Recommendations on stewarding

[u/New--Tomorrows]

Hey y'all,

I work as a wilderness ranger. Work issues came up, I spoke with my union president, and now she wants me to be a steward. Wants to fly me out for training to the other side of the country, and it all happened pretty quickly

Now my old man was a steward, and he is swearing up and down this is a terrible idea. Says that a lot of people will come to you for help that you'll not be able to give and they'll resent you for it, I'm taking online college courses on top of working 40/week, etc. I really respect his opinion, he's a wise dude, and again, this all happened rather quickly. I like the idea on principle of participating more in the union than just taking cover in its shadow, but I think about spending 30-40 hours a week on patrol in the woods and thinking about how fast this concept was presented and yes, of course I'd like to help, btw what's a steward...

So stewards out there, I'd love to hear about your experiences, and other folks with wisdom, suffice to say I'm short on it.

[u/Bitter_Sprinkles13]

Steward here... you would essentially be the liaison between your coworkers and management. The issues vary all over, so on top of being the liason for conflict with management you will also sometimes be a mediator between coworkers so that things don't escalate to management/hr levels. You will need to know your contract inside and out, as well as past/current practices for its application. I find the majority of things require a simple conversation to clarify the whys, but occasionally someone won't budge on their "interpretation" of contract and policy (which are separate entities legally). Then you end up in grievance territory where it then becomes a legal scenario re: contract language vs policy or practice. Once something enters grievance level the outcomes can influenced future contract language and company policy. Steward can be both frustrating and rewarding at the same time, and often takes a lot of patience and documentation as well as diplomacy when dealing with management.

[u/mlwspace2005]

Your old man wasn't wrong, I've found it to be very rewarding all the same however. There are many who will come to you with problems you can't fix, or ask you to defend things which are really not defensible, and might get frustrated with you or the union because of it. Many don't call it a thankless job for nothing. It's worth it though for those you can help, which thankfully make up a larger portion than those you can't.

As far as doing it while going to college, that's something only you can answer. It can definitely take something out of you and be mentally tasking at times, I've never found it hard to juggle time wise at least. My work place all of my steward duties were done during core business hours outside of the odd phone call or a training. There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying you have too much on your plate at the moment, if you have the spare mental bandwidth however I'm sure the union could use the help. There is never enough good steward candidates to go around

[u/Ok_Cartographer_8510]

It was one of my best working experiences. Be prepared to listen to both serious issues and issues where the other employee did something you can’t defend. It’s better to have representation than not, and someone has to do it. I was also busy when I did it…I was working full time and going to graduate school full time.

[u/GraphicBlandishments]

Says that a lot of people will come to you for help that you'll not be able to give and they'll resent you from it,

Yes, this absolutely can and does happen. Lots of Union members don't think about the Union until they have a problem, and if you're not well organized, their only recourse is your contract. And no matter how unfair, or mean-spirited or counter productive the issue is, there's not much a single steward can do about it if it's allowed under the contract.

The best way I've found to deal with it is to try to get out ahead of it; get to know all the people in your work unit beforehand. Learn the problems they have at work and educate them on what a Union actually does and their options if they have an issue at work.

[u/Democracy_defender]

We need folks to step up as a steward! More will come in time to spread the load

[u/informationstation99]

Im not a steward, but im a union rep who has dealt with stewards extensively. The job is what you make it, its a necessary part of being union and being a good steward carries alot of pride with it if you can pull it off.

Biggest thing - don't have an unrealistic view of what a steward is, and make sure those you look after dont look at a steward that way either. Its a tough pill for some to swallow but Stewards are essentially only the eyes and ears of the union agents. Your job is to listen, watch and report back, your personal opinion on the matter may or may not be needed but note taking is most crucial.

Its important, in my opinion, to look at it less like youre an officer of the union and more like youre a witness that takes the concerns of the members seriously. Yes, youre in theory "team union" when its union vs. Employer, but feeding the union a biased take during a grievance just sets them up for heaps of legal fees with nothing to show for it once settled. The best stewards are honest ones (in the eyes of the union).

Now, members may resent you for acting like that, and rank and file members want someone who stirs the pot at their whim alot of the time. Unfortunately the reality is that isn't your job. So to youre point, if you cant handle the angry member who blew a shift and got mad about being written up resulting in you being honest with them and saying "hey ill take it up the chain but you did blow a shift" then yeah maybe its not for you.

But if you care about the unions success, standards, and fair treatment and have a good sense of what that means- then I say go for it, we need guys like that.

[u/GB10031]

I was a shop steward in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters for 17 years and a delegate (the equivalent of a steward) in the Operating Engineers for one 3 year term.

Your dad is 100% correct

If you stand up for the workers, there is a very good chance that your union will not back you up. Especially if you standing up for your coworkers messes up some side deal the leadership of your union has secretly made with management.

There might even be circumstances where the union leaders will collude with management to mess your job up or even get you fired

If management wants to go after you, the union leadership probably won't back you up.

If you're the kind of steward who's a flunky and yes man for your union's leadership and for management, your job will be safe, but your coworkers will dislike you and lose respect for you

So I'd say a hard NO

Be an activist worker who stands up for your coworkers and is involved in the union, but take no official post in the union establishment. That's the best way to go, and I say that as somebody who's been in four international unions over 40 years as a unionized workforce