Stewards Guide

GOOD RELATIONS WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR

One of the best ways to have an effective Collective Bargaining agreements is to establish good relations with supervisors. Supervisors don't have to be the enemy, they're working for a living as well and share the workplace with the union members. Supervisors are only representing management as the steward represents the union. A steward must remember that they cannot be effective without being responsible and businesslike, stick to the facts. Good relations with supervisors can greatly aid the welfare of the shop. Problems throughout the workplace can be worked out; personality problems affecting production or the introduction of new machinery and its results. Good relations with supervisors can greatly influence the nature of labor relations within the workplace.

Sometimes you may have to work without a contract. For example, when the union has newly won recognition but has not yet negotiated a contract. Or, the old contract may expire before the union has had time to negotiate a new one. At such time, when union protection is lacking, good relations with your supervisors are especially important.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES-TIPS ON RELATIONS WITH MANAGEMENT

Good grievance produce is essential to all parties interested in sound labor relations. It is as important to management as to labor. The grievance machinery enables management with the help of the union to discover and correct the sore spots in working conditions and plant industrial relations before they are permitted to spread and cause trouble. It provides and effective communications system for bringing bad shop practices of lower supervisory help to management's attention. The general grievance procedure might be covered by a clause like this:

"The Company recognizes and will deal with all of the accredited members of the committee and shop and departmental stewards in all matters relating to grievances, interpretations of the agreement or in any other matters which affect or may affect the relationship between the Company and the Union."

To the individual worker, grievance procedure provides the means of enforcing the terms of the contract and with a democratic method of appeal against any one person's arbitrary decision affecting wages or working conditions. It protects the democratic rights of the individual in industry in the same way that our judicial system protects your democratic rights in civil life.

HANDLING GRIEVANCES

Now we come to what makes up the bulk of your work-the handling of grievances.

It's probably a daily headache to you, but it's also the heart of the union's collective bargaining system with management. Your work has just begun when the negotiating committee has the new contract completed and signed.

As you know only too well, grievances arise almost every day on the job. Even in plants where the relationship between the employees and management is good, grievances may arise because of misunderstandings, incorrect application of policy by the supervisor or worker, faulty interpretation of the contract by either side, or some discriminatory act. Some so-called "grievances" occur because of personality conflicts; a couple of workers don't get along or a worker finds the supervisor's jokes annoying. These are not grievances technically, and you must learn to distinguish them from true grievances.

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