Barry: Je Suis ( I Am) My Steward
27-5
Je Suis(I Am) My Steward
Stewards are on the front line of fights with the bosses;they need to be protected so they are not the first casualties.If management is able to get rid of stewards—by fabricating disciplinary infractions, for example—no one will volunteer to be the next steward.
This topic came up loud and clear during a steward training when several stewards said that they were new because all of the other stewards had been fired. One of them—we will call her Shari—said that she had been written up three times in one day for “nothing,” and, more drastically, one of the supervisors said he “would like to spit at her.”
It was clear that Shari had been targeted for her union activities and her union was confronting a serious but not unique problem. When anti-unionism in the U.S. and Canada becomes more aggressive, intimidating union officers is part of the playbook. As the strength behind the union, stewards become special targets so protecting them is protecting the union itself.
What’s the best way to demand that the boss respect the union and its stewards?
Lawyer or Leverage
One of your strategic decisions is whether to “lawyer or leverage”—that is, use contractual or legal protections, or organize in creative ways—or both.
The legal part can appear to be easy since most union contracts include, in the Non-Discrimination clause, protection for union activities. As withall grievances, it is essential to document every incident to prove the pattern of anti-union harassment, using specific examples. Careful notes, eager witnesses for the union and written documentation like warning letters are important.
Recognize that supervisors will rarely discipline a steward for union activities—their training is more sophisticated. They will fabricate attendance or performance issues, or use personal disputes to accumulate “bad points” to justify, in their eyes, a discipline or discharge. The union has to change the terms of the debate and come up with a pattern of anti-union actions that support their case. Getting evidence, not just rumors, of a supervisor’s anti-union attitudes is important.
One essential tactic for protecting a steward is to make sure that the boss and you, the steward, are never alone together. Just as we demand to have a steward accompany a member in any discussions, a member can be a witness to threats the supervisor might make against a steward, eliminating their denial at any subsequent meeting.
Once the union has its case together, start the meetings with management. As the grievance proceeds up the chain of command, the union can only hope that there are decent individuals in management who have actually read the company handbook—you know, the section where we pledge to treat each other with respect and dignity?
One complicated aspect is enforcing a remedy—if a steward has not actually been fired, or suspended, there are no monetary damages that the union can collect. An agreement can be reached that the boss will not berate or threaten the steward, but often the best we can expect is that management will deny that any anti-unionism took place—and say“we won’t do it again.”
If a steward is eventually fired, the union grievance should claim both the Just Cause and Non-Discrimination clauses (as well as the Recognition clause) so that the true motives of the employer can be challenged.
The danger of this legal strategy is that it can drag out for a long time. If a steward is fired, going through the grievance steps—and the boss will stretch every possible time limit or even ask for extensions—to arbitration leaves the steward out on the street and the members intimidated.
Another legal tactic is filing an Unfair Labor Practice since discrimination for union activities is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act, as well as of some state and provincial laws. Again, the issue of proof and the long time it takes to resolve a case can frighten members so that, even if the union eventually wins, the damage to the union has been done.
So let’s look for leverage—how to make the boss do what he doesn’t want to do, and do it now! One leverage tactic within the grievance procedure is to make the harassment of a steward into a group grievance. Get as many members as possible to sign on as grievants so that each of them can demand to participate in the hearing. It’s their grievance, after all, and the time and aggravation that this process presents to the boss may be enough.
A petition from all of the members may be just as effective, and don’t limit it to just that steward’s area. Get everyone involved. Hold workplace meetings, work-to-rule and put up posters of support. One effective, and fun, tactic is to shun the offensive supervisor. Follow work orders but block any casual conversations.
The best organizing tactic is the one that involves as many members as possible. If some members are frightened, do some one-on-one meetings with them to emphasize the importance of the union and the urgency of protecting our representatives. As the best result, an anti-union attack can make the union stronger.
And finally, in the spirit of the French who proclaimed Je Suis Charlie to support victims of a 2015 attack against the newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the members could all wear buttons boasting I Am Shari, or We Are All Stewards.
—Bill Barry. The writer is the retired director of labor studies at the Community College of Baltimore County. He thanks the stewards from ATU Local 1764 for their contributions.