as a steward is simply the right thing to do. And if your behavior as a steward doesn’t match up to this principle of unionism, the union itself loses credibility and gets weaker.
Second, it alienates members: The daily job of the union is to act in ways that demonstrate to members that the union is all of us, not some separate bureaucracy. Members who see that some are given preferential treatment by stewards while others are not are members who will conclude that they’re not really a full part of the union.
Third, it plays into the employer’s hand: One of the tools in an anti-union boss’s bag of tricks is to figure out ways to divide and conquer the membership. A steward who creates two ready-made groups—those who get preferential treatment and those who don’t—gives the boss a golden opportunity to play up divisions within the union’s ranks.
Fourth, it keeps you away from lawyers. The law requires that stewards carry out their responsibilities competently, fairly and impartially—even if particular members (or even nonmembers, in some situations) end up unhappy with how things turn out. But making decisions on which grievances to pursue based on your personal feelings toward the grievant? That’s an invitation to the disappointed worker to file a duty of fair representation (DFR) legal action against you.
Avoiding the Temptation
So how do you avoid the understandable—but dangerous— temptation to play favorites? Stop and think: When someone you particularly like or dislike approaches you for assistance, do a quick mental check before determining what you will or won’t do for this person. Imagine the identical request for help, but put to you by a different individual; would you respond differently? Two approaches may help you think this through:
■ Are you aware of any previous situations where a worker came to you with this type of problem? If you’re not inclined to treat this case the same way you dealt with the earlier case, do you have a good reason for the different treatment?
■ Without identifying who is seeking your assistance, ask another steward or union officer for advice on how to respond to such a request. You may have reasons for thinking the situation should be handled differently, but this will provide a reality check.
■ Place caution before pride: If you’re careful to examine your decision making as a steward to avoid playing favorites, you’ll do right by the members you represent and by the union. But here’s the bottom line: If you’re not confident that in a given case you can act objectively, ask another steward to work with you or to take over the case completely.
CODE RED: SIGNS THAT YOU’RE IN TROUBLE
Part of becoming an effective steward is staying alert to what is happening around you. Stewards need to do more than simply respond to problems. They should be able to anticipate where and when problems may be brewing. Stewards also must be prepared to constantly reassess how they are doing. While it’s impossible to come up with a complete list of all the things you need to watch out for, here are a few of the big ones.
In brief, you’re in trouble when …
Members Don’t Come to You with Their Problems
The folks you represent need to know that you are available and willing to help. Stewards sometimes make the mistake of wanting to deal only with legitimate grievances. Yet it is often through helping members on seemingly minor issues that you build credibility and respect that is invaluable in solving more serious problems. Be sure to publicize your union’s grievance victories on the union bulletin board or in a regular newsletter to remind members of what can be won through grievances and union representation.
Members Seek Help from Other Stewards
This may be happening because you haven’t been making yourself available, but it sometimes occurs when stewards are new or inexperienced. To get more experience you should take advantage of whatever steward training programs the union offers and you should regularly seek the advice of more experienced stewards. Another reason members may not be seeking you out: rightly or wrongly, they may perceive that you are tied to a particular clique or group of workers. You must make it clear to all of the members that you have no favorites and are prepared to represent everyone equally.
Management Refuses to Meet with You
You have to build credibility with management, not just the members. This is not to suggest that management will always like you, but through your integrity, persistence and hard work, management will realize that you are a force they need to contend with.
Members and Management Make Private Deals Without Your or the Union’s Involvement
You need to make members understand that without the assistance of a steward and the union, the likelihood of getting justice is very small. Furthermore, without the involvement of the union, these backroom deals frequently undermine the contract and in the long run make things worse for everybody.
You Never Win a Grievance
Winning isn’t everything, particularly if you’re up against an aggressive employer or in a difficult workplace. But if you are only rarely winning it’s time to reevaluate your grievance strategy. Are you filing too many grievances that don’t have merit? Are you doing thorough grievance investigations? Are you carefully preparing for the hearing, including practicing with the grievant and witnesses? Are you figuring ways to pressure the employer outside the grievance procedure? Maybe this is a good time for a grievance refresher course. It also may be a good time to do some internal organizing to use rank-and-file support to pressure the employer to settle in the union’s favor.
You Miss Union Meetings
We’re all busy and it’s not always easy juggling everything. But being an effective steward is not just handling problems in your department or section. You need to be an active union member and up to date on what is happening in the rest of the local. You also need to attend meetings to make sure that the interests and concerns of the members you represent are heard and addressed by the local union.
You Hear Decertification Rumors
While members may sometimes threaten to get rid of the union if they don’t win a grievance or get things their way, this is not something to kid around with. Your brother and sister workers and maybe you, too, fought hard to get your union, and everything you gained can be wiped out in one decertification election. The best way to prevent and defuse decertification is to launch an internal organizing drive addressing the issues and concerns that are most important to your members. But don’t try to handle this all by yourself. These decertification campaigns sometimes gather far too much momentum before the union becomes aware, so report any activity to the officers of the local as soon as possible.
A STEWARD’S TOOLKIT
A soldier wouldn’t be caught in battle unarmed, nor would a baseball player step onto the ball field without a glove. Neither, then, should a steward be caught on the job without his or her own special tools of the trade.
Those tools vary, depending on the nature of the workplace and the steward’s union, but a lot of tools are universal. Every steward alive, for example, should have a copy of the union contract near at hand, just as every steward should have a good, updated list of phone numbers to put inquiring members in touch with appropriate union, fund or other officials.
An effective steward’s toolbox contains both material and information. Some components should literally be with the steward at all times—a pen and a pocket-sized notebook are examples—while others can be grabbed from a nearby desk, locker or vehicle on short notice.
Available When Needed
In some situations you’ll know in advance exactly what you’ll need and you can have everything ready to go. For example, your copy of the contract while meeting with a member to discuss a complicated grievance, or a brochure about the union and a copy of the newsletter when you know you’re going to be meeting a new worker for the first time.
Some tools are not as portable as others, so they may have to reside out of immediate reach. One major tool, for example, is your employer’s own employee records.
SOME WEAPONS IN THE STEWARD’S ARSENAL:
■ A notebook and a pen
■ A watch and a calendar
■ A cell phone or smart phone
■ A copy of your union contract and any side agreements or supplements
■ A computer, either your own or one readily available to you
■ A copy of your employer’s worker handbook, if any
■ Your local union’s bylaws and national union’s constitution
■ A copy of your union’s steward handbook, if there is one
■ Grievance forms
■ Grievance fact sheets
■ A list of union members
■ Seniority lists as appropriate
■ A list of nonmembers
■ Union membership sign-up forms
■ Copies of your local and/or national newsletter
■ Sign-up cards for the union’s political action fund
■ Names and contact information for union officers
■ Contact information for community resources
■ Employee Assistance Program information
■ Union Privilege–type program information (union credit cards, legal services, etc.)
Stewards have a right to have access to these records, at least in part, when handling a wide range of grievances, including disputes over absenteeism, assignment of overtime and the like.
Don’t overlook outside resources. Everyone can get to a public library, with its wealth of information and an Internet connection. Between the library and the Internet you can find detailed information on everything under the sun, including full texts of important laws that might affect your situation.
Don’t forget the value of the best tool of all—although one you’d better not try to put into your locker at work. That’s the experienced veteran—or veterans—who can counsel you on how issues have been handled in the past. This can be another steward or a union officer: someone who may be able to shed light on and offer advice about a tough issue you’re trying to deal with.
The exact makeup of your toolkit will vary from some others’, but the list above gives a pretty good idea of some of the basics. Pick and choose as you believe appropriate in your situation, but keep in mind that a big part of your job consists of answering questions and moving information back and forth between the union leadership and the membership. Arm yourself accordingly.
You’ll probably want to modify or add to this list, depending on your situation and circumstance, but it should give you a good start. Be sure to stand back and take a look at it every so often: new materials from your union, changes in benefits, new resources in your community all could cause you to give your toolbox a tune-up.