Stewards

Stewards: Key Role in Union Representation


  • Main Responsibilities:
    • Represent and voice member concerns in union activities.
    • Engage in grievance representation and internal union affairs.
    • Actively participate in the election of union officers.

  • Characteristics of a Good Steward:
    • Willing to learn and adapt.
    • Approachable and a good listener.
    • Strong desire to solve problems.
    • Efficient in research and information gathering.
    • Timely and respectful in responses.
    • Aims to build union solidarity and understanding.
    • Excellent communicator, acting as a liaison between members and union leadership.

  • Steward’s Job in Detail:
    • Ensure fair representation in all union activities.
    • Be available to listen to and investigate member complaints.
    • Provide information on union matters and encourage meeting attendance.
    • Enforce labor agreements and represent every member equally.
    • Remember: Not every complaint is a grievance.

  • Legal Rights of a Steward:
    • Protected under the National Labor Relations Act.
    • Equal status with management during representational activities.
    • Protected against retaliation from employers.
    • Ability to help those who invoke their Weingarten Rights.

  • Grievance Handling:
    • Identify valid grievances and approach them with the intent to settle.
    • Understand different grievance categories: contract violations, past practices, fair treatment, legal violations, and management rule violations.
    • Knowing when to say 'no' to a grievance and how to communicate it.
    • Timely action is crucial.
    • Maintain confidentiality and respect for the affected member.
    • Keep thorough records of investigations.

  • Building Solidarity:
    • Use every interaction to foster a sense of unity.
    • Hold informal meetings and encourage attendance at unit meetings.
    • Sometimes pursue symbolic grievances to voice member concerns.

  • Become a Steward:
    • IBEW 733 is seeking dedicated members to become stewards.
    • Email Business Manager, Vito, with your name, phone number, email, and experience.

Grievances

A grievance is not always easy to identify. Your job as a steward will become easier as you learn to sort through complaints and figure out which problems require a grievance and which problems merely require a sympathetic ear.

Sometimes a worker will bring you a complaint that is clearly a violation of the contract or some other basic right. Other times, a thorough investigation will be required to see if a complaint actually qualifies as an official grievance. Still other times, an employee may come to you with a legitimate gripe, but you’ll know immediately that there is no contractual basis for filing a grievance. And sometimes you will be confronted by employees who simply need some serious counseling for personal problems.

The first rule of grievance resolution is to always try to settle them rather than pass them up the ladder. Your power as a steward resides in your ability to solve problems and fix contract violations.

Some of the major categories of grievances are:

  • Violation of the contract. These may be violations of wages, hours, working conditions, vacations, holidays or benefits.
  • Violation of past practice. A practice that has been in place for a long time and is explicitly accepted by both the union and management can sometimes be defended in the grievance procedure if management decides to change the practice–even if it is not spelled out in the labor agreement.
  • Violation of fair treatment. If management discriminates on the basis of race, sex, nationality, religion, or union activity, the union can file a grievance based on unfair treatment.
  • Violation of federal, state or local law. Laws written to protect workers are considered part of the labor agreement. A violation of such a law can be the basis for a grievance. Such laws include the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
  • Violation of management rules. If management breaks its own policies, it may be the basis for a grievance.

Saying 'No' to a Grievance

Even when a member has a legitimate beef, there may not be any basis for filing a grievance. Learning how to say 'No' to a grievance is just as important as learning how to file a grievance. Filing baseless grievances raises false expectations for the member, wastes the stewards’ time, and potentially weakens your hand when you come back later with a real grievance.

So how do you say 'No'?

You’ll find that it’s easier if you don’t put it off. By responding in a timely fashion you’ll let the worker know that the union took the problem seriously enough to investigate it promptly.

Make sure the member is the first to know. It’s a simple courtesy and a form of respect to deliver the bad news to the member first. That way the member has an opportunity to adjust to the news before word spreads to his or her fellow workers.

Explain the issue privately. Find a time and place where you can explain your decision in whatever detail is necessary. Discuss the criteria for filing a grievance and why this particular case does not meet the criteria.

Say 'Yes' to the member’s feelings. Acknowledge the disappointment that the member is probably feeling. Express appreciation for the members’ willingness to try the grievance procedure.

Look for other avenues for addressing the problem. Sometimes stewards can help mediate problems through informal one-on-one meetings between disputing parties. If outside counseling is appropriate, make sure the member knows that resources are available.

Encourage further involvement. If a member has come to you with a problem, it might mean they have the makings of an active union member. Even if the problem doesn’t turn out to be a grievance, look for ways to encourage the member to remain alert to other possible problems in the workplace. Show that you value their effort.


Create a Record

When investigating a complaint, it is important to take notes. Don’t hesitate to interrupt a relevant interview with a grievant or a supervisor in order to fetch a pen and notebook. This is especially true if discipline may be involved. A detailed written record that can be made available to higher levels of the grievance procedure could mean the difference between a successful defense based on facts, and a failed defense based on faulty memory of disputed events and conversations.

Stewards, like reporters, should organize their interviews around the "Five W's":

  • Who are the affected parties? These include workers, supervisors, and others who were witnesses or have knowledge of the situation.
  • What happened? What did the member do? What did management do? What has happened in the past that is relevant?
  • When did it happen? Note the time and date of relevant conversations and activities.
  • Where did it happen? Location may be a relevant factor.
  • Why did the incident happen? Sometimes an individual’s motive is crucial to understanding why certain behavior took place.

Discipline

Grieving discipline is one of the most sensitive and important things you will do as a steward. A person’s reputation and self-esteem may be on the line, or even their job.

Procedures for grieving discipline vary from employer to employer. The labor agreement will give you some idea what these procedures are.

Timeliness is especially crucial when grieving discipline. You never want to be in the position of telling a member that his or her discipline cannot be grieved because you missed the deadline.

Discipline can be a highly personal matter from the viewpoint of the grievant. Respect their feelings, using discretion in discussing their case with others.

It is very important to take good notes when investigating discipline. It is also important to keep an open mind. In some cases, a member may simply acknowledge the discipline was warranted. In other cases, a thorough investigation may be required to determine if there was sufficient cause for the discipline. In the course of your investigation, the facts may lead you to conclude that the discipline was warranted. But if the facts suggest the discipline was unfair, your notes will become a vital part of the grievance.

While every situation seems different, discipline in the workplace generally falls into one of several basic categories. These include:

  • Absenteeism and tardiness
  • Work performance
  • Rule violations
  • Insubordination

Build Solidarity

Sometimes there is no immediate practical solution to a particular problem at the workplace. But that doesn’t mean you need to throw up your hands in despair. As a steward, you should always look for ways to help build a sense of solidarity among the members.

One on one -- Every contact with a member is a potential chance for you to make a point about sticking together. Obviously you don’t want to become obnoxious or a bore, but the union relies on its stewards to be positive and upbeat about the union and the important role it serves in representing the members’ interests.

Informal meetings -- Stewards can sometimes use breaks or mealtime to discuss union issues with members. You may want to discuss a recent Business Manager’s grievance that affects everyone at your work location, or a legislative initiative to protect workers’ rights, or some issue at the workplace that everyone has been grumbling about. While you must be careful not to let these discussions infringe on regular work time, they can be a good way to help members feel included, and to invite members to attend unit meetings for further information and discussion.

Unit meetings -- Encourage members to bring concerns and issues to unit meetings. Let them know that unit meetings are their opportunity to communicate their ideas to the union leadership. If people resist the idea of going to unit meetings, see if they have any suggestions for making the unit meetings more interesting.

Symbolic grievances -- On occasion, it might make sense to pursue a grievance even if you know you can’t win. Your Local 733 Business Representative can help you determine when this strategy of filing a symbolic grievance might make sense. An example would be a working condition that members don’t like even though the contract is silent on the issue. Putting it into the grievance procedure can give you a forum for letting management know how the members feel.


Weingarten Rights

An essential aspect of union member rights is understanding our Weingarten Rights, a fundamental set of protections during investigatory interviews. These rights, established by the Supreme Court in the case of NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., ensure that we are able to have union representation during investigatory interviews.

Weingarten Rights are applicable during investigatory interviews, where a supervisor or employer seeks information that could potentially lead to disciplinary action. If you, or any employee, reasonably believe that the discussion could result in disciplinary measures, that employee has the right to request the presence of a union representative. This right is a powerful protection, but it's important to remember that it is the employee’s responsibility to assert it. Supervisors are not obligated to inform you or any employee of this right; it's up to us to know and invoke these rights.

In any scenario where there's potential for discipline, Weingarten Rights come into play once a steward is requested.  Investigatory interviews can take many forms:

  • A formal disciplinary procedure,
  • An inquiry into your performance,
  • An inquiry into your conduct, or
  • An inquiry into an incident in the workplace.
Upon requesting union representation, the employer has four choices:

  • Grant the request and wait for the representative to arrive,
  • Give you the option to continue without representation, or
  • Deny the request and end the interview.
If your request is denied and the interview continues, you have the right to refuse to participate. It's crucial to note that such refusal is not insubordination, provided the employer has chosen to deny your representation.  You MUST wait for the supervisor to terminate the interview, but you do not have to answer without representation.

If you are called upon as a union representative, at that point the employee could potentially be disciplined for refusing to answer questions.

As a union representative, your role in these interviews is not passive. You can:

  • pull the employee aside for a private conference before questioning
  • actively participate during the interview
  • seek clarification from the supervisor
  • advise the employee on how to respond
  • and provide additional information to the supervisor at the end of the questioning.
If ever an employee finds himself in a situation where he believes his Weingarten Rights apply, a simple but clear statement like this is sufficient to invoke those rights:

  • "If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or discharged, I request that a Union representative be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions."
These rights do not apply in every situation, such as:

  • routine conversations about job duties, or training
  • communicating needed corrections in your work techniques
  • if the employer assures you prior to the interview that no discipline or consequences can result from the interview
Even in the above few examples, the employee can still ask for representation. Most employers will permit a representative to attend even when not required to.

When applicable, these rights are a powerful tool in protecting our interests. We must ensure that all employees understand their rights, and we must also provide the support and representation needed when those rights are at stake.


Become a Steward Today!

Think you might be interested in becoming a union steward? IBEW 733 is looking for dedicated members that want to help fellow members in all aspects of union activity, including making sure their voices are heard and ensuring everyone is fairly represented.

If you have what it takes to be meet the goals of a union steward, please email the Business Manager, Vito, to learn more.

Be sure to include your name, email address, phone number and if you have any previous experience that might help with being a steward.