The 21st-Century Steward
By William Lucy
One of the greatest joys of my job is the opportunity it gives me to travel around the country and meet AFSCME members who are using innovative approaches to build our union.
Such is the case with stewardship as we enter the 21st century. We have tens of thousands of stewards to help represent the interests of all 1.3 million members, and they have always formed the backbone of this union. But now many of them are taking a new look at their role.
I started my own union career as a steward, and I recall those days with great satisfaction and pride.
In the past, we have often viewed the steward’s job primarily as holding the line by representing members in grievances and helping to enforce contracts. The 21st-century model of stewardship calls on these men and women to do more than just hold the line. They need to move the union forward — by taking an active role in all phases of our work, including organizing and political action.
I recently had the opportunity to meet several stewards from Local 1363 (Dade County, Fla.) who are using their stewardship in order to help transform the union. Melba White, for example, has held the post at Jackson Memorial Hospital for 17 years. She sees the role of steward as central to everything the union does: “I am the face of the union to many members. I use my position both to represent the union and to learn all I can about what our members face.”
White has been integrally involved in the aggressive steward recruitment and training underway during the past year at Local 1363. One year ago, the local had only about 20 active stewards. But it won the right in its new contract to increase that number tenfold — and is now about halfway to that goal, with a core of energetic new stewards.
Stewards at Local 1363 undergo an extensive initial training that acquaints them with the full range of union work. Then they serve an apprentice period with a senior colleague to help them handle grievance procedures. But graduation does not end their training “We view steward training as an ongoing process,” says White. “We hold monthly meetings to keep our stewards fresh and plugged in to everything that is going on within the union.”
Mike Romero, a steward in the Dade County Housing Department for the past seven years, thinks that the local’s new emphasis on active stewardship helped in negotiating a stronger contract last year.
“By using certain grievance issues to organize around and to show our collective strength, we proved our unity to management and increased the union’s credibility in the eyes of members,” he says.
Romero finds that even simple steward duties, like updating union information bulletin boards, can lead to organizing opportunities. “People see me putting up the info and know I’m the one to ask about things. Even if they are not currently in the union, they may be facing problems on the job that need answers. And a good steward always carries green cards with him or her. I look at every direct communication with an employee as a chance to organize.”
Dorothy Townsend has used her 17 years as steward at Jackson Memorial to help members understand the importance of political action.
“I started out as a first-line steward, and that was a good way to learn the union,” she recalls. “But about 13 years ago, I attended a Coalition of Black Trade Unionists convention and became aware of the importance of exercising my political voice.”
Townsend went on to co-ordinate PEOPLE recruitment for the local, and to serve as the Dade County coordinator for Operation Big Vote.
With dynamic individuals like these hard at work for us, I know our union will prosper.
And if you are considering becoming a steward in your local, I hope you take inspiration from their examples. Stewardship is not only one of the greatest contributions you can make to your union, it is also one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences you will ever have.
