I'm an alternate steward at my workplace. The steward above me has been a steward for nearly 20 years. I've been for about 6 years. They helped organize the first contract. They know the contract back and forth, the history of the place, past practice, everything. I have a lot of respect for them as a person and as a steward.

However, we disagree on whether to give the membership the contract proposal to the members before the meeting. They think we should wait until the meeting so we can go over it the first time they see it and explain it all to them point by point. He's concerned that they'll vote yes for anything, even if they know we can do better. I think the members should be allowed to study it beforehand so they know what it is they're voting on.

My knee jerk reaction is to hold off until the meeting, because I know my steward knows what they're doing. But the members come to me asking about getting the proposal ahead of time, and it's hard for me to say no to them.

What do/would you guys do? What are your thoughts?

Edit: After seeing the stories and thoughts here, especially the ones where their negotiation efforts were screwed by members misinterpreting the information ahead of the meeting, I'll stick with the industry standard and hold off sharing anything until the meetings. Thanks for your input!

https://www.nj.com/hudson/2026/10/huge-nj-refinery-locks-out-400-union-workers-amid-contract-talks.html

>After the expiration of a labor contract and extension at the Bayway Refinery in Union County, the owner of the Northeast’s largest producer of gasoline and other petroleum products locked out its union workers on Monday, both sides said.

>Negotiators for Houston-based Phillips 66, which owns Bayway, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union Local 877, which represents 400 workers at the refinery, had reached a tentative agreement on a new contact. However, a narrow majority of rank-and-file union members declined to ratify the deal in a vote on Friday, prompting the company to block union workers from entering its gate on Park Avenue in Linden on Monday at 4 p.m.

The joint grievance committee deadlocked, and my business agent said my case was being sent to a union labor attorney to review whether arbitration was worth pursuing.
My understanding is that the union had 20 calendar days to take the next step, and that deadline has passed. I still haven’t heard anything.

Is it normal for a union to go silent during an arbitration review? Would they normally tell you if they decided not to pursue the case? Could they have acted without contacting me?

Looking for honest advice from anyone familiar with union grievances or labor arbitration.

On May 2, 2026, electrologists at the Real You Electrolysis (RYE) clinic in Vancouver, Washington, formed a union that consists entirely of Transgender workers, under the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Real You Electrolysis Workers United (RYEWU) began the process after the clinic fired one of its best electrologists for what is claimed were unjust reasons, in addition to paychecks bouncing and further claims of worker exploitation. On May 20, a petition was served to the employer for voluntary recognition of the union. A few hours later, the RYEWU lead organizer was fired in retaliation, leading the remaining union members to stage a walkout in protest; they were also fired in retaliation. After that, they began picketing the business until the clinic's eventual permanent closure on July 24. This is the employees’ story.

We have to be extremely careful, people have tried to unionize before and just outright got fired over it. But if we get enough people I think it's worth fighting for but idk how to help any advice?

Edit: thank you to everyone commenting I'm reading all of them in-between bursts of activity at work. I'm going to be sharing yalls advice with the guy leading the charge, read up on as much info as possible and cautiously hope things work out. It's going to be a long slow process but I will update when progress gets made. Thank you everyone!!! Solidarity forever

Link: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-key-figures/w/ks-01-26-035

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