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Five things a Steward has to know.

1.When discussing workplace issues with management the law recognizes you as an equal,
not a subordinate.
2.You can not be held to a higher standard because of your union activities.
3.“Duty of Fair Representation” - You must represent all union members in your shop.
4.The Contract is the law of the workplace. You have a duty to know it and defend it.
5.When you don't know what to do, call Mary.

Two things every union member should know.
1.Weingarten Rights – It is the union members duty to invoke Weingarten rights if he/she
feels that a conversation with a manager may lead to discipline or a change in working
conditions. Ask for your Steward. NEVER let another union member be the “witness”. Only a
Steward or union Officer have legal protections during representation. You have the right
to refuse to discuss the issue without a union rep.

2.We are in this together. Tardiness, absence, poor attitude and selfish behavior makes the
union weaker.

What is the Shop Stewards Role?
I.To contact the Lead Steward when you don't know what to do!
II.To educate and inform union members in your shop.
III.To understand a few basic rules for union activity
IV.To speak for the union members or get the Lead Steward's help.

#1 - Contact the Lead Steward when you don't know what to do!

Your Lead Steward is Mary Dado.
If she doesn't have the answer she knows where to get it! When there is a union issue you
can't handle properly call her at 518-596-3380. ASAP! Be prepared to provide the five W's.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY!

If you get Voice Mail leave this information and repeat the return call phone number slowly.
Labor Law recognizes FACTS, not FEELINGS. Not everything will be fair but if we have
contractual or bargaining leverage we can go to work.
If you have not talked to mary or do not know basic Steward rights please-please-please call
her this week.
If you do nothing else as a Steward we need you to be our eyes and ears. We need you to let
mary know what your shop is like.

That is Job One!!!!!!!!!

#2 - Educate and inform union members in your shop.

We need our stewards to share information from the union. We need our stewards to keep
union members informed. We need our stewards to keep the union board neat and fresh.
Regional managers look at our board. If it hasn't been touched in months they know that the
store is filled with people that don't care about the union. They know that they do not have to
follow the rules and believe me, some of them take advantage of uninformed union
members.

When a manager makes a statement like “the union won't let us do that” or “The union would
have a problem with that”, always check with Mary before you believe it. Fully 90% of the
time I hear about a manager saying that they are lying just to make the union look bad.
Information is power. Take nothing at face value. CALL MARY ONCE A MONTH AT LEAST!

#3 - understand a few basic rules for union activity

Many Stewards have received literature or data sheets in the past with union relevant
material. If you have nothing then call Mary and we will get training info to you. If you have
this info and it has sat in your locker untouched, now it the time to touch it. Information is
power. Know your rights and your limitations.
Some “collective actions” are legal and protected by law. I have sent a supply of Local 408
buttons to many of you. (Call if you need some) The simple act of wearing these buttons is a
legally protected collective action. It raises union visibility, something that certain managers
hate. It tells our company and the public that we are a union shop. We stand for something
different.
When a manager comes into a shop that is wearing “the union label” he knows that a
different set of rules applies. He knows that this group is not as gullible as the store he just
left with an empty union board and employees that take everything he says as gospel. He
may still try and deceive you but this shop will get on the phone to Mary when it suspects
something and get the right answers from the union.

Discriminating against a union member for their union activity is against the law. If a
manager tells you to take off that union button you first obey, then call the union ASAP!!!

Stewards need to remind everyone that we are in this together. We have at least a dozen
stores that are in near constant need of attention because union members can't get along
with each other. “This person said something about so and so and I think they have an
attitude so I am going to make sure they don't get that next commission”, and yada-yada-
yada. Some union members need to work harder at growing up. HOWEVER, IN SOME
CASEs there is a manger stirring the pot. The manager plays favorites and sets one group
against the other and then stands back and watches. This infighting gives mangers power.
When you are busy being mad at a coworker the union gets weaker. Only a handful of
managers play this game but I would caution you to be on the look out. Stewards should try
and remind folks whose side we are on. If need be, call Mary. Get help. Don't let those few
managers play that game.

Legal collective actions that show a boss that you are all on the same page include wearing
the same color clothing on the same day, presenting petitions or wearing union buttons.
Raise issues at Saturday meetings and offer to let the union help. Three or four union
members standing together and asking to discuss an issue is powerful. Don't give up at the
first sign of resistance. Call mary if you need help!

#4 - Speak for the union members or get the Lead Steward's help.

In my early days as a steward sometimes issues would come up at my shop in Geneva, NY.
As I think back they were pretty minor issues but more than once they kept me awake for
half the night. How would I approach the manager? Would she retaliate by changing
everybodies schedules just to show us who the boss was? Every single time the anticipation
of confronting a problem was worse than the confrontation. Every single time! It's sometimes
true, you “have nothing to fear but fear itself”.

Many stewards simply do not have the experience or personality to be confrontational. Call
mary! If you provide the facts, (Nothing but the facts, ma'am) then Mary or I can get the ball
rolling. Small issues can stay small if brought out into the sunshine and discussed. Not
everything is fixable but everything can be discussed.

Stewards need to get involved with the issues that bother their coworkers. Ask us for
answers or help. A steward that does nothing either has a saint for a boss or is a steward in
name only. That is worse than no steward at all. The time for “make believe' unionism has
passed. The soul and the ethics of this company have gone adrift. Together we can nudge
them back on course.

Collective action is the pursuit of a goal or set of goals by more than one person.

Illegal Employer Conduct as defined by the National Labor Relations Act.

Interference, restraint, or coercion directed against union or other collective activity.
Discrimination against employees who take part in union or other collective activity.
Refusal to bargain in good faith with union representatives.

Report violations to Mary Dado
518-596-3380

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