You and Your Representative

The single most important and valuable asset a union worker has day-in and day-out is the committee person or steward for the district.

A good rep is worth his/her weight in gold. A bad one isn't worth spit. In this, and in my next post as well, we are going to look at why that is and what you and your rep owe each other in respect and in duties.

Please note: I am not going to mince words--even at the risk of offending someone. It is far too important an issue to tip-toe around. So here we go . . . 

Many members think that the zone and chairman, by nature of their job titles, are more important than their district representative. While that may be true during negotiations, it is not on a day-to-day basis. If your district rep does a good job you will likely never have to come in contact with the zone or chair except at union meetings.

Let's begin with what you can do to make your rep the best rep they can be.

1) Call them when you need them. Don't delay.

2) Be completely honest with them. They can't do their job if they don't know the facts.

3) Give them adequate time to answer your questions. They may not always have the answers at their fingertips. An honest rep who says, "I don't know, but I'll find out and get back to you," and who actually does just that, is priceless. One who BS's you or fails to get back is worthless. 

4) Screaming at your rep when you are really angry with something management has done is both a waste of time and a good way to poison your relationship.

5) NEVER speak badly of your rep to management! If you think your rep needs a boot in the ass then do it privately or when they run for re-election. (For that matter never speak badly of a brother or sister to management either) Management is NEVER your friend--even though they might pretend to be. They WILL sell you out if ordered to do so by their higher-ups. 

6) Don't waste your rep's time. If you need time away from the line get a bathroom call or a nurse call. Your rep has 250 or more people to care for. Help them to do that.

7) Demand that they do their jobs! If the only place you can find them is in the work center, the cafeteria or bathroom then they are not a rep--they are simply free-loading. 

8) Never take, "They can do that," for an answer without demanding to be shown WHY "they can do that" in the local, national, or in relevant minutes or a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU's).
     8a) When your rep shows up for a call he/she should have, at an absolute minimum: a) the national agreement; b) the local agreement; c) MOU's and relevant minutes of meetings with management; d) a notepad for recording notes of your meeting and the supervisor; e) a pen, and, f) a grievance pad. If they show up without this minimum--SEND THEM BACK TO GET THEM!

9) Thank them when they try to help. Sometimes being a rep can be a thankless job. I used to tell new reps that, "First you get sworn in--Then you get sworn at." Believe me, they will appreciate your thanks.

Now to what your rep should be doing for you (Reps, this is as much for you as for the member on the floor).

1) Go as soon as you can to answer a call. Don't delay. Even if you think you may be getting an ass-chewing go as quickly as you can. If you don't things can only get worse. (You do have to prioritize calls, but in general take them as you get them--or at least by foreman's area).

2) Be honest with the member. Don't lie! I guarantee that if you lie to a member they will NEVER forget it . . . and they will tell their friends . . . and they should.

3) Get back to them with answers to their questions if you weren't able to answer them at the time of the call. Let them know if it will take longer than a day or two. They will appreciate it.

4) Sometimes when you arrive the member will be upset. Sometimes they will be VERY upset. If so, give them a bit of time to vent. If necessary, adjourn the call to let them calm down. Then listen carefully. Often I discovered that it might be more than just the supervisor or fellow worker that has them upset. A child may be sick or acting out; there may be marital or money problems; they may need to be referred to EAP. If you listen they usually will tell you once they have calmed down. All that said, if you are truly just being abused by a member TELL THEM TO STOP. If they do not adjourn the call and DOCUMENT why you did. 

5) When you show up for a call notify the supervisor why you are there (paragraph 20, National Agreement) and then DO NOT SPEAK WITH THEM ANY FURTHER! If you stand around talking with management you will look like a suck-ass. Go stay with your member and talk with them about other things until relief arrives. Remember this: Management is NEVER your friend. (Sound familiar?)

6) Take the member to a quiet place to discuss their call per Document 5 and paragraph 19 of the National Agreement. Do not discuss their call in front of others--unless you are gathering witness statements.

7) Take notes! Take notes! Take notes! They are vital if a grievance goes to higher steps in the procedure

8) If, after discussion, you determine the member does not have a grievance under the agreements, etc. don't just tell them why--SHOW THEM WHY!
     8a) Sometimes after your discussion the member, or you, may still want to write a grievance or simply give an abusive supervisor an ass-chewing. That is find; but don't BS the member. Tell them the truth and show them why the grievance will eventually fail. A pile of unwinnable grievances doesn't even make decent toilet paper--and neither do you if you are not truthful with the member.

(I will speak more about the relevant paragraphs of the National Agreement in my next post per 9 and 10 below)

9) If the member tells you the supervisor, rather than try and solve their problem or at least explain that he/she doesn't have the authority, simply entered the call--or worse said, "If you don't like it tuff--put in a call," then write a grievance charging them with a violation of paragraphs 5 and 28 of the national agreement. If this is a plant policy, then ask the chairman to charge management with a violation  of paragraph 5a. 
     9a) If the member tells you that, after they had requested a call, the manager continued discussing it or tried to talk them out of the call then write a grievance charging them with a violation of paragraph 29 of the national agreement.

10) Don't write the grievance without first trying to get the foreman told solve the problem. Why? The notes from the discussion could make your grievance a winner further down the line. Take notes of your discussion with the supervisor . . . take notes of your discussion with the supervisor . . . take notes of your discussion with the supervisor . . .you get the idea?

11) If you write a grievance then work at getting the damned thing settled! An open grievance indicates a failure of the union to get justice for the member. If you write a good grievance then see that it moves through the procedure! (paragraphs 30-34, national agreement). When I was commiteeman I never had more than 25 OPEN grievances at any one time. Why? I met with the superintendent EVERY to settle them. EVERY week. If I couldn't settle I moved it through the procedure. And--an added benefit to the member came from this. Once the superintendent realized he looked better than the other supt.'s if he had a low grievance count he worked with me to get things settled. There is nothing a superintendent likes better than to look better than his/her peers.

In my day I never wrote a health & safety grievance. That is the job of the health and safety rep (their job title should give you a hint). But, you do have health and safety responsibilities! You should take regular health and safety walks through your district. If you find a problem notify the superintendent and the health and safety rep. Then, follow up to see that they took care of it.

A final note or two to wrap up: When I was committeeman I walked through as much of my district as I could EVERY day. I would begin at one end on one day and the other end the next. My members knew they would see me unless I was caught up in a DLO or other important meeting. As a result I had far fewer calls than any other committeeman. Why? I solved a lot of problems on my daily walks before they ever got to the grievance stage. Try it. You'll soon see that it works.

Walter Reuther said this about the UAW at the 1970 Constitutional Convention: "Our membership are the strength of the UAW, and the membership and the families of our members, they are the purpose of the UAW. And in the years ahead, this union must remain true to its commitment to the welfare and the well-being of our rank and file. This union is not about Solidarity House; it is not about your local union headquarters; this union is about the men and women that we represent, and behind them their families." We need to compare the present UAW leadership with the ideals expressed in Reuther's quote.

Solidarity forever isn't just a song lyric. It is the union way of life.