Member Tips
Eternal Vigilance Is the Price of Liberty
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the existence of rights on a page somewhere means that you’ll always be able to count on those protections. Rights that aren’t exercised can in fact disappear over time; you can lose what you don’t protect. So you need to know where your rights come from, and how to use your union to protect them. In practical terms, this means that when your employer breaks the rules, you need to make sure that your union steward knows about it. A steward’s job is to be the “eyes and ears” of the union, but a steward can’t be everywhere at once, and that’s why individual members have the responsibility to be the steward’s “eyes and ears.” That way, the union/employer structures that are in place can be used to prevent changes for the worse in the day-to-day conditions of the workplace.
Adapted from The Union Member's Complete Guide, by Michael Mauer.
Union Stewards, First to Be Asked
Many questions you bring to your steward, or problems you raise, can be dealt with satisfactorily without any type of formal action being taken by the union. It may be that information is the “fix” that’s needed, or a conversation between your steward and a management official solves the problem. But sometimes a steward will set in motion a formal action, the most common type being a contract grievance. If the problem or concern that you have calls for a grievance to be filed, then your steward is most likely the “mini-lawyer” who will help draw up and present the grievance and attempt to get it resolved. Your steward may take another type of action, as well, to assist you. Your steward is the one with overall responsibility for answering questions about what the employer or the union is doing or could be doing to make things better in the workplace. If the union cannot do something to bring about positive change, your steward should be able to explain why that is.
-Adapted from The Union Member's Complete Guide, by Michael Mauer
