Stewards in Action: The Bridge to Member Activism

When they wanted to develop more activists, leaders of Local 383 (Council 24) in Wisconsin turned to AFSCME’s Stewards in Action training program.

The local represents university and other state employees in a bargaining unit that is scattered across the state’s western region. That, combined with the fact that some unit members are not full union members, but fee payers, made activist and steward recruitment a challenge.

Since last year, five of the local’s new stewards have attended the council’s Stewards in Action training program. They became experts in interpreting their own contract, learned about new ways to communicate with and mobilize their co-workers and got a keen understanding of their legal responsibilities as stewards.

Then, they went several steps further: When they were called on to represent the fee payers, the stewards invited them to join the union. They distributed letters introducing the union to all non-members. The stewards also began a one-on-one membership drive in the local.

Throughout Council 24, Stewards in Action is building member activism. Locals are recruiting PEOPLE contributors. They’re organizing job actions and improving communications with members. Now that they’ve seen firsthand how the program builds strength, the Council has scheduled dozens of trainings for 2009.

“Stewards in Action is absolutely awesome,” says Local 383 Pres. John Gast. “We’ve had major victories due to the skills and confidence gained by our stewards and officers.”

For more information on how you can become an activist through Stewards in Action, contact your council or the AFSCME Education Department at education@afscme.org.