Stewards Guide

STICK TO THE FACTS AND STICK TO THE POINT

Stick to the point in your discussion with the supervisor and don't get sidetracked. You should know your case well enough to know what applies to what you’re talking about and what is irrelevant.

Fully as important as sticking to the point is sticking to the facts. Be sure you are presenting your case on the basis of facts, not opinions. If you and your supervisor can agree on the facts it is much easier to come to some conclusion.

INSIST ON RETROACTIVE AGREEMENTS

If the result of your talk is a request by the supervisor to have management study the situation before a decision is made, make sure the workers concerned are protected by having the future decision applied retroactively to the date the question was first presented. This will also mean that management won't stall in coming to a decision.

Above all-remember-no horse-trading with the company, that is, giving up one grievance case in order to get a favorable decision on another. Grievances should be settled on the basis of their merits.

DON'T GLOAT

If you do win your case, don't gloat and brag about your victories over management. Be gracious and allow the supervisor to "save face" as much as possible. You may want the same consideration at some later date. Shop steward diplomacy means that you will try to point out to management that actually it is to their advantage to have satisfied, alert workers. You're asking for justice and not favors, and you're expected to be as fair as you expect management to be. Creating hard feelings unnecessarily over a victory won may mean you'll have a harder time when you bring up your next case. Often a grievance settlement is to the mutual advantage of both labor and management if looked at with a long range point of view; for the resulting shop harmony means greater productivity along with satisfied workers.

GET TO THE ROOTS FROM WHICH GRIEVANCES GROW

When a lot of grievances arise over one issue it's your responsibility to try to get to the root of the trouble. Discuss this with the supervisor, and if it is necessary, take the matter to your plant grievance committee. Too many grievances are a sign that there is something chronically wrong that needs to be corrected.

EDUCATE THE SUPERVISOR

In some cases you may have a really unfair supervisor. Perhaps it's because he or she is new at the job, or unsure of self and his or her authority, or because the plant just recently has been organized and there is little precedent established for good relations between the supervisor and the union. In all these cases the purpose of collective bargaining and the machinery involved is not fully understood. You've got an educational job to do. You must make supervisors realize that whether or not they like unions, they are here to stay and legal procedure has been set up to govern working conditions and labor-management relations in the plant. It may take a lot of patience on your part, but if you are fair and reasonable and firm with the supervisor you are bound to get somewhere.

But, maybe the supervisor's unfair attitude and actions are due to being plain "ornery", or even to the fact that he or she is following out the policy set by top management which is trying to "break the union". In the first case, reports to top management may help, or perhaps some publicity in the local union papers or bulletins would ease the situation. However, if you feel that official policy is actually responsible for the attitude and actions of the supervisor, that is a very serious matter that requires the attention of top union officers.

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