Stewards Guide

BE PROFESSIONAL AND FAIR

Talk and reason with people in a friendly, courteous manner. Use facts and reasons to clear up their mistaken points of view. Tell them the story of what the union has done in the workplace and how membership benefits all the workers in the plant.

Though the workers join the union automatically or are required to pay equivalent fees in a union shop, the steward should still speak to them, tell them what the union is all about, and welcome them into the ranks. Workers who join because they have to, without understanding the principles of unionism, are not likely to make good union members. They may be willing to pay dues for a while, under pressure, but they will not develop the thoughtful union-mindedness which holds them to the union through thick and thin. Their lack of belief and failure to build up a healthy steward-worker relationship may lead to grievances which are hard to settle.

Every so often, where you don't have a union shop, canvass older employees who are not union members. Talk over their problems and persuade them to join. Here's where loyal members in the department can work with you. Get them to talk to co-workers they know best. If the union has done or not done something which keeps some workers doubtful, try to correct the situation. Remember that the closer you come to a 100% union shop the more effective your local can be.

TALK UNION

So talk with new workers, ask them to go to a union meeting or other activity with you, and introduce them to fellow workers who are enthusiastic union members.

If the worker has a grievance and/or you happen to know about it, offer your help and explain that is just why he or she needs the union. The worker will see the point. Of course, if your union is the sole bargaining agent for all employees in the plant, you are the representative of all the workers, regardless of whether they're union members or not.

MAKING MEMBERS 'ONE HUNDRED PER CENTERS'

Building a strong union isn't only getting new members. It's seeing to it that each member is a 'one hundred per center'.

The same methods you used in getting new members apply here, too. They may have joined because most of the workers belonged and they were afraid not to, or because of a vague idea it was to their advantage. In a friendly way explain the union program and benefits, the operation of the shop steward system, and any recreational or social activities the union offers which will be an added incentive to belonging.

Remember, this all takes some self-education on your part. You've got to know all the arguments for unions in general and your union in particular. Workers are going to hear all the arguments against unions, outside over the radio, in the newspaper, and on the street corner. They've got to see for themselves that it pays to be a member and that the union is a democratic organization they're proud to belong to.

O.K. you're doing fine on this first step. All the workers who joined up really wanted to and knew why they did it. There are lots of little ways to make workers feel like real, contributing members of their union and of the labor movement. The more active each worker is, the less work you have to do alone- because you've got a team working toward the same goal.

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