Do you have a question involving the contract that you want answered? Do you think you may have a grievance against your employer? Have another general question you need information about?  Here's your chance to get an answer directly from one of Local 34's stewards or Chief Stewards.

What do steward's do?

When you have a problem on the job, when you need information about your rights, when you want to know how to get involved, see a steward. Your steward provides leadership for the union in your work area.

Stewards receive training that helps them to address problems in the work place. They've become familiar with our contract by studying its provisions, answering questions from co- workers and investigating grievances.

Stewards, with the help of co-workers, ensure that management abides by the terms of the contract we negotiate. When the terms are violated, stewards provide help through effective representation to the employees who've been affected. Their goal is to solve any problems that occur.

Some problems can be resolved quickly and informally, but others might take several months if arbitration is required. In such cases, your steward will keep you informed as the case progresses.

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Here is an outline of the general role of the Union Steward in the workplace. Some of the basics of the steward's responsibilities and duties are as follows:

1) A grievance handler - our members expect stewards to represent their grievances to management. Your success as a grievance handler will determine your success as a steward.

2) Leadership - A leader gets things done with a minimum of conflict. A leader sparks the enthusiasm and enlists the cooperation of fellow workers.

3) An Organizer - The steward must win the willing support of a great majority of the group. Successful union-management relations require an equal balance of power.

4) An educator - The Local and International Union have definite policies and programs. The Steward must understand them and communicate these ideas to the rank-and-file.

5) A traffic manager - The steward must be able to direct the "traffic" of problems and communications effectively. In order to do this you must be able to look, listen and speak. You must be able to direct people with problems to the proper channels and direct grievances to the appropriate people.

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AFSCME STEWARD HANDBOOK - UPDATED 9/2004 - this document is posted in PDF format by chapter.

The AFSCME Steward Handbook has been developed to help you become an effective steward, regardless of your particular work situation. A wealth of information is packed into these pages, everything from steward responsibilities to grievance handling skills, from legal issues to the history of AFSCME. While every piece of information may not apply to your specific circumstances, apply those principles and guidelines that do.

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Employee's Right to Union Representation

The rights of unionized employees to have present a union representative during investigatory interviews were announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc. 420 U.S. 251, 88 LRRM 2689). These rights have become known as the Weingarten rights.

Employees have Weingarten rights only during investigatory interviews. An investigatory interview occurs when a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his or her conduct.

If an employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result from what he or she says, the employee has the right to request union representation. Management is not required to inform the employee of his/her Weingarten rights; it is the employee’s responsibility to know and request. Management does have a responsibility, however, to inform you of your right to union representation.

When the employee makes the request for a union representative to be present management has three options:
(I) it can stop questioning until the representative arrives.
(2) it can call off the interview or,
(3) it can tell the employee that it will call off the interview unless the employee voluntarily gives up his/her rights to a union representative (an option the employee should always refuse.)

Employers will often assert that the only role of a union representative in an investigatory interview is to observe the discussion. The Supreme Court, however, clearly acknowledges a representative's right to assist and counsel workers during the interview.

The Supreme Court has also ruled that during an investigatory interview management must inform the union representative of the subject of the interrogation. The representative must also be allowed to speak privately with the employee before the interview. During the questioning, the representative can interrupt to clarify a question or to object to confusing or intimidating tactics.

While the interview is in progress the representative cannot tell the employee what to say but he may advise them on how to answer a question. At the end of the interview the union representative can add information to support the employee's case.