Steward Workshops - Descriptions
The Role Of The Steward In An Organizing Union
This is the overview of SEIU's organizing program and why the steward is the most important person for building power in the workplace. The workshop covers the topics:
- Why we have to organize.
- Experienced stewards talking about their experiences organizing on the job.
- SEIU's organizing program and the role of the steward.
Investigating Workplace Problems
When something happens in the workplace that might be a violation of the contract or workers’ rights, the first thing the steward has to do is get the answers to basic questions. The workshop will cover:
- Listening skills.
- Using the “Investigation Form.”
- Using the “Worker-Steward Investigation Agreement.”
- Contract interpretation.
The Steward As The Voice Of The Union
In order to organize workers, you have to talk to them. The steward is the voice of the union in the workplace. We will train stewards how to perform basic and important one-on-one organizing
functions:
- Greeting new workers.
- Recruiting non-members.
- Turning workers out to events.
The Steward And Discipline
This is a four-hour training (two workshops combined into one). We cover the two basic situations where the steward must represent a worker who faces discipline:
- Investigatory meetings held by management that could lead to discipline.
- The meeting where the worker responds to discipline for the first time.
Meeting With the Boss
SEIU's policies make the informal step of any procedure the responsibility of the steward. Stewards want to know about:
- Dealing with different kinds of bosses.
- "The equality principle."
- Compromising and settling issues.