The steward should provide the new worker with a copy of the union contract, and sign the worker up into the union, and not leave that to management. You not only want to provide new workers with information, but need to build a personal relationship and begin to get them involved in union activities from their first day on the job. The most important way a union gains the support of a new member or a potential new member is by one-on-one contact with the steward.
Mistake 5 - Failing To Speak With New Workers Given the frequency of poor and mixed arbitration decisions, no steward should make promises about the expected outcome of a grievance. Only after you have spoken to the grievant and witnesses and consulted the contract, the employer’s rules and past practices are you in a position to make that determination. You’re hurting both the member and your credibility if you pass judgment on a grievance prior to a thorough investigation. Mistake 4 - Promising Remedies Too Quickly From wearing buttons and stickers, to signing petitions, working to rule or acting as witnesses for the union during grievance meetings, these actions help build the union. The union is built by involving the members in winning grievances. 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. They must be talkin’ union and fightin’ union all the time. They are the key people in the local who mobilize the membership. Stewards are much more than grievance handlers. Any group settlement of grievances should be done by the entire union committee, not the steward by themselves. Never agree to anything you would be uncomfortable telling your entire membership about. “I’ll let you have this case if you drop the one we talked about yesterday.” Every member deserves a fair shake and every grievance needs to be evaluated on its own merit. Management is notorious for trying to get stewards to trade grievances. Every grievance should be weighed on its own merits, regardless of who files it. It undermines the whole purpose of the union and the very idea of solidarity. Not only can this leave the union open to being sued for breaching its duty to provide fair representation, it’s just not the right thing to do. A good steward is many things - an organizer, a negotiator, a counselor, a peacemaker and a troublemaker.īut there are certain things that a steward must avoid at all costs: Mistake 1 - Failing to Represent Fairly
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