Wednesday, March 29, 2017

What Does Your Steward Do?

Stewards wear many different hats. So what are the roles of a union steward?

Leader

Stewards are elected or appointed by their peers to help build a healthy relationship between employees and management, and help make your workplace a place people are proud to come to every day.

Communicator

At times, stewards will be asked to explain provisions of the collective agreement to their fellow members, talk to the supervisor about a grievance, and discuss issues with the CLAC representative.

Witness

This is one of the steward’s main roles—to witness events that occur at your workplace. Almost all collective agreements require a steward’s presence whenever management issues a disciplinary letter to an employee. The steward’s job is to help their fellow worker through this.

Advocate

Stewards will be asked to defend their fellow workers when mistakes have been made by supervisors and management.

Champion

CLAC promotes a work environment that is positive and forward thinking. We believe this approach is the future of labour relations, but not everyone agrees with our methods. Stewards may be asked to defend these principles.

Relationship builder

Every workplace is made up of a large number of people with different personalities and backgrounds. Stewards are tasked with fostering a positive atmosphere while ensuring fairness and justice for everyone.

A steward’s work often takes place behind the scenes, and you may never hear about it. It can also be a thankless job, so a big thank-you to all our stewards for their hard work and willingness to step up to this difficult task.